This Week in Yankees History April 28th-May 4th

This Week in Yankees History April 28th-May 4th Apr 27, 2024 19:24:01 GMT -5 kaybli and inger like this

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Post by fwclipper51 on Apr 27, 2024 19:24:01 GMT -5

This Week in Yankees History April 28th-May 4th

April 28th

1916-Former Yankees Reserve OF Michael “Shotgun” Chartak (1940, 1942) was born. (1916-1967)
Outfielder Michael “Shotgun” Chartak had played for the Yankees, Senators and the Browns in 1940 and from 1942 to 1944. As a Reserve OF for the 1940 and 1942 Yankees, Mike would appear in only 16 games for the team, while hitting only .100. On May 10,1942, Mike was purchased by the Senators from the Yankees. He had 10 HRs in both 1942 and 1943, each season in which he had around 390 at-bats. In the 1944 World Series, he was a Pinch-Hitter for the St. Louis Browns in Games 5 and 6. Chartak was an outfielder on the Yankees AA team, the 1938 Newark Bears (IL), one of the great Minor League teams with a season record of 104-48. During the 7 seasons in the Minor Leagues, he posted a BA of .306 along with a slugging percentage of .509. The book “As Good As it Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns has a photo of him and says he was working at a war plant job until May of 1944, when he joined the Browns to play fulltime. In April 1945, it was discovered that he had Tuberculosis in his left lung, he would stop playing pro baseball. Doctors had discovered spots on Chartak's lungs during his pre-induction military examination. Mike had Tuberculosis; he was sent to a sanatorium. Over the next 23 years, Chartak would spend the majority of his time in sanatoriums. On July 25,1967, Michael had passed away from Pulmonary Tuberculosis at a sanatorium in Oakdale, Iowa.

1918-Former Yankees Minor League Manager (1947-1949) and MLB Manager Charlie Metro (1970) was born. (1918-2011)
Charlie Metro played briefly in the MLB with the Tigers and the A’s. Charlie was a Yankees Minor League Manager with the 1947 Bisbee Yanks (Az-Tx) and the 1948-1949 Twin Falls Cowboys (PL). Then Charlie would move to the Cardinals organization. He would manage in the Minor Leagues until 1961. In 1962, he returned to MLB working for the Cubs. Later in 1968, he would join the new AL Expansion team, the Kansas City Royals. He would manage the Royals in 1970, replacing original Royals Manager Joe Gordon. Charlie would work for several other MLB organizations as an MLB Scout and Talent Evaluator, until his retirement from MLB in 1984.

1925-Former Yankees Pitcher Clarence “Cuddles” Marshall (1946,1948-1949) was born. (1925-2007)
Right out of high school Clarence Marshall had started pitching for the AA Seattle Rainers (PCL). On December 9,1944, he was traded by the Rainers to the Yankees for MLB P Johnny Babich and Minor League P Richard Hearn. In 1946 as a Yankees Rookie hurler, he would post a 3-4 record with a 5.33 ERA in 23 games. He would spend the next 2 seasons in the Minors, briefly appearing in 1 game with the team in 1948 with no decision. Returning to the Bronx in 1949, Marshall went 3-0 with a 5.11 ERA and 3 saves in 21 games. He made a total of 19 relief appearances for the team. Perhaps his finest hour came in a game against the Red Sox, when he came in out of the Yankees bullpen, pitching 4 shutout innings to help defeat the Red Sox by the score of 6-4. Overall, he would post a 6-4 record with a 5.21 ERA and 3 saves in 45 games for the Yankees. He did not appear in the 1949 World Series against the Dodgers. On May 15,1950, he was purchased by the Browns from the Yankees. Clarence spent his final MLB Pitching season with the Browns, while posting a 1-3 record with 7.88 ERA in 28 games. Marshall would close out his MLB 4-season pitching career run with a 7-7 record with a 5.98 ERA in 73 games. He was only 25 years old. In 1951-1952, he was called up for military service for the Korean War. He would continue to pitch in the Minor Leagues by going 2-4 for 3 teams, before retiring from baseball in 1953. His overall Minor League pitching record was a 42-29 mark with a 5.15 ERA in 128 games.

1930-Former Yankees Pitcher Thomas “Snake” Sturdivant (1955-1959) was born. (1930-2009)
In 1948, the Yankees had signed Tom Sturdivant as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He was originally signed an INF with strong arm, but he had a very weak bat. He switched to pitching on the advice by Yankees veteran Starter Allie Reynolds. His best Yankees pitching career seasons were in 1956-1957. Tom had posted a 16-8 record with a 3.30 ERA in 32 games with a win against the Dodgers in 1956 World Series. In 1957, Tom went 16-6 with a 2.54 ERA in 28 games for the Yankees. In 1958, he battled with arm injuries, only going 3-6 with a 4.20 ERA in 15 games. On May 26,1959, Tommy was traded by the Yankees along with Pitcher Johnny Kucks and Reserve INF Jerry Lumpe to the KC for Pitcher Ralph Terry and INF/OF Hector Lopez. He had a 0-2 record with a 4.97 ERA in 7 games for the 1959 Yankees. Tom would finish the 1959 AL season with the A’s, while posting a 2-6 record with 4.65 ERA in 36 games. Later, he went on to pitch for the Red Sox, the new 1961 AL Expansion Team, the Senators, Pirates, Tigers, A’s and finishing up with Casey Stengel’s 1964 Mets, appearing in 19 games with no record. Tom’s Yankees Pitching career totals was a 36-25 record with a 3.19 ERA in 105 games. He had appeared in 3 World Series with the 1955-1957 Yankees, while posting a 1-0 record with a 4.34 ERA in 6 games. Overall, Tom had finished his MLB Pitching career with a 59-51 record with a 3.74 ERA and 17 saves in 335 games.

1935-Former Yankees Closer Pedro “Pete” Ramos (1964-1966) was born in Cuba.
In 1953, the Washington Senators had signed Pitcher Pedro “Pete” Ramos as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. In 1955, he would make his MLB Pitching debut with the Senators. Ramos led the AL in losses 4 consecutive seasons from 1958-1961, while pitching with the original Senators and the 1st edition of the Minnesota Twins; after the team had moved there in 1961 following the 1960 AL season. A side-armer with a live, sinking fastball, Ramos had won 10 or more games for 7 consecutive MLB seasons. Gifted with excellent foot speed, he was used regularly as a Pinch-Runner during his MLB playing career. He was one of Mickey Mantle’s favorite HR victims during his MLB pitching career. Ramos was named to the 1959 AL All-Star team. On April 2,1962, Ramos was traded by the Twins to the Indians for 1B Vic Power and P Dick Stigman. On September 5,1964, Pedro Ramos was traded by the Indians to the Yankees for Players to be Named Later and $75,000 in cash. He went 1-0 with a 1.25 ERA with 8 saves in 13 games in September of 1964 to help the Yankees win the 1964 AL pennant. Since he was obtained on September 5th, Pedro wasn’t able to pitch for the Yankees in the 1964 World Series against the Cardinals. Tribe GM Gabe Paul had held up the trade so that Pedro couldn’t pitch in the 1964 World Series for the Yankees with Yankees GM Ralph Houk until the August 31st MLB trade deadline had passed. On October 21,1964, the Yankees would send veteran P Ralph Terry to the Tribe. On November 27,1964, veteran P Bud Daley was sent to the to the Indians to complete the trade. Ramos had compiled 19 saves for the Yankees in 1965, while posting a 5-5 record in 65 games In 1966, he had posted a 3-9 record with a 3.61 ERA and 13 saves in 52 games, but the team was headed downwards at that point. Ramos never got another chance to pitch in the MLB Post-Season. Overall, Pedro would post a 9-14 record with a 3.05 ERA along with 39 saves in 130 games for the 1964-1966 Yankees. Yankees Manager Ralph Houk was unhappy with Ramos for his overall playing attitude and pitching over-weight . In another CBS, Inc. Management ordered veteran players salary dumps, Pedro would be traded on December 10,1966 by the Yankees to the Phillies for P Joe Verbanic and Cash. He would pitch in MLB from 1955-1970, with the original Senators, Twins, Indians, Yankees, Phillies, Pirates, Reds, Dodgers and the 1970 Senators. Overall, Pedro Ramos, who started out a Starter, then he became a successful Reliever. He would finish his MLB Pitching career with a 117-160 record along with a 4.08 ERA in 582 games. As an MLB Reliever, he had posted a 35-31 record with 55 saves.

1943-At Fenway Park, a crowd of 3,212 fans watched the Red Sox lose to the Yankees by the score of 5-0. Yankees Starter Tiny Bonham throws a complete game shutout, while picking up his 1st victory of the 1943 AL season. Red Sox Starter Joe Dobson takes the loss, he is now 0-2 for the season. Bombers hitting attack was led by C Bill Dickey, INF George Stirnweiss, 1B Nick Etten and OF Johnny Lindell. The Yankees are now 4-1 for the 1943 AL season.

1950-The Yankees would sell OF Richard Wakefield to the White Sox as part of a deal which brought Pitcher Joe Ostrowski to the AA Kansas City Blues (AA), the Yankees top AA farm club. This touched off the great Wakefield controversy, because he refused to report to the White Sox, unless they gave him a $5,000 bonus in lieu of the 1950 World Series share that he expected to earn with the Yankees. Wakefield claimed that the Yankees had convinced him to sign for the 1950 season for $17,500, $5,000 less than he had been receiving with his 1949 club, the Tigers, by “guarantying him a World Series share.” The White Sox relying on a guarantee of their own that the Yankees cancelled the deal, they refused to return P Joe Ostrowski; nor would they pay Wakefield’s salary. The 2 teams appeal to MLB Commissioner Albert “Happy” Chandler, who ruled in favor of the White Sox and cancelled the deal. On June 15,1950, the Yankees would finally obtain P Joe Ostrowski in trade with the Browns.

1953-A terrific brawl breaks out at Sportmans’ Park in St. Louis during the 10th inning of a Yankees-Browns game. Six players are fined a total of $850, an AL record up to that date. The Yankees and a former Yankees player, now the Browns Catcher Clint “Scraps” Courtney had been carrying a personal war of his own over the past 2-seasons. Clint had been traded away by the Yankees in 1951. In the top of the 10th inning, the Yankees took the lead 7-6, when Yankees base-runner Gil McDougald bowled over Courtney at home plate, as he scored the go-ahead run. In retaliation, Courtney slid into Yankees Shortstop Phil Rizzuto with “spikes up” in what the Yankees viewed a deliberate attempt to injured a player, especially because Courtney was trying to stretch a single into a double, he was a dead out at 2B. So, both of the team benches cleared, Umpire John Stevens suffered a dislocated collarbone, while attempting to separate the players, who were involved in the fighting. When peace was finally restored, the St. Louis fans had littered the playing field with garbage, causing a 17-minute game delay and near forfeit of the game. Browns Catcher Clint Courtney was fined $250, along with his teammate, INF Billy Hunter, who was fined $150. The following Yankee players were fined for being involved in the fighting: INF Billy Martin $150, INF Gil McDougald $100, 1B Joe Collins $100 and Pitcher Allie Reynolds $100, who actually punched out Courtney, not his Yankees teammate INF Billy Martin.

1962-At Washington’s D.C. Stadium, a crowd of 9,296 fans watched a Saturday afternoon game with the Senators playing the Yankees. Bronx Starter Ralph Terry throws a complete game victory by allowing only 6 Nats hits, 3 runs and 3 strikeouts. Terry improves his 1962 pitching record to 4-1 mark. Senators Starter Claude Osteen takes the loss, he is now 0-3 for the 1962 AL season. Yankees batters Hector Lopez and Roger Maris hit solo HR shots, while 3B Clete Boyer hits a 3-run HR for the Bombers. The Yankees are now 8-5 for the 1962 AL season.

1972-The Yankees had purchased Pitcher Jim Roland from Oakland A's on waivers. He had a 10-season MLB pitching record of 19-16. Jim would go 0-1 with a 5.04 ERA in 16 games for the Yankees before being traded to the Rangers for veteran Reliever Casey Cox on August 30,1972. To make room for Roland, the Yankees would send down young Reliever Alan Closter to their AAA club, the Syracuse Chiefs (IL).

1980-Former Yankees Pitcher Bob Porterfield (1948-1951) had passed away. (1923-1980).
In 1946, the Yankees had originally signed Pitcher Bob Porterfield. He had posted a 17-9 record with the 1947 Class B Norfolk Tars (PL). In 1948 with the AA Newark Bears (IL), Bob had recorded a 15-6 record. He would lead the International League with 2.17 ERA. On August 8,1948, at the age of 24, he made his MLB Pitching debut in the Bronx. He showed some promise in his rookie season by posting a 5-3 record with a 4.50 ERA in 78 innings of work. Although, he walked 34 and struck out only 30 batters, he threw only 1 wild pitch in that time, so his control must not have been too much of a concern. He would spend the next couple seasons with the Yankees, never playing a full season with them. He spent parts of the 1951-1952 seasons with the AAA Kansas City Blues (AA). Bob Porterfield had an overall an 8-11 record with Yankees, while trying to pitch with back problems. On June 15,1951, Bob was traded by the Yankees along with Reliever Tom Ferrick and Starter Fred Sanford to the Senators for veteran P Bob “Sarge” Kuzava. He would bounce back from back troubles, while with the Senators winning 13, 22, 13 and 10 games each AL season, after being traded away by the Yankees. His trade was a rare Yankees mistake made by GM George Weiss. In 1952, he would post a mediocre 13-14 record for the Nats, but he did record a solid 2.72 ERA, which was good for 7th in the AL. In 1953, he led the AL with 22 wins. Bob was 10th in the AL with a 3.35 ERA. He was 7th in the AL in MVP Award voting. Bob was named the "The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year.” He had led the AL with 24 complete games and 9 shutouts, also he was also involved in a triple play on May 22nd. He threw two 1-hitters during the 1953 season. Oddly, he did not get selected to the 1953 AL All-Star game. In fact, 1954 was the season, that he went to the MLB All-Star game. He had posted a mediocre 13-15 record, leading the AL Pitchers in hits allowed with 249. He did lead the AL in complete games with 21, but obviously 1953 was far more All-Star worthy than 1954. In his appearance in the 1954 MLB All-Star Game, he would allow a HR to Reds slugger Ted Kluszewski. After his 3 successful seasons in which he averaged a record of 15-13, that he had posted a cumulative 3.14 ERA, his MLB pitching career quickly spiraled downward. His 10-17 pitching record with a 4.45 ERA in 1955, prompted the Senators to trade him to the Red Sox on November 8,1955. His pitching performance did not improve, while pitching with Boston. In fact, in just over 2 seasons with the team, he had recorded a 7-16 record with a 4.65 ERA. After pitching only 2 games with the 1958 Red Sox, the Pirates would purchase him. He actually did fairly well with the 1958 Pirates in 37 appearances (only 6 starts), he posted a less-than-stellar 4-6 record, but his ERA was a solid 3.29. Also, he surrenders only 78 hits in 87+ innings with the Bucs. He had started off the 1959 NL season with the Pirates, pitching 6 games with them, while posting a small ERA of 1.69. Nevertheless, the Pirates would release him, then the Cubs would pick him up; he would appear in 4 games, while posting an 11.37 ERA in that time. The Pirates would select him off waivers from the Cubs. This 2nd tour with the 1959 Bucs wasn't so successful. In 30 relief appearances, he had posted a 1-2 record with a 4.75 ERA. On September 9,1959, he pitched his MLB final game. Two days after the 1959 NL season had ended, he was released by the Bucs. Overall, Porterfield had posted an 87-97 MLB Pitching career record with a 3.79 ERA in 318 games in 1,567+ innings of work. In 1960-1961, Bob would pitch in the Senators-Twins Minor League system at AAA level before retiring from baseball.

1985-The Yankees had hired former Manager Billy Martin as their skipper for a 4th time. The fiery Martin, one of George Steinbrenner's favorite managers, replaces Yankees fans favorite Yogi Berra, who is fired after only 16 games into the 1985 AL season. George had promised that Yogi would be the Yankees Manager for the entire 1985 AL season. The reaction by the fans and the sports media was very negative; the Yankee players felt that it was their fault for the team’s poor playing performance, not Yogi’s managing efforts. Yogi Berra will stay away from Yankees organization for many years because of George’s action. He will become an MLB Coach for the Astros. One of the lowest points of the 1980’s lost decade marred by George’s poor baseball management decisions. Yogi Berra would stay away from the Yankees for over a decade, before the 2 men finally reached an agreement, which included a huge cash donation by George to Berra’s Baseball Museum located in Montclair, NJ

1989-At a Friday night game played at Yankee Stadium, a crowd of 26,984 fans watched Yankees LF Rickey Henderson set a MLB record, when he led off a game with a HR for the 36th time in his MLB player career, breaking a tie with former MLB All-Star OF Bobby Bonds. The White Sox Starter Shawn Hillegas gives up the HR, plus 2 more Yankee runs in the game, as the Bronx Bombers beat the White Sox by the score of 3-1. Yankees Starter Andy Hawkins gets the win, he is now 3-2 for the season, while Closer Dave Righetti picks up his 4th save of the season. Chicago Slugger Harold Baines hits a solo HR for the White Sox’s only run of the game.

1990-The Yankees had traded OF Luis Polonia to the Angels for OF Claudell Washington and Pitcher Rich Monteleone. For the 1989 Yankees, Luis had hit .313 in 66 games. Washington was happy to return to the Bronx. He only hit .162 in 33 games for the team, while he was dealing with a hand injury. Rich Monteleone went 2-2 in 24 games for the 1989 Angels. The Yankees would send him to their AAA club, the Columbus Clippers (IL). He would be a Reliever for the AAA Clippers.

1996-Former Yankees Minor League P Al Hollingsworth had passed away. (1908-1996)
On July 13,1939, Pitcher Al Hollingsworth was traded by the Phillies to the Yankees for INF Roy Hughes, who was playing for the AA Newark Bears (IL). On June 13,1939, Roy had been obtained by the Yankees from the St. Louis Browns for OF Joe Gallagher. Al never appears with the Yankees at the MLB level. He was sent down by the team to the AA Newark Bears (IL), where he would appear in 8 games, while posting a 1-2 record with a 6.88 ERA. On August 12,1939, Al was purchased by the Dodgers from the Yankees. With the 1939 Dodgers, he went 1-2 with a 5.27 ERA in 8 games. Al would finish his MLB Pitching career with a 70-104 record along with a 3.99 ERA and 15 saves in 315 games. Later, he would become a Minor league Manager for the Cardinals and Indians organizations.

2001-Current Yankees Shortstop Anthony Volpe (2023-2024) was born.
Shortstop Anthony Volpe was drafted by the Yankees in the 1st round (30th) of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Delbarton School (Morristown, NJ). He was assigned to the 2019 Class A Pulaski Yankees (AL). Volpe would appear in 34 games for the team, while hitting .215 with 2 HRs and 11 RBIs. In 2020, he did not play Minor League baseball due to the season being cancel for the Coronavirus Pandemic. He has received an invitations to the Yankees 2020-2022 MLB Spring Training Camps. For the 2022 Minor League season, he had played for the AA Somerset Patriots (EL). In 2023 Yankees MLB Spring Training Camp, he made the 26-man MLB roster. He was named the 2023 James P. Dawson Award winner for his excellent spring performance in camp. He won the 2023 Yankees starting shortstop. In his MLB rookie season, he would hit .208 with 21 HRs and 60 RBIs in 159 game. He won a Golden Glove for AL shortstops.

2006-Former Yankees Reliever Steve Howe (1991-1996) had passed away from injuries suffered in an auto accident. (1958-2006)
In 1991, the Yankees had signed the former Dodgers Reliever Steve Howe as an MLB Free Agent. Steve went 18-10 with a 3.57 ERA and 31 saves in 229 games as a Yankees Relief Pitcher from 1991-1996. Howe had pitched in the MLB for 12 seasons finishing with a 47-41 record with a 3.30 ERA in 497 games with 91 games. He had appeared in the 1981 World Series with the Dodgers against the Yankees. He went 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 3 games. He had appeared in 2 games with no decisions in the 1995 ALCS with the Yankees. Steve had pitched for the Dodgers, Twins, Rangers and the Yankees during his 12-season MLB Pitching career.

2007-Former Yankees Reserve OF Archie Wilson (1951-1952) had passed away.(1923-2007)
In 1947, the Yankees had signed OF Archie Wilson, as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He had served in the military during World War II. Then he had attended Univ. of Ca. for 3 years. Archie had won the 1951 International League MVP Award, after hitting .316 with 28 HRs with 112 RBIs for the AA Buffalo Bisons. For the 1951-1952, Yankees Archie had only played in 7 games, while hitting just .162. On May 3,1952, Wilson was traded by the Yankees along with OF Jackie Jensen, P Spec Shea and INF Jerry Snyder to the Senators for Outfielders Irv Noren and Tom Upton. On June 9,1952, he was traded by the Senators to the Red Sox for OF Ken Wood. He would finish his MLB playing career with the 1952 Red Sox. Overall, Archie Wilson had appeared in 57 MLB games, while hitting .221. He would play at the AAA level in the Minor Leagues for the next 10 seasons. He finished his active playing career in the Minor Leagues in 1960 at the age of 36, finishing with a Minor League record of .303 BA along with 194 HRs, while playing in 1,734 games. Later, he would manage in the Minor Leagues from 1961-1963.

2013-At Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers completed their 4-game sweep of the Blue Jays with a 3-2 win. All 4 Yankees wins are come-from-behind, with today's being highlighted by a 2-run HR by Lyle Overbay in the 7th inning. Blue Jays Ace R.A. Dickey; still complaining of a stiff neck and back falls to a 2-4 record for the 2013 AL season. He will undergo an MRI to find the source of the persisting discomfort. Yankees hurler Phil Hughes starts the game, gets a no-decision, while Reliever Boone Logan gets the win, Bronx Closer Mo Rivera gets his 9th save for the season. Yankees Reserve OF Breennan Boesch hits a solo HR in the game.

2017-Trailing by the score of 9-1 against the Orioles in the 6th inning, the Yankees mount a tremendous comeback to pull off a 14-11 win. Yankees DH Matt Holiday ends the game with a 3-run walk-off HR off of Orioles Reliever Jayson Aquino in the 10th inning, the 8th HR of the game. The Yankees had tied the score in the 9th inning on Starlin Castro's 2-run HR blast off of Orioles Reliever Brad Brach. Each team hits a Grand Slam HR with Mark Trumbo doing so for the O's, while CF Jacoby Ellsbury hits one for the Yankees. For his part, Yankees Rookie OF Aaron Judge goes deep twice for the Bronx Bombers, meanwhile Orioles hitters Manny Machado and Welington Castillo would reply for Baltimore. The 2 teams are now tied for the lead in the AL East at 14-7 records, but the Orioles will quickly sink in the standings to finish in last place in the AL Eastern Division.

2020-Former Yankees MLB Coach and Minor League Manager and Ed Napoleon had passed away. (1937-2020)
Ed Napoleon was a Yankees MLB Coach (1992-1993) and Minor League Manager and Coach. Before joining the Yankees organization in 1976, he had been working with the Pirates Minor League system. In 1976, he was the Class A Oneonta Yankees Manager; then he was moved to Manage the 1977 Class A Fort Lauderdale Yankees (FSL). In 1978, he was a AAA Tacoma Yankees Coach and in 1979, he was a AA West Haven Yankees Coach and the 1980-1982 AA Nashville Sounds (SA) Coach. Then Ed would work for other MLB organizations. He would return to the Yankees as one of their MLB Coaches for the 1992-1993 AL seasons. He would leave the organization again, working for other MLB teams before retiring in 2002. Ed would return to work for the Reds in 2002-2004, as a Special Instructor.

April 29th

1879-Former Yankees Pitcher Frank “Noodles” Hahn (1906) was born. (1879-1960)
In November of 1905, Pitcher Frank “Noodles’ Hahn was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Highlanders. He had pitched for the 1899-1905 Reds, while posting a 127-92 record with a 2.52 ERA in 237 games. In 1906, Hahn will post a 3-2 record with a 3.86 ERA in 6 games for the Yankees in his last active season in MLB.

1883-Former Yankees Pitcher Walter “Rube” Manning (1907-1910) was born. (1883-1930)
On July 18,1907, Pitcher Rube Manning was purchased by the Yankees from Williamsport (TSL). Rube had posted 21-17 and 16-9 records for the 1906-1907 seasons for Williamsport. Walter "Rube" Manning would pitch 4 seasons for the 1907-1910 Highlanders. He never had a winning record, but then the team was under .500 in 1907-1909. In particular, when Manning went 13-16 in 1908, the team record was 51-103. His final Yankees Pitching record was a 22-23 mark with a 3.14 ERA in 84 games. On August 24,1910, Rube was purchased by AA Rochester (EL) from the Yankees. Manning will pitch in the Minor Leagues until 1917, finishing with a 127-95 record in 246 games.

1888-Former Yankees Reserve INF Ernie Johnson (1923-1925) was born. (1888-1952)
On May 31,1923, INF Ernie Johnson was selected off waivers by the Yankees from the White Sox. As a Reserve INF, he had appeared in 159 games for the Yankees. He had appeared in the 1923 World Series against the Giants. On October 28,1925, the Yankees would send INF Ernie Johnson to AA St. Paul Saints (AA) to complete an earlier deal made on May 29,1925. On May 29,1925, the Yankees sent a Player to be Named Later, C Fred Hofmann, 1B/P/PH Oscar Roettger and $50,000 Cash to St. Paul Saints (AA) for INF Mark Koenig. As a Minor League Manager, Ernie Johnson would manage in the PCL with the 1920 Salt Lake City Bees, 1926-1928 Portland Beavers and the 1929-1932 Seattle Indians. Then he was an MLB Scout for the Red Sox from 1933 until his passing in 1952. Ernie’s son Don had played in the MLB with the 1943-1948 Cubs, as a 2B.

1906-The Yankees had acquired OF Danny Hoffman from Philadelphia Athletics for the MLB player contract rights of Outfielder Dave Fultz, who had retired after the 1905 AL season to practice Law. The A’s Manager Connie Mack was unable to lure Fultz back to playing again. Danny Hoffman had hit .261 for the 1905 A’s and lead the AL in stolen bases with 46. With the 1906 Yankees, Danny would hit .256 with No HRs with 23 RBIs and 32 stolen bases in 100 games.

1914-Former Yankees Pitcher Marv Breuer (1939-1943) was born. (1914-1991)
On May 4,1939, Pitcher Marv Breuer made his MLB Pitching debut with the Yankees appearing in 1 game with no decisions. He would spend the rest of the 1939 season with the AA Kansas City Blues (AA). He would lead the AA with a 2.28 ERA helping his team to win the league championship with a 17-6 record. Marv would spend the next 4 seasons (1940-1943) back with the Bronx Bombers, building a 25-26 record with a 4.03 ERA in 86 games. His best season came in 1941, when he posted a 9-7 record with a 4.09 ERA in 26 games. His final game with the Yankees and in pro baseball came on August 28,1943. He did appear in 2 World Series with the Yankees (1941-1942) pitching in 2 games with no record. During his 6-season Minor League run, Breuer had 4 double-digit winning seasons. The 1st came in 1935 with the Class C Joplin Miners (WA), when he went 14-14 for a last-place team. In 1936, Marv had an 18-9 record in the Class A NYPL that helped his team, the Binghamton Triplets to the League Championship. In 1938, he went 12-12 for the 2nd-place AA Kansas City Blues, helping his club to the American Association Playoff Title, then he topped this off with the above-mentioned 17-6 record in 1939. After the 1943 AL season, Marv Breuer left pro baseball with a 75-69 Minor League record in 196 games. His Yankees career pitching stats show a 25-26 record with a 4.03 ERA and 3 saves in 86 games. In 1935, Breuer had received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. After his pro baseball career was over, he would work for the U.S. Geological Survey for 31 years, before retiring in 1976.

1923-The Yankees had signed 20-year-old College Baseball prospect 1B Lou Gehrig to a contract paying him a salary of $2,000 and a signing bonus of $1,500. Yankees MLB Scout Paul Krichell had watched the Columbia Univ. Baseball star blast a 450-foot HR against their rivals NYU, 1 day earlier.

1929-Former Yankees Pitcher Mickey McDermott (1956) was born. (1929-2003)
In 1946, Mickey McDermott went 16-6 with a 3.29 ERA for the Scranton Red Sox; he threw 2 no-hitters during the course of the season (including 1 in the playoffs). He would reach the MLB with the 1948 Red Sox, while appearing in 7 games out of the bullpen. On May 24,1949, while pitching for the AA Louisville Colonels (AA), he had struck out 20 batters in a game against the St. Paul Saints. On February 8,1956, Mickey Dermott was traded by the Senators along with INF Bobby Kline to the Yankees for a Player to be Named Later, C Lou Berberet, INF Herb Plews, OF Richard Tettelbach and P Bob Wiesler. The Yankees would later send Minor League OF Whitey Herzog on April 2,1956 to the Senators to complete the trade. Mickey had appeared in Game #2 of the 1956 World Series against the Dodgers, pitching 3 innings with no record. He had posted a 2-6 record with a 4.24 ERA in 23 games for the 1956 Yankees. On February 19,1957, he was traded by the Yankees along with a Player to be Named Later, Pitchers Rip Coleman and Tom Morgan, Infielders Milt Graff and Billy Hunter, OF Irv Noren to the Kansas City A’s for Players to be Named later, Infielders Wayne Belardi and Jack McMahan, Pitchers Bobby Shantz and Art Ditmar. On April 5,1957, the Yankees would send P Jack Urban to the A’s to complete the trade. On April 4,1957, the A’s would send INF Curt Roberts. The A’s, then would send Rookie INF Clete Boyer on June 4,1957 to the Yankees to complete the trade. Overall, Mickey McDermott had pitched 12 seasons in the MLB. His best MLB season came with the 1953 Red Sox, when he had a 18-10 record along with a 3.01 ERA. Although a Pitcher, McDermott had an MLB BA of .252. He was used frequently as a Pinch-Hitter by his MLB Managers, getting 127 at-bats in that role.

1933-In a strange play at home plate, Senators Catcher Luke Sewell tags out 2 Yankees runners on the same play. Lou Gehrig had held up, thinking a fly ball would be caught. Yankees base-runner Dixie Walker closes up on him; Sewell tags both Yankee runners out while trying to score.

1938-The Yankees stage their 1st Ladies Day promotion at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees would nip the Red Sox by the score of 6-4. Yankees AL All-Star 1B Lou Gehrig singled twice and moved his consecutive-games played streak to 1,977 games.

1939-The Senators would beat the Yankees by the score of 3-1. Ken Chase pitches a complete game victory for the Nats. The Senators would jump on Yankees Starter Lefty Gomez for 3 runs in the 1st inning. Gomez takes the loss; he is now 1-1 for the 1939 AL season. Yankees RF Joe Gallagher knocks in the only run for the Yankees. A crowd of 11,473 fans had attended the game.

1946-The Yankees had sold OF Russ Derry to the Philadelphia A’s. He had a successful Minor League career in the Yankees organization. He would join the team in 1944, when the Yankees outfield stars had joined the military for their wartime service. In 1944-1945, he had hit .234 with 17 HRs and 59 RBIs, while playing in 116 games. With the team stars returning from the military in 1946, the Yankees wanted to send him to their AAA club, the Newark Bears (IL), but he refused to report. The Philadelphia A’s Team Owner/Manager Connie Mack had contacted the Yankees Farm Director George Weiss about a trade for Derry and they agreed to it.

1946-The Yankees had released OF Tuck Stainback, another one of the Yankees Wartime Outfielders. Tuck had joined the Yankees in August of 1942. Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy had used him as a Reserve OF, he had hit .252 with 5 HRs and 47 RBIs in 211 games for the team. Also, he would be picked-up by the Philadelphia A’s. He would play in 91 games for the 1946 A’s, while hitting .244 with No HRs and 20 RBIs in his last active season as an MLB player.

1950-At a Saturday game played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., draws a crowd of 12,688 fans to watch the Yankees defeat the Senators by the score of 6-2. Yankees Starter Allie Reynolds throws a complete game victory. As “Super Chief” allows just 6 Nats hits, 2 runs, while striking out 5 Senators batters. Nats Starter Ray Scarborough takes a complete game loss by allowing 10 Yankee hits and 6 runs. Joe DiMaggio leads the Bronx Bombers hitting attack with a triple that drives in 2 runs. The 1950 Yankees are now at 6-4 mark for the season.

1966-Former Yankees OF/DH Jon Vander Wal (2002) was born.
On December 13, 2001, OF Jon Vander Wal was traded by the Giants to the Yankees for Reliever Jay Witasick. John Vander Wal will hit .260 with 6 HRs and 23 RBIs in 84 games for the Yankees during the 2002 AL season, before leaving the team as MLB Free Agent in the fall. He would be signed by the 2003 Brewers. After retiring as an active player, John Vander Wal was an MLB Scout for the Padres. Later, he would move to the Tigers organization as a Minor League Coach with the 2018-2019 West Michigan Whitecaps.

1969-Former Yankees Pitcher Edward “Peck” Monroe (1917-1918) had passed away.(1885-1969)
On September 15,1916, Pitcher Ed “Peck” Monroe was drafted by the Yankees from Class A Memphis Chickasaws (SA) in the 1916 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. With the 1917-1918 Yankees, he would appear in 10 games, while posting a 1-0 record with a 3.52 ERA and 1 save. Ed had 1 complete game along with 1 save in his short Yankees pitching career. He would pitch in the Minor Leagues from 1919 to 1920 before retiring from the game.

1971-Former Yankees Pitcher Sterling Hitchcock (1992-1995, 2002-2003) was born.
Sterling Hitchcock was selected in the 9th round of the 1989 MLB Amateur Player Draft by the Yankees. For the 1992-1995 Yankees, he went 16-16 in 59 games. In 1995, he had a 11-10 record with a 4.70 ERA with 4 complete games for the Yankees. The Yankees front office felt that he wasn’t going to be a big game pitcher, so they decided to keep Andy Pettitte instead, who had posted a 12-9 record in 1995. On December 7,1995, he was traded by the Yankees along with INF Russ Davis to the Mariners for 1B Tino Martinez, Pitchers Jim Mecir and Jeff Nelson. On July 30, 2001, Hitchcock was traded by the Padres to the Yankees for MLB P Brett Jodie and Minor League P Darren Blakely. In 2001, he was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees, he would stay with the team until August 22, 2003, when he was traded to the Cardinals for 2 Minor League Pitchers: Justin Pope and Ben Julinard. In his last stint with the Yankees, he had posted a 6-9 record. Overall, as a Yankees hurler Sterling had posted a 22-24 record with a 5.15 ERA and 2 saves in 116 games. As an MLB Pitcher, he would finish his pitching career by posting a 77-76 record with a 4.80 ERA and 3 saves in 281 games. He had appeared in the 1998 World Series with the Padres against the Yankees. In 2001, with the Yankees against the Diamondbacks, he had appeared in 2 games with a 1-0 record.

1975-Yankees 1B Bob Oliver sets an AL record by participating in 6 double plays in a 9-inning game.

1977-Pitcher Ron Guidry gets his 1st starting assignment of the 1977 AL season as he blanks the Mariners by a score of 3-0, with late inning relief help from Closer Sparky Lyle. Yankees Catcher Thurman Munson hits a 2-run HR. The victory pulled the Yankees into 2nd place in the AL East.

1978-Former Yankees Minor League P Tony Armas Jr. was born.
In 1994, Pitcher Tony Armas Jr. was signed an MLB Amateur Free Agent by the Yankees, but he never appeared with the Yankees at the MLB level. On August 13,1997, Tony was traded by the Yankees along with a Player to be Named Later to the Red Sox for Minor League INF Randy Brown and MLB C/DH/1B Mike Stanley. On September 29, 1997, the Yankees would send P Jim Mecir to the Red Sox to complete the trade. Tony Armas Jr. was the son of former MLB OF Tony Armas. As an MLB Pitcher, he would go 53-65 with a 4.65 ERA in 185 games. During his MLB pitching career, he had pitched for the Expos, Nationals, Pirates and the Mets.

1980-The Yankees had signed Reliever Doug Bird as an MLB Free Agent. On April 4,1980, Doug had been released by the Phillies. The Yankees would send him to their AAA team, the Columbus Clippers (IL), where he went 6-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 2 saves in 15 games. They would recall him later that season to work out of their bullpen. Doug would appear in 22 games for the 1980 Yankees, while posting a 3-0 record with 2.66 ERA and 1 save in 22 games.

1985-Former Yankees Reserve OF Chad Huffman (2010) was born.
Chad Huffman was selected off waivers from the Padres by the Yankees at the end of 2010 MLB Spring Training Camp. He had started the season at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL) , then Chad got his 1st look at the MLB in early June, when the Yankees were hit by a rash of injuries to position players and they had to strengthen their bench. He was hitting .279 in 53 games at the time of his call-up. With the Yankees, he went 3 for 18 for a .167 BA with No HRs and 2 RBIs in 9 games. He would finish out his season at AAA Scranton by hitting .274 in 104 games. On September 10, 2010, Chad was selected by the Indians on waivers from the Yankees.

1995-A Saturday afternoon game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, a crowd of 14,321 fans watched the Yankees defeat the Royals by the score of 10-3. Yankees Starter Melido Perez picks up the win with help from the Yankees bullpen. The Yankees would score 5 runs in the last 2 innings of the game to widen their lead to the final 10-3 score. Royals Starter Tom Gordon takes the loss by going only 4 innings; while giving up 5 Yankee runs allowing 4 Hits, issuing 5 walks with 3 strikeouts. Yankees Catcher Jim Leyritz hits a solo HR, while his Bronx teammates 3B Wade Boggs and RF Paul O’Neill drive in 5 runs.

2014-Former Yankees All-Star 2B Robinson Cano returns to New Yankee Stadium for the 1st time since leaving the Yankees as a MLB Free Agent during the off-season and signing a 10-year contract with the Seattle Mariners. He contributes an RBI to the Mariners' 6-3 win over the Yankees. Mike Zunino collects 4 hits for the 1st time of his MLB playing career and Mariners Pitcher Chris Young records his 1st win in 20 months.

2023-The Yankees have optioned veteran OF Franchy Cordero to AAA Scranton. He had hit .151 with 4 HRs and 11 RBIs in 18 games with the team. Then club would move veteran Reliever Lou Trivino to the 60-Day IL. The Yankees have purchased the Minor League player contract of 1B/OF Jake Bauers, who was hitting .304 with 9 HRs and 20 RBIs in 21 games at AAA Scranton. Overall, for the 2023 Yankees, Cordero would in 24 games for the team, while hitting .188 with 6 HRs and 13 RBIs. In November of 2023, the club would grant him free agency.

April 30th

1903-The New York Highlanders had won their 1903 AL home opener at Hilltop Park by the score of 6-2 over the Senators. A crowd of 16,293 fans had watched the game. Jack Chesbro was the winning pitcher. Veteran MLB OF Wee “Willie” Keeler made the 1st Highlanders home game hit, a single in the 1st inning. He went to 2nd base on an error, and then he scored the 1st Highlanders home field run on a double by Jimmy Williams.

1907-Former Yankees Pitcher Walter “Jumbo” Brown (1932-1937) was born. (1907-1966)
Walter “Jumbo” Brown went 19-16 with a 4.74 ERA and 2 saves in 80 games with the Yankees before being sold to the Reds in June of 1937. He was nicknamed “Jumbo”, because he stood at 6’4” and weighted 295 lbs. Brown’s MLB Pitching career had started in 1925 with the Cubs. He had pitched for the Cubs, Indians, Yankees, Reds before finishing up with the 1941 Giants. He was NL Saves leader during the 1940-1941 seasons. His final MLB Pitching career totals was a 33-31 record with a 4.07 ERA and 28 saves in 249 games.

1923-At Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., a crowd of 5,000 fans watch a Monday day game between the Senators and the Yankees. The Yankees would chase Nats Starter Cy Warmoth and Reliever Allen Russell for 8 runs. Then Nats Reliever Slim McGrew allows 9 more runs to the Bronx Bombers, making the game’s final score of 17-4. Yankees Starter Sad Sam Jones picks-up his 3rd victory of the 1923 AL season by throwing a complete game; allowing the Nats only 4 runs and 10 hits. OF Bob Meusel hits a solo HR and a double for the Bombers. Yankee hitters OF Babe Ruth, 1B Wally Pip, 2B Aaron Ward and Pitcher Sam Jones, each hit doubles in the game. The 1923 Yankees are now 8-4 for the season.

1936-A Thursday day game played at Yankee Stadium between the Indians and the Yankees; fans see the Bombers beat the Tribe by the score of 8-1. Bronx Starter Monte Pearson throws a complete game win against his old team, the Indians. He only gives up 1 Tribe run with 4 Hits and 4 strikeouts. Former Yankees Starter Johnny Allen, how with the Indians takes the loss by allowing 4 Yankee runs on 9 hits. He is now 2-1 for the 1936 AL season. On December 11,1935, Pitchers Monte Pearson and Steve Sundra were traded by the Tribe for Yankees Starter Johnny Allen. The Yankees are now 10-5 for the 1936 AL season.

1939-At Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig plays his last game in Yankee pinstripes, batting 5th in the Yankees starting lineup going 0 for 4 at the plate, with 3 flyouts and 1 ground ball. A Stadium crowd of 23,712 fans see on a Sunday game afternoon, as the Senators beat the Yankees by the score of 3-2, ending their current homestand and heading out to Detroit’s Briggs Stadium to start a 2-games series on May 2,1939. During this time off, Lou Gehrig will make his decision to stop playing; he will tell Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy on May 2,1939 to take him out of the Yankees starting line-up ending his MLB consecutive game streak at 2,139 games.

1940-Former Yankees OF Patsy Dougherty (1904-1906) had passed away. (1876-1940)
On June 17,1904, OF Patsy Dougherty was traded by the Boston Americans (aka Red Sox) to the Highlanders for INF Bob Unglaub. For the 1904-1906, Yankees Patsy will hit .269 with 9 HRs and 55 RBIs in 234 games. On June 6,1906, Patsy was purchased by the White Sox from the Yankees.

1946-At Yankee Stadium before a crowd of 38,112 fans for a Tuesday day game, Indians Starter Bob Feller had struck out 11 Yankee batters and pitched his 2nd of 3 MLB career No-Hitters and his 1st since returning from a 3½-year stint in the Navy during World War II. Feller would defeat the Yankees by the score of 1-0 on Frankie Hayes' HR in the 9th inning. Bronx Starter Floyd Bevens took the complete game loss, dropping to a 1-1 record for the 1946 AL season.

1953-At Chicago’s Comiskey Park, Yankees Starter Whitey Ford picks-up his 1st win of the 1953 AL season. As the Yankees down the White Sox by the score of 6-1. Ford throws a complete game, while allowing only 1 Chicago run with 8 hits and 4 strikeouts. Former Yankee farmhand Gene Bearden takes the loss for the Pale Hose, who is now at 1-1. Bronx Outfielders Mickey Mantle and Bill Renna lead the Yankees hitting attack by hitting HRs. A crowd of 7,656 fans watched the Thursday game played in Chicago.

1960-At Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, a crowd of 13,267 fans attend a Saturday game between the Orioles and the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers flex their bats with a 16-0 rout of the hometown Birds. The Yankees hitters Roger Maris hits a 2-run HR, while Bill Skowron and Bobby Richardson hit solo HRs in the game. Mickey Mantle goes 2 for 4, including a triple and 3 RBIs. Yankees Starter Jim Coates picks-up his 3rd victory of the 1960 AL season. He throws a complete game shutout, allowing only 8 Orioles hits, 3 walks with 4 strikeouts. Birds Starter Milt Pappas is chased for 6 Yankees runs by allowing 5 Yankee hits and 3 walks; he takes the loss. The Orioles bullpen doesn’t stop the bleeding, their 5 relievers allow more 10 Yankees runs in the game. The Yankees are now 6-4 for the 1960 AL season.

1978-A Sunday afternoon game at Metropolitan Stadium, the Twins would host the Yankees. A crowd of 13,929 fans watched as the Yankees edge the Twins by the score of 3-2. Yankees Starter Ron Guidry gives up only 3 Twins hits, allowing only 2 Runs, while striking out 7 batters, gets the no decision. Yankees Closer Rich Gossage throws 2 scoreless innings of Relief, he gets the win; he is now 1-3 for the season. Twins Starter Roger Erickson picks up a no decision. Twins Reliever Mac Scarce gets the loss by allowing the winning run. Yankee hitters OF Reggie Jackson (1 RBI) and 1B Chris Chambliss (2 RBIs) led the Yankees hitting attack.

1980-The Yankees had sold veteran MLB Pitcher Jim Kaat to the Cardinals. He had gone 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA with 4 saves in 4 relief appearances this season. After being purchased from the Phillies on May 11,1979, as a Yankees Reliever, he would post a 2-3 record with a 3.86 ERA and 2 saves in 40 games.

1988-Bronx All-Star OF Dave Winfield drove in his 28th and 29th runs of the 1988 AL season in the Yankees 15-3 rout of the Rangers, tying the MLB record for the most RBI’s in April.

1989-The Blue Jays had acquired young Pitcher Al Leiter from the Yankees in exchange for veteran OF Jesse Barfield. From 1987-1989, Al Leiter had pitched for the Yankees, while posting a 7-8 record in 22 games. He will miss most of the next 4 AL seasons due to arm injuries, but he will contribute significantly to the Blue Jays' World Championship in 1993, by winning 9 of 15 decisions as a spot starter and long reliever. For the 1989-1992, Yankees Veteran AL OF Jesse Barfield will appear in 396 games, while hitting .231 with 62 HRs with 189 RBIs. He will never regain his previous hitting form that he had with the Blue Jays for the Yankees. Also, his defensive skills in the Outfield had declined greatly. The Yankees will release him at the end of 1992 AL season.

1997-Yankees 1B Tino Martinez, who got off to a painfully slow start with the Yankees in 1996, he would finished April of 1997 with 34 RBIs to set a MLB record for the month of April.

1999-About 3,000 fans wearing T-shirts that said, "$hare the wealth" protested MLB Baseball economics at the Yankees-Royals game at Kauffman Stadium. The protesters turned their backs when the Yankees batted, then they walked out during the 4th inning. The Yankees began the season with baseball's top payroll at $85.05 million, and the Royals were 25th at $23.8 million.

2019-Veteran All-Star Bronx Starter CC Sabathia strikes out his former Yankees teammate, Catcher John Ryan Murphy in a game against the Diamondbacks for his 3,000 MLB Strike out, but he loses the game. The Veteran MLB Starter CC Sabathia is now the 17th member of the 3,000 MLB Strikeout Club, he becomes just the 3rd lefty to do it in MLB history to perform this feat.

May 1st

1913-The Yankees had released hurler Chester “Red” Hoff. For the 1911-1913 Yankees, he had posted a 0-2 record with a 3.89 ERA in 12 games. In 1915, he will return to pitch in the MLB with the St. Louis Browns, while posting a 2-2 record with a 1.24 ERA in 11 games.

1920-At the Polo Grounds, Yankees OF Babe Ruth hit his 50th MLB career HR, the 1st HR for the Yankees in the 6-0 win over the Red Sox. Ruth’s HR cleared the roof in RF of the Polo Grounds, a hitting feat matched only by White Sox Slugger “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. Yankees Starter Bob Shawkey picks-up his 1st win of the 1920 AL season. As he throws a complete game victory, by allowing only 4 Red Sox hits along with 4 strikeouts. Red Sox Starter Herb Pennock takes the loss for Boston, he is now 2-1 for the 1920 AL season. Yankees OF Duffy Lewis hits a HR in the game.

1936-At Yankee Stadium, a crowd of 11,000 fans watched a Friday game between the White Sox and the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers would beat the Pale Hose by the score of 3-2. Veteran Chicago Starter Ted Lyons takes the loss, despite throwing a complete game, while allowing only 7 Yankee hits and 3 runs. Bronx Starter Johnny Broaca picks-up the victory with his complete game, by allowing only Chicago 7 hits with 2 runs and 4 strikeouts. Yankee hitters Bill Dickey and Frank Crosetti led the Yankees offense. The Yankees are now 11-5 for the 1936 AL season.

1936-The Yankees had sold Reserve OF Dixie Walker to the White Sox. He had been with the team for 5 seasons. Walker was moved by the Yankees to make room on the Yankees MLB 25-man roster for Rookie OF Joe DiMaggio, who would be joining the team in 2 days. As a Yankee Reserve OF, Dixie had appeared in 131 games, while hitting .268 with 16 HRs and 58 RBIs. Dixie would play in the AL for the White Sox and then the Tigers before he was traded to the Dodgers in 1939; where he became a very successful player. Dixie would finish his 18-season MLB playing career with a .306 BA with 105 HRs and 1,023 RBIs in 1,905 games.

1941-At Sportmans’ Park in St. Louis, the Yankees take 2 out of 3 game series, as they beat the Browns by the score of 14-5. The game only attracts a crowd of 1,711 fans. Yankees Starter Tiny Bonham picks up his 3rd victory of the 1941 season with a complete game. Tiny only allows 8 Browns hits, 5 runs with 3 strikeouts. Browns Starter George Caster takes the loss dropping his pitching record to 0-2 for the season. Bombers hitting attack was led by OF Charlie “King Kong” Keller, who went 2 for 5 at the plate with 7 RBIs. He had hit a 3-run HR in the game.

1951-On Mother's Day 1951 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Mickey Mantle hit the 1st HR of his MLB playing career off of Chicago Pitcher Randy Gumpert in an 8-3 victory over the White Sox. In the same game, former Negro Leagues Star OF Minnie Miñoso became the 1st Black player in the history of the Chicago White Sox franchise. Miñoso would belted a HR in his 1st MLB at-bat off of Yankees veteran Starter Vic Raschi, who gets the victory by throwing 7 innings along with relief help from veteran hurler Tom Ferrick.

1952-Former Yankees Reserve INF Ernie Johnson (1923-1925) had passed away. (1888-1952)
On May 31,1923, INF Ernie Johnson was selected off waivers by the Yankees from the White Sox. He had appeared in 159 games for the Yankees as a Reserve Infielder. He had appeared in the 1923 World Series for the Yankees against the Giants. On October 28,1925, the Yankees would send Reserve INF Ernie Johnson to the AA St. Paul Saints (AA) to complete an earlier deal made on May 29,1925; the Yankees send a Player to be Named Later, C Fred Hofmann, 1B/P/PH Oscar Roettger and $50,000 to AA St. Paul Saints (AA) for INF Mark Koenig. As a Minor League Manager in the PCL, Ernie Johnson would manage the 1920 Salt Lake City Bees, 1926-1928 Portland Beavers and the 1929-1932 Seattle Indians. He was then an MLB Scout for the Red Sox from 1933 until his passing in 1952. Ernie’s son Don played in the MLB with the 1943-1948 Cubs, as a 2B.

1962-At Comiskey Park, a crowd of 16,943 fans watched the Yankees defeat the White Sox by the score of 6-1. Yankees hitting attack was led by Catcher Elston Howard, who had hit a 2-run HR in the game. Yankees Starter Bill Stafford gets his 2nd victory of the 1962 AL season with relief help from Roland Sheldon and Closer Marshall Bridges, who gets his 2nd save of the season. White Sox Starter Juan Pizarro takes the loss, giving up 8 Yankee hits and 4 runs in 5 innings of work. The Yankees are now 11-5 for the 1962 AL season.

1979-Former Yankees Pitcher Brandon Claussen (2003) was born.
On June 2,1998, Pitcher Brandon Claussen was selected by the Yankees in the 34th round of the 1998 MLB Amateur Player Draft. Brandon appeared in only 1 game with the 2003 Yankees with a 1-0 record with a 1.42 ERA. On July 31, 2003, he was traded by the Yankees along with Minor League P Charlie Manning and Cash to the Reds for veteran MLB INF Aaron Boone. He would pitch for the Reds for 3 seasons, while posting a 15-27 record with 5.04 ERA in 58 games. In 2007, he became an MLB Free Agent, signing with the Nationals, pitching in their Minor League system for 1 season before leaving baseball.

1981-Former Yankees Minor League P Manny Acosta was born.
In 2007, Manny Acosta made his MLB Pitching debut, 4 seasons after his pitching career was left for dead by his original team. In 1998, Acosta had signed with the Yankees as a teenager. He had a rough debut in 1998 with the DSL Yankees, going 0-1 with a 1 save with a 16.43 ERA. In 7 2/3 innings, he walked 10 batters and allowed 20 hits. They brought him back for 1999 season; he improved to a 4-2 record with a 3.16 ERA with 38 K in 31 1/3 IP. In 2000, Manny was 4-2 with a 3.47 ERA for the GCL Yankees. He started off 2001 season with a blast for the Greensboro Bats (SA) , while posting a 5-2 record with a 1.51 ERA, (37 H and 67 K in 65 2/3 IP) but he was less impressive in a brief stint with the Class A Tampa Yankees (FSL) posting a 0-1 record with a 7.71 ERA. In 2002, he would return to Greensboro, Manny was just 2-5 with a 6.40 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA with the short-season Class A Staten Island Yankees as well. After starting the 2003 season with a 0-8 record with a 6.64 ERA for the Battle Creek Yankees (MWL). On July 24, 2003, Manny was released by the Yankees organization. The Braves would picked up the right-hander, who was 2-0 with a 6.34 ERA and 1 save in 8 games in 2003 for the Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Overall, he would pitch in the MLB from 2007-2012 with the Braves and the Mets, while finishing with a 13-13 record with a 4.46 ERA in 45 games.

1986-The Yankees had signed MLB Free Agent Shortstop Ivan DeJesus. He had been signed by their AAA club, the Columbus Clippers (IL), where he had hit .265 in 25 games. He would go hitless in 4 at bats, before the team would release him on June 24,1986.

1986-Former Yankees Pitcher Ed Wells (1929-1932) had passed away. (1900-1986)
On August 28,1928, Pitcher Ed Wells was purchased by the Yankees from the Class A Birmingham Barons (SA). As a Yankees hurler, Ed would post a 37-20 record with a 4.59 ERA and 4 saves in 107 games. He didn’t appear in the 1932 World Series against the Cubs. On April 14,1933, Ed was purchased by the Browns from the Yankees. Before joining the Yankees in 1928, he had pitched for the 1924-1927 Tigers. He would spend the 1928 season pitching in the Minor Leagues. In 1934, Ed would finish his MLB Pitching career with a 68-69 record with a 4.65 ERA and 13 saves in 292 games. From 1935-1937, Wells would continue to pitch in the Minor Leagues before retiring from the game.

1987-MLB Free Agents Starter Ron Guidry (Yankees), Catchers Rich Gedman (Red Sox) and Bob Boone (Angels) and NL All-Star OF Tim Raines (Expos), all re-signed with their former MLB clubs on the 1st day, they are allowed to do so. On May 5th, Pitcher Doyle Alexander will re-sign with the Braves.

1991-Oakland A’s OF Rickey Henderson had surpassed HOF OF Lou Brock as MLB Career Stolen Base leader with his 939th steal in the 7-4 victory over the Yankees. Henderson broke the record in the 4th inning, when he stole 3B against Yankees Catcher Matt Nokes.

1991-Current Yankees Starter Marcus Stroman (2024) was born.
Marcus Stroman was selected by the Nationals in the 18th round of the 2009 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He did not sign and opted to attend Duke Univ. instead, where he spent time as an infielder in addition to pitching. He was then chosen by the Blue Jays in the 1st round of the 2012 MLB Amateur Player Draft as the 22nd overall pick. He signed for a $1.8 million bonus. He made his pro debut on July 12th with the AAA Vancouver Canadians (PCL). However, his 1st outing was rough, as he allowed 3 earned runs over 2/3 of an inning versus Boise. Things went better in further outings, however, he would finished the year at 3-0, 3.26 ERA in 15 games, having earned a promotion to the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats (EL) after 7 outings. He only pitched in relief that season, logging 19 1/3 innings.

In 2013, he was now a full-time starter at New Hampshire, going 9-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 20 starts. He had pitched 111 2/3 innings, allowing 99 hits and striking out 129 to confirm that he was on a fast track to the big leagues. Indeed, even though he started 2014 with the AAA Buffalo Bisons (IL), he was called up to Toronto on May 4th, making his MLB pitching debut that day with 2/3 of an inning in relief against the Pirates, allowing a run. He made 5 appearances out of the bullpen, giving up 10 runs in 6 1/3 innings, although he did earn his 1st MLB win, before being sent back to AAA Buffalo (IL) on May 15th in order to return to the more familiar role of starter. His next appearance in the MLB was a 1-off start against the Royals on May 31st and finally got a chance to shine at the highest level. He gave up only one run in 6 innings to earn the win; after he had set down the Royals in order in the 1st, his teammates exploded for 7 runs against Aaron Brooks, giving him a comfortable cushion. He allowed only 5 hits, walked none and struck out 6 in the 12-2 win. From that point on, he became the Jays' most dependable starter, with veterans R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle finding it difficult to rack up wins. On July 24th, he kept the Red Sox hitless for 6 innings before allowing a bloop single to Shane Victorino to lead off the 7th; he completed that inning with no further damage an relievers Todd Redmond and Rob Rasmussen added a hitless inning each for a combined 1-hit 8-0 shutout win that improved his record to 6-2. He was handed a 6-game suspension for throwing a pitch at the Orioles' Caleb Joseph on September 15th, but after appealing the decision, he was able to defeat the Yankees, 6-3 on September 20th, to improve to 11-6. He dropped his appeal immediately after the game, and his suspension was reduced to 5 games by MLB, allowing him to make 1 final start before the end of the season. He finished the year with a record of 11-6, 3.65 ERA in 26 games, including 20 starts, while striking out 111 against only 28 walks in 130 2/3 innings. Heading into the 2015 season, the Blue Jays were optimistic about breaking their 21-year postseason drought following some bold moves in the off-season, and they were counting on Marcus as one of the key members of the starting rotation. However, things went awry when on March 10th, he tore ligaments in his knee during spring training fielding drills, apparently putting him out for the season. The Jays had a tremendous offense over the 1st half, but cruelly missed Stroman's presence in the starting rotation. While he was back at Duke taking some classes needed to complete his degree, he got in trouble with his professors by tweeting his enthusiasm from the classroom when he heard the Jays had made a big move at the trading deadline on July 30th and acquired top-notch starter David Price in a trade with the Tigers. Undaunted, Marcus posted a picture of his sneaking a peek at Price's 1st start with the Jays on his cellphone, hidden behind his laptop screen while attending another class on August 3rd. Well ahead of schedule, he returned to the mound for a rehabilitation outing on September 2nd. He showed some very good stuff as he pitched 4 2/3 innings for the Class A Lansing Lugnuts, giving up no hits and a walk, while striking out 7. A week later, he was called up to Toronto and penciled in to start a key match-up against the Yankees on September 12th. His return came in the 2nd game of a doubleheader after the Jays had won the opener, he was the beneficiary of an early lead as his teammates scored 6 runs in the 2nd. He kept the Yankees off the board until the 5th, when he allowed a 3-run HR to Brett Gardner, but he was credited with the 10-7 win that put Toronto 4 1/2 games in front of the Yankees. He won his next start as well, this time at home on September 18th, 6-1 over the Red Sox, pitching 7 innings. He went 4-0, 1.67 in 4 starts and continued to pitch well in the postseason. While he ended up with a no-decision in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rangers, he was selected to start the deciding Game 5 ahead of David Price, who was instead used in relief to ensure Game 4 was in the bag. He was very solid that day, giving up only 2 runs in 6 innings to put the Jays on track for a 6-3 win. He then won Game 3 of the ALCS over the Royals on October 19th, 11-8 and was in line to pitch the decisive Game 7 had the Jays not lost Game 6.

Marcus was named Toronto's opening day starter in 2016, facing off against the equally charismatic Chris Archer of the Rays on April 3rd. He got some early run support and pitched into the 9th inning, emerging a 5-3 winner. On May 1st, he defeated the Rays again, 5-1, on his 25th birthday, striking out a personal best 9 batters in the effort. He left the team for a couple of days in May to attend his graduation ceremony at Duke Univ. on May 15th, having been able to complete his coursework during his forced absence from the field the previous year. Overall, though, his season was a bit of a disappointment, as he finished with a record of only 9-10 with 4.37 ERA in 32 starts, On the positive side, he was the only Jays pitcher to top 200 innings, but he was clearly outperformed by starting rotation mates Aaron Sanchez, J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada. Still, he was tapped to start the AL WCG against the Orioles on October 4th; he did well, giving up 2 runs in 6 innings as the Jays won the game in extra innings. He then started Game 3 of the ALCS against the Indians on October 17th, but he squandered an opportunity to give the Jays a big win after his opponent, Trevor Bauer, had to leave the game in the 1st inning because of a cut finger; Marcus gave up 4 runs in 5 1/3 innings; he was charged with the 4-2 loss.

Marcus hesitated before the 2017 season on whether he would represent the U.S. or Puerto Rico, the country from which his mother came, in the WBC. He ended up deciding on the U.S. and it was a good choice, as he was named MVP of the tournament after some very solid starts, none better than his performance in the final game at Dodger Stadium against Puerto Rico on March 22nd. In that game, he gave up no runs on 1 hit in 6 innings to lead his country to an 8-0 win. The Blue Jays started the 2017 season in a rut, but Stroman was one of the few bright spots, recording 2 complete games over his 1st 4 starts. Incredibly, the 2nd of these on April 23rd would be the last 9-inning complete game by a Jays pitcher until Chris Bassitt pitched a shutout on May 12, 2023 - a record 889 games later! On April 25th, he won a game with his bat when he was used as a pinch-hitter in the 11th inning of a game against the Cardinals. He would double against Miguel Socolovich for his 1st MLB hit, then came in to score the winning run in a 6-5 win on an error by Aledmys Diaz. He confirmed his hitting prowess on May 18th, when he hit his 1st MLB career HR in an interleague game played at SunTrust Park, the new home of the Braves. His solo HR shot to the opposite field off of Julio Teheran came in a 9-0 win, in which he pitched 5 2/3 innings to end a 3-game skid. This was the last HR hit by an AL pitcher in interleague play until the adoption of the universal DH in 2022. He finished the year at 13-9, with a 3.09 ERA in 33 starts, making him clearly the Jays' best pitcher in what was a disappointing season.

In spite of his excellent performance and of his standing as one of the team's key players going forward, the Blue Jays were unable to come to an agreement regarding a contract for 2018, forcing him to go to arbitration over a difference of just $400,000 on a salary of $6.5 million. He lost the case - he was asking for $6.9 million - and the hearings left everyone involved with bitter feelings, especially Stroman who was forced to hear the team denigrate his performance in order to win its case. "The negative things that were said against me, by my own team, will never leave my mind," he tweeted after the decision. However, his season got off to a bad start when he experienced soreness in his shoulder during a bullpen session early in spring training. He was diagnosed with a form of inflammation that put his penciled opening day start in jeopardy. That start was pushed back a few days, but he took his regular starting turn in April, albeit with poor results, as he was 0-3, 8.88 ERA during the month. After falling to 0-5 on May 8th, he went on the DL with fatigue in his right shoulder and did not return until June 23rd. He pitched well that day, with 5 scoreless innings and finally recorded his 1st victory of the year on June 29th, when he defeated the Tigers, 3-2. He went 4-9, 5.54 in 19 starts, pitching 102 1/3 innings.

With the Blue Jays deciding to go on a youth kick in 2019, upper management made it known Stroman would be available in a trade for the right return. While he was still relatively young at 27, he was going to become a free agent in 2 seasons and it was unlikely that he was going to be a long-term contributor to the team. However, by choosing to make him available, the Jays were considering trading when his value was at its lowest, not necessarily the best course of action as he would likely become much more valuable were he simply allowed to put together a string of solid starts at the beginning of the next season. In the end, there was no trade that off-season and on March 13th, new Manager Charlie Montoyo picked him to be the team's opening day starter, an honor he had been forced to pass up the previous season because of health issues. Stroman did put together a strong 1st half, being the rebuilding Jays' sole representative at the All-Star Game, largely on the strength of an excellent ERA as wins were hard to find with a team often unable to put runs on the board. He was 6-11 but with a sparkling 2.96 ERA after 21 starts when he was dealt on July 28th, heading to the New York Mets for 2 pitching prospects: Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson. His landing spot was a bit of a surprise, as the Mets were basically out of the race, but they were seemingly unable to resist the opportunity of adding a top-quality starting pitcher at a relatively low cost. He would make 11 starts for the Mets, going 4-2,with a 3.77 ERA, for a combined mark of 10-13, 3.22 ERA in 32 games and 159 strikeouts in 184 1/3 innings.

In 2020, while forced into idleness by the coronavirus pandemic that shut down much of society, he improvised himself a General Manager as he used the spare time offered him to contact fellow players and secure commitments from them to represent the United States in the 2021 World Baseball Classic. He got early commitments from 2017 Team USA teammates Christian Yelich and Eric Hosmer and was looking to do the same with other who had sat out previous tournaments, such as Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger, Trevor Bauer or Walker Buehler. With players responding enthusiastically, commentators were beginning to tag this as a new "Dream Team", in reference to the 1992 US Olympic basketball team, the 1st to include NBA professionals, that included all of the most iconic players of that generation and swept everything in its wake. Stroman did not play at all that season, however, as he was one of the players opting out due to health and safety concerns, and the pandemic proved to be strong enough to set back the WBC by at least 1 year - if not more. When he returned to the fold in 2021, Marcus quietly had a very effective season, going 10-13, 3.03 ERA and sharing the NL lead with 33 starts. he struck out 158 batters in 179 innings, but his performance came largely under the radar as the Mets were once again a soap opera, with the loss of ace Jacob deGrom after a brilliant 1st 3rd of the season, 2 General Managers losing their job and the sort of turmoil that pushes news of players performing well to the side. He became a free agent after the season. On December 1st, hours before MLB Team Owners decreed a 2021-2022 lockout, he had signed a 3-year contract with the Cubs worth $71 million, 1 of a large number of such big MLB contracts signed before the lockout took effect which left observers wondering why the hell there was a labor conflict when money was flowing around so freely.

In his 1st season with Cubs in 2022, Stroman went 6-7, 3.50 ERA in 25 games, logging 138 2/3 innings. He led the team in innings and was 2nd in strikeouts with 119, trailing only Justin Steele who had 126. Before the 2023 season, he decided to play for the Puerto Rican national team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, in spite of having been 1 of Team USA's key players in the previous edition. He explained that he made the choice to honor his mother, Adlin, who is Puerto Rican, making him eligible for both teams. He was the Cubs' Opening Day starter on March 30, 2023. He made history by becoming the 1st pitcher to be charged with a ball due to a pitch clock-violation, under the new rule introduced that season. It came against Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers with no outs in the 3rd inning and was called by home plate umpire Ron Kulpa. Yelich eventually walked. On May 29th, he would pitched the 2nd shutout of his career in a 1-0, 1-hitter against the Rays; the only hit was a leadoff single by Wander Franco in the 7th. He went 10-9 with a 3.95 ERA for the Cubs that year, earning a 2nd trip to the MLB All-Star Game. He would pitched 136 2/3 innings and struck out 119 batters as his numbers were eerily similar to those, he had put up the year before, the main difference being a higher walk rate. He became a free agent again after the 2023 season. On January 12, 2024, news came out that he had signed a 2-year contract with the Yankees worth $37 million. He made his 1st start for the Yankees against the Astros on March 30th, earning the win as he gave up 3 runs - none of them earned - in 6 innings in a 5-3 win, then was tabbed to be the starter in the home opener at New Yankee Stadium against his old team, the Blue Jays on April 5th.

1992-Former Yankees INF/DH Celerino Perez Sanchez (1972-1973) passes away from a fatal heart attack at his home in Mexico City. (1944-1992)
In 1971, the Yankees had obtained veteran Mexican League INF Celerino Sanchez from the Mexico City Tigers in a trade for Minor League INF Ossie Chavarria. Celerino would play 3B for the 1972 Yankees until the arrival of 3B Graig Nettles from the Indians in 1973. He would split the 1972 season between the Yankees and their AAA Syracuse Chiefs team (IL) for whom he hit .327. With the 1972 Yankees, he had appeared as a 3B in 71 games, while hitting .248 with No HRs and 22 RBIs. He would spend the entire 1973 season with the Yankees as a Reserve INF, appearing in just 34 games, while hitting .219 with 1 HR and 9 RBIs. Celerino had appeared in a total of 105 games for the Yankees, while hitting .242 with 1 HR and 31 RBIs. In 1974, Sanchez would return to play pro baseball in the Mexico Leagues. In 1994, Sanchez was elected to Mexico’s Baseball Hall of Fame.

1994-The Yankees had signed veteran MLB Shortstop Kevin Elster as an MLB Free Agent. The former Mets Shortstop was dealing with injury problems, he was signed to a Minor League contract by the team, spent most of the 1994 season playing or being on the DL in the Minor Leagues. As Yankees batter in 1994, he went 0 for 20. In 1995, he had played in 10 games for the team, going 2 for 17, when the Yankees would release him on June 8,1995.

1994-Former Yankees Minor League P Dillion Tate was born.
Pitcher Dillon Tate was selected by the Rangers with the 4th overall pick in the 2015 MLB Amateur Player Draft out of the Univ. of Ca., Santa Barbara. He was the 1st pitcher selected after shortstops were taken with the 1st 3 picks. He was a graduate of Major League Baseball's Urban Youth Academy in Compton, CA, after being undrafted while coming out of high school. His experience at the Academy helped him to obtain a college scholarship. In college, Tate was used both as a starter and a reliever in different years, but as a senior, he went 8-5 with a 2.26 ERA in 14 starts. Within days of being drafted, Tate had signed with the Rangers for $4.2 million. He soon made his pro debut with the Spokane Indians. He was moved up to the Class A Hickory Crawdads (SAL) before the end of the 2015 Minor League season, finishing up with a an ERA of 1.00 in 6 games - all starts but representing only 9 innings of work as the Rangers did not want to overuse him after a busy 2015 college baseball season. In 2016, he was 3-3 with a 5.12 ERA in his 1st 17 appearances for Hickory, when on August 1st, he was 1 of 3 young players traded to the Yankees in return for veteran MLB All Star OF Carlos Beltran, the other 2 Ranger prospects were Pitchers Nick Green and Erik Swanson. He would finish the 2016 season with the Class A Charleston RiverDogs (SAL), going 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 7 games. In 2017, he made 13 starts split between the Class A Tampa Yankees (FSL) and the AA Trenton Thunder (EL) with a combined record of 7-2 with a 2.81 ERA. He had started the 2018 season at AA Trenton (EL), where he was 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA after 15 starts. On July 24, 2018, he was the most promising of 3 pitching prospects that were sent to the Orioles to acquire Veteran MLB Reliever Zach Britton. He was assigned by the Orioles to their AA team, the Bowie BaySox (EL) going 2-3 with a 5.75 ERA.

1996-Former Yankees Minor League OF Jimmy “Gee Gee” Gleeson had passed away.(1912-1996)
On December 8,1936, OF Jimmy Gleeson was purchased by the Yankees from the Indians. Jimmy never appeared with the Yankees at the MLB level. While in the Yankees Organization, he played for their 1937-1938 AA Newark Bears (IL) farm team. With the 1937 Newark Bears, he would hit .298, while leading the International League with 47 doubles. In 1938, he would hit .310 with 16 HRs and 81 RBIs. He led the IL again in doubles with 50. On