
So the Yankees made Pipp their everyday 1B in 1915. In 136 games, he hit just .246 with 20 2B, 13 3B, 4 HR and 60 RBI. He emerged in 1916 and 1917 to lead the AL in HR with 12 and 9 respectively. In spite of an injury in 1918, he kept his job despite playing in just 91 games, as he hit over .300 for the first time in his career. After another down season in 1919, where he drove in just 50 runs, he benefitted by the arrival of Babe Ruth. Despite never increasing his HR totals, Pipp's RBI totals increased from 76 in 1920, to 98 and 91 in 1921 and 1922, respectively, to 108 in 1923 and 114 in 1924, where he led the AL with 19 3Bs.
Few people realize that Pipp was actually a good player. He spent 11 seasons with the Yankees and was part of the team that made it to the first three World Series in the history of the franchise. Prior to Ruth, Pipp was the Yankees best player. Obviously, having Ruth on the team gave Pipp more of an opportunity to be a better run producer. After his trade to the Cincinnati Reds, he drove in 99 runs in 1926, before wrapping up his playing career two years later.
Overall for his career, Pipp hit .281 in 1872 career games. He hit 311 2Bs, 148 3Bs and 90 HRs as well 974 RS and 1941 career hits. He did not have enough of a run to be seriously considered a Hall of Fame player. Few know that it was Pipp who actually scouted Gehrig and showed the player to manager Miller Huggins. There are conflicting stories of why Pipp did not play the game that started Gehrig's streak. There was the headache where Pipp reportedly said, "the two most expensive aspirin I have ever taken." Then there was the story that Huggins benched Pipp, as well as some other veterans, to get some energy in his team.