Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash", was an American second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians from 1938 to 1950. Events 3102 BC - Epoch (origin of the Kali Yuga. 1229 - The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II Holy Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that In Baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally the field manager) this individual controls matters The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He was the outstanding player at his position during the 1940s, winning the 1942 American League MVP Award and being named to The Sporting News' Major League All-Star Team in six of his eleven seasons. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees (4-1 All-Star Game The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in The Most Valuable Player Award (commonly known as the MVP award is an annual award given to one outstanding player in each league of Major League Baseball. Sporting News (previously The Sporting News, and known colloquially as TSN) is an American -based Sports Known for his acrobatic defense, he led the AL in assists four times and in double plays three times. In Baseball, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic baseball being the rare sport in which the This article is about Baseball. For double play Magnetic tape, see Audio tape length and thickness. He was the first AL second baseman to hit 20 home runs in a season, doing so seven times, and holds the league mark for career HRs at second base (246); he held the single-season record until 2001. He played a major role on the 1948 champion Indians, leading the team in homers and runs batted in. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cleveland Indians over Boston Braves (4-2 All-Star Game He ranked sixth in major league history in double plays (1160) upon retiring, and was sixth in AL history in games (1519), putouts (3600), assists (4706) and total chances (8566) and seventh in fielding percentage (. In Baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by PO or fly ball when appropriate is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the In Baseball statistics, total chances ( TC) also called chances offered, represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated In Baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly 970).

Yankees

Born in Los Angeles, California, Gordon attended the University of Oregon, where he also competed as a halfback on the football team as well as in gymnastics, soccer and the long jump; not limiting himself to sports, he also played the violin in the school orchestra. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The University of Oregon (UO is a public, Coeducational Research university in Eugene Oregon, United States. A running back ( RB) is the position of a player on an American or Canadian football team who usually lines up in the offensive backfield. College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies Gymnastics is a Sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength agility and coordination Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered The long jump is an Athletics (track and field event in which athletes combine speed strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far from the take-off point as possible The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member After batting . Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 418 in his sophomore year, he signed with the Yankees in 1936, with scout Bill Essick reporting: "At his best when it meant the most and the going was toughest. " Gordon played for the Newark Bears in 1937, hitting . The Newark Bears are a professional baseball team based in Newark New Jersey, in the United States Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants (4-1 All-Star Game 280 for a team often regarded as the best minor league team in history. Part of the History of baseball series Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of Professional baseball leagues in North His success made Tony Lazzeri expendable for the Yankees, and Gordon debuted with New York in April 1938. Anthony Michael "Tony" Lazzeri ( December 6, 1903 — August 6, 1946) was an American Major League Baseball player Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Chicago Cubs (4-0 All-Star Game His 25 home runs as a rookie set an AL record for second basemen which stood until 2006; Charlie Gehringer of the Detroit Tigers had twice hit 19, and Rogers Hornsby had hit 20 several times in the NL. Charles Leonard Gehringer ( May 11 1903 – January 21 1993) nicknamed “ The Mechanical Man,” was a Major League Baseball The Detroit Tigers are a professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan, USA Rogers Hornsby ( April 27, 1896 in Winters Texas - January 5, 1963 in Chicago Illinois) nicknamed "The Rajah" Along with Jeff Heath of the Indians, who had batted . This article is about the baseball player for the linguist see Jeffrey Heath. 343, Gordon was one of the AL's top rookies, hitting . 255 with 97 RBI and placing second to Gehringer in the AL with 450 assists as the Yankees won their third straight pennant. In the 1938 World Series sweep of the Chicago Cubs, he hit . The 1938 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Chicago Cubs, with the Yankees sweeping the Series in four games for The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. 400; he had an RBI single, doubled and recorded the final out in a 3-1 victory in Game 1, and doubled in the first two runs in Game 2's 6-3 win. In Baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching Second base without being called out by the Umpire In Game 3, a 5-2 win, he had a solo home run to tie the game 1-1 in the fifth inning, and singled home two more runs in the sixth. He scored twice in an 8-3 win in the final Game 4 as New York took their third consecutive title.

1939 saw Gordon improve his batting average to . Headline Event of the Year On May 17, 1939, Princeton University and Columbia University played the first televised baseball 284 and top his own home run mark with 28. He led the AL in putouts, assists and double plays, and was second on the team to Joe DiMaggio and fifth in the league in both homers and RBI (111). Joseph Paul DiMaggio, born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio Jr ( November 25, 1914 &ndash March 8, 1999) nicknamed Joltin' Joe On June 28 he hit three home runs; he made his first of nine All-Star teams, and finished ninth in the MVP vote. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League In the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds he hit only . The 1939 World Series featured the three-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Cincinnati Reds, who were making their first Series appearance since The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati Ohio, USA 143, but scored the first run in a 2-1 Game 1 victory. In Game 4, he drove in the tying run with one out in the ninth inning, and the Yankees scored three in the tenth to win 7-4 and complete another sweep for their unprecedented fourth straight championship. In 1940 Gordon again increased his home run total to 30 and was second on the team to DiMaggio in homers and RBI (103), leading the AL in assists and posting career highs in runs (112), triples (10), slugging average (. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Detroit Tigers (4-3 All-Star Game In Baseball, a run is scored when a player advances safely around first second and third base and returns safely to Home plate, touching In Baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching Third base after hitting the ball with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay (see In Baseball statistics, slugging percentage (abbreviated SLG) is a popular measure of the power of a hitter. 511), total bases (315) and stolen bases (18) while hitting . In Baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i In Baseball, a stolen base occurs when a Baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the Pitcher is delivering the ball to Home plate 281. On September 8, he hit for the cycle. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz In Baseball, a player hits for the cycle when he hits a single, a double, a triple and a Home run in the same game though not necessarily But the Yankees finished two games behind Detroit, in the only year between 1936 and 1943 that they lost the pennant.

In 1941 he batted . Headline events of the year Joe Dimaggio hits in 56 consecutive games 276 with 24 HRs and 87 RBI, scoring 104 runs and teaming with rookie shortstop Phil Rizzuto to lead the AL in double plays; Gordon placed seventh in the MVP vote as New York returned to the top of the standings. Philip Francis Rizzuto ( September 25 1917 &ndash August 13 2007) nicknamed "The Scooter" was an American Shortstop In the 1941 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers he played phenomenally, hitting . The 1941 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games to capture their fifth title in six years The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles California, USA 500 with stellar defense. In Game 1 he started the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning, had an RBI single and was walked twice (once intentionally), and turned a double play with the tying run on first base to end a 3-2 win. A base on balls ( BB) is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in Baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire A base on balls ( BB) is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in Baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire In Game 2, he was walked three times, once intentionally, and had three double plays in a 3-2 loss. In Game 3 he tripled, walked and had four assists, one of them to end the 2-1 win. He doubled in two runs in the ninth inning of Game 4 to give the Yankees their final 7-4 lead, four batters after Dodger catcher Mickey Owen famously dropped a third strike which would have ended the game. Arnold Malcolm (Mickey Owen ( April 4, 1916 - July 13, 2005) was a Catcher for St And he drove in another run in the final 3-1 victory in Game 5. His five double plays (three of them in Game 2) remain a record for a five-game Series. After the Series, Yankees manager Joe McCarthy said, "The greatest all-around ballplayer I ever saw, and I don't bar any of them, is Joe Gordon. Joseph Vincent McCarthy ( April 21 1887 – January 13 1978) nicknamed "Marse Joe" was an American manager in "

