Читать книгу Bad Boys, Bad Times. The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar Years, 1937–1941 онлайн

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After several seasons at Oakland, Lary became one of the most sought-after prospects in the league. In 1928 he batted .314, getting the rapt attention of the New York Yankees. The Major League club wanted Lary and second baseman Jimmie Reese as a package deal. The two represented the slickest fielding combination in the entire PCL. Both players eagerly signed deals, then traveled cross-country to report for 1929 spring training. The Yankees turned heads by paying Oakland an outrageous sum of $125,000 to acquire the great double-play combination. Years later, the Yankee front office ranked this deal as one of the poorest transactions they had ever made in the history of the organization.

Lary impressed his new teammates from the start, eventually beating out Leo Durocher and grabbing a spot in the starting lineup, which included the marquee names of Ruth, Gehrig, and Bill Dickey. Jimmie Reese, on the other hand, would flame out quickly, setting up Lary as the lone survivor of the six-figure transaction. In his first season, the shortstop played in eighty games and batted a reasonably good .309. The following year Durocher was gone, traded to the Cincinnati Reds. In 1930 Lary hit for a lower average but played in 117 games and scored 93 runs. He really hit his stride in 1931, belting 10 home runs and knocking in 107 along with 100 runs scored. The Yankees now had at least something to show for the $125,000 spent.