After the Yankees' fifth straight World Championship, Casey Stengel can now be considered one of the greatest managers in the annals of baseball. His New York club was the first ever to win five pennants in succession, let alone five World Series.
In his playing days, Casey registered a .284 career batting average and a .410 career slugging percentage, yet it was in the World Series that the Kansas City native truly rose to the occasion. With batting averages of .364, .400 and .417 in three Fall Classics for an overall Series average of .393, Casey's overall World Series slugging mark of .607 included .917 as a member of the New York Giants in 1923. And as every schoolboy in America knows, it was in the '23 Series that he slugged the first World Series home run ever hit in majestic Yankee Stadium.
Casey began his managing career with Worcester of the Eastern League in 1925. After National League managing jobs in Brooklyn and Boston, he returned to the minors and in 1944 led Milwaukee to a first-place finish in the American Association. Casey concluded his minor league journey in 1948 by managing Oakland to a first-place finish in the Pacific Coast League before Yankee Stadium once again beckoned.
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