Gordon led the Yankees to another pennant in his 1942 MVP season, edging Triple Crown winner Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox for the award. For other uses of this term see Triple crown In Baseball, the Triple Crown refers to A batter who (at season's end leads Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams ( August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) also nicknamed The Kid, the Splendid Splinter The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. He batted . 322, fourth in the AL, with 18 homers and 103 RBI, and finished sixth in the league in total bases (264) and slugging (. 491) while he and Rizzuto again led the league in double plays. He had another poor World Series, however, batting just . The 1942 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees against the St 095 in the five-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals – his only Series loss in six trips; he was picked off at second base in the bottom of the ninth in the last game. The St Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards " or "the Redbirds " are a professional Baseball team based in St In Baseball, a pickoff is an act by a pitcher throwing a live ball to a Fielder so that the fielder would Tag out a Baserunner By his own lofty standards he had a subpar yet productive season in 1943, batting . Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over St 249 with 17 HRs (5th in the AL), 69 RBI and 82 runs, and leading the AL in assists; despite his low batting mark, he was still among the league's top ten players in both slugging (. 413) and on base percentage (. In Baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP (sometimes referred to as on-base average ', as the statistic is rarely presented as a true Percentage) 365), thanks to a career-best 98 walks (second in the AL).

In the World Series rematch with the Cardinals, he gave New York a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning of Game 1 – a 4-2 win – with a solo homer, and scored the first run in a 2-1 win in Game 4. The 1943 World Series matched the defending champion St Louis Cardinals against the New York Yankees, in a rematch of the 1942 Series. He threw out the final batter of the Series with the tying runs on base in the 2-0 Game 5 victory, with the Yankees taking home another title. He again fielded brilliantly, setting still-standing records for a five-game Series of 20 putouts, 23 assists, 43 total chances, and a 1. 000 fielding average; his 8 assists in Game 1 and 3 assists in the eighth inning of Game 5 are also records. Afterwards, he served in the U.S. Army in 1944-45 during World War II, missing those seasons. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including He returned in 1946 with a poor campaign, batting . 210 with 11 HRs and 47 RBI. The Yankees, uncertain if he would return to his pre-war form, traded him to the Indians on October 11 for pitcher Allie Reynolds. "The Superchief" redirects here for the named passenger train see Super Chief. Gordon departed New York after precisely 1,000 games and 1,000 hits. In Baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H) sometimes called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches

Indians

While Reynolds would go on to win 131 games in eight seasons for the Yankees, Gordon proved resilient and kept his new team from regretting the deal. In 1947 he returned to his old levels of production, batting . Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-3 All-Star Game 272 and leading the club with 93 RBI, and again pacing the AL in assists. His 29 homers and 279 total bases were second in the league to Williams, and his . 496 slugging average trailed only Williams and DiMaggio; Gordon again finished seventh in the MVP balloting. Additionally, he played a major role in befriending teammate Larry Doby ^[1], the AL's first black player, who had been a second baseman in the Negro Leagues but became a center fielder with Cleveland. Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby ( December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional Baseball player The baseball color line, sometimes called the " Gentleman's Agreement " was the policy unwritten for nearly its entire duration which excluded African Part of the History of baseball in the United States series The Negro leagues were American professional Baseball leagues A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the Outfielder in Baseball who plays defense in center field - the baseball fielding position Over Doby's first two seasons, Gordon became close to the player who was theoretically there to replace him, and Doby would later refer to him as his first friend in white baseball; however, reports that Gordon deliberately struck out in Doby's first game to keep him from looking bad are erroneous. In Baseball or Softball, a strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when a batter receives three strikes ^[2] 1948 was even better, as Cleveland won their first AL title since 1920. Batting . 280, he was second in the league to DiMaggio with 32 home runs, which remained the AL's single-season mark for a second baseman until Bret Boone hit 36 in 2001. Bret Robert Boone (born April 6 1969 in El Cajon, California) is a former Major League Baseball Second baseman. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: He again led the team with a personal high of 124 RBI, and was sixth in the league in slugging (. 507). Gordon placed sixth in the MVP vote, won by teammate and manager Lou Boudreau. Louis "Lou" Boudreau ( July 17, 1917, in Harvey Illinois &ndash August 10, 2001) was an American Major In the 1948 World Series against the Boston Braves, batting cleanup, he had an RBI single and later scored to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead in Game 2; they went on to win 4-1. The 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. In the final Game 6, he homered to give the Indians a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, and they went on to win 4-3 to capture the championship. His seven double plays in the Series are still the record for a six-game Series. In 1949 he slipped to a . Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-1 All-Star Game 251 average, though his 20 HRs and 84 RBI were still second on the team to Doby. His major league career ended in 1950 as he hit . Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies (4-0 All-Star 236 with 19 HRs and 57 RBI.

Gordon was a career . 268 hitter with 253 home runs, 975 RBI, 914 runs, 1530 hits, 264 doubles and 89 stolen bases in 1566 games. His . 466 slugging average then placed him fifth among second basemen, behind Hornsby (. 577), Gehringer (. 480), Lazzeri (. 467) and Nap Lajoie (. Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie or often la-ZHWAY per the Canadian French pronunciation or as he himself usually pronounced it LAJ-a-wayLee Allen in ''The American League 466), and only Hornsby had more homers among second basemen. Gordon might have had even higher batting totals had he played in other stadiums. His first several seasons were spent in Yankee Stadium, with its immense "Death Valley" in left field that frustrated right-handed power hitters; during his New York years, he hit 69 HRs at home and 84 on the road. The original Yankee Stadium is a Stadium located in The Bronx in New York City. Municipal Stadium in Cleveland was also an unhelpful venue, being hostile to power hitters on both sides of the plate. Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium) was a Baseball and American football stadium located in Over his career, he batted 23 points higher on the road (. 279) than he did at home (. 256). He was selected for the All-Star team nine times, in all but his first and last seasons. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League He was also selected to The Sporting News Major League All-Star Team in 1939-42 and 1947-48, and was runnerup to Gehringer in 1938 and to Billy Herman in 1943. William Jennings Bryan "Billy" Herman ( July 7 1909 - September 5 1992) was an American Second baseman in In 2001 he was selected as one of the Indians' 100 greatest players. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: ^[3]

Later years

Gordon next became a player-manager with the Pacific Coast League's Sacramento Solons in 1951-52, and then a scout with the Tigers from 1953-1956. The Pacific Coast League (PCL is a Minor league baseball league operating in the West and Midwest of the United States. The Sacramento Solons were a Minor league baseball team based in Sacramento California. "Talent scout" redirects here For talent scouting in the music industry see A&R Professional sports scouts are trained talent After returning to the PCL to manage the 1957 San Francisco Seals, winning a pennant, he went on to become a major league manager for four different teams. For the professional hockey team see San Francisco Seals (hockey. He began with the Indians, but had difficult relations with general manager Frank Lane, who publicly questioned his decisions; after he announced late in 1959, with Cleveland in second place, that he would not return the next season, Lane fired him four days later but recanted and apologized after negotiations with Leo Durocher broke down, and Gordon was rehired. For the former footballer see Frankie Lane Frank Lane ( February 1 1896 - March 19 1981) was an Leo Ernest Durocher ( July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991) nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American Infielder and But in the middle of the 1960 season, he was involved in what is believed to be the only trade between managers, when the Indians traded him to the Tigers for their skipper Jimmy Dykes; he finished the season, but signed with the Kansas City Athletics for 1961. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees (4-3 Bobby Richardson, James Joseph Dykes ( November 10 1896 - June 15 1976) was an American third and Second baseman, manager The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. Owner Charlie Finley fired him mid-year, and Gordon became a scout and minor league instructor for the Los Angeles & California Angels from 1961 to 1968. Charles Oscar Finley ( February 22 1918 - February 19 1996) nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California. He then had the distinction of managing his second team in Kansas City, the expansion Royals in 1969. Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. Gordon later went into real estate, and died of a heart attack at age 63 in Sacramento, California.

See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Hitting for the cycle

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile
• BaseballLibrary - career highlights
• The Baseball Page
• Baseball Almanac

References

• Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia (2000). See also List of lifetime home run leaders through history This is a list of the top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters. In Baseball, a player hits for the cycle when he hits a single, a double, a triple and a Home run in the same game though not necessarily Kingston, NY: Total/Sports Illustrated. ISBN 1-892129-34-5.