Joe missed the beginning of this season as well.  However, it was not because of injury like the previous two seasons.  He missed the opening game because he was in a contract dispute.  It was the end of April by the time he signed the contract with the Yankees and was ready to play.

Tony Lazzeri, one of Joe's fellow San Franciscans, had left the Yankees to both coach and play for the Chicago Cubs.  Joe "The Flash" Gordon took his place on the Yankees team as second baseman.  On April 30th, there was a collision in the field involving DiMaggio, Gordon, and Myril Hoag.  Gordon had to be carried off the field in Washington.

The Yankees were struggling this season and it was not until mid-July that they rose to first place.  Cleveland and Boston were giving the Yankees a run for their money.  However, the team pulled through and they won the pennant on September 18th.  They also went on to win the World Series.

In his autobiography, Joe said that he doesn't like looking back on this season because:

• he was booed for the first time by the fans for holding out on
  his contract for so long; he vowed to never hold out on signing for that
  long again
  
• the National League defeated the American League in the All-Star game in Cincinnati
• Lou Gehrig's hitting stats fell below .300 for the first time

However, there were at least two positive things that came out of this season for Joe personally.  He was chosen as the Philadelphia Sportswriter's Association's Outstanding Athlete for the 1937 season.  He was also named Player of the Year by the New York Chapter of Baseball Writers.

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