1917 New York Yankees season
The 1917 New York Yankees season was the 15th season for the franchise. The team finished with a record of 71–82, finishing 28½ games behind the American League champion Chicago White Sox. New York was managed by Bill Donovan. Their home games were played at the Polo Grounds.
Opening game
The opening game was against the Boston Red Sox on April 11, 1917, at the Polo Grounds in New York. 16,000 fans were in attendance. The Yankees lost 10–3. Major General Leonard Wood attended the game and threw out the first ball. Wood had drill sergeant Gibson, the recruiting officer from Macon, Georgia, where the team had their spring training, march the Yankees across the field in formation carrying rifles.Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Les Nunamaker | 104 | 310 | 81 | .261 | 0 | 33 |
| 1B | Wally Pipp | 155 | 587 | 143 | .244 | 9 | 70 |
| 2B | Fritz Maisel | 113 | 404 | 80 | .198 | 0 | 20 |
| SS | Roger Peckinpaugh | 148 | 543 | 141 | .260 | 0 | 41 |
| 3B | 146 | 553 | 156 | .282 | 6 | 71 | |
| OF | Tim Hendryx | 125 | 393 | 98 | .249 | 5 | 44 |
| OF | Elmer Miller | 114 | 379 | 95 | .251 | 3 | 35 |
| OF | Hugh High | 103 | 365 | 86 | .236 | 1 | 19 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Lee Magee | 51 | 173 | 38 | .220 | 0 | 8 |
| Roxy Walters | 61 | 171 | 45 | .263 | 0 | 14 |
| Frank Gilhooley | 54 | 165 | 40 | .242 | 0 | 8 |
| Joe Gedeon | 33 | 117 | 28 | .239 | 0 | 8 |
| Paddy Baumann | 49 | 110 | 24 | .218 | 0 | 8 |
| Armando Marsans | 25 | 88 | 20 | .227 | 0 | 15 |
| Walt Alexander | 20 | 51 | 7 | .137 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | 45 | 3 | .067 | 0 | 2 | |
| Bill Lamar | 11 | 41 | 10 | .244 | 0 | 3 |
| Chick Fewster | 11 | 36 | 8 | .222 | 0 | 1 |
| Sammy Vick | 10 | 36 | 10 | .278 | 0 | 2 |
| Aaron Ward | 8 | 26 | 3 | .115 | 0 | 1 |
| Howie Camp | 5 | 21 | 6 | .286 | 0 | 0 |
| Muddy Ruel | 6 | 17 | 2 | .118 | 0 | 1 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Bob Shawkey | 32 | 236.1 | 13 | 15 | 2.44 | 97 |
| 32 | 236.0 | 13 | 16 | 2.86 | 102 | |
| George Mogridge | 29 | 196.1 | 9 | 11 | 2.98 | 46 |
| Ray Fisher | 23 | 144.0 | 8 | 9 | 2.19 | 64 |
| Bob McGraw | 2 | 11.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.82 | 3 |
| Bill Piercy | 1 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 | 4 |
| Hank Thormahlen | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 2.25 | 5 |
| Jack Enright | 1 | 5.0 | 0 | 1 | 5.40 | 1 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 30 | 146.1 | 5 | 9 | 3.32 | 27 | |
| Urban Shocker | 26 | 145.0 | 8 | 5 | 2.61 | 68 |
| Slim Love | 33 | 130.1 | 6 | 5 | 2.35 | 82 |
| Allen Russell | 25 | 104.1 | 7 | 8 | 2.24 | 55 |
| 2 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 | 4 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Ed Monroe | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.45 | 12 |
| Walt Smallwood | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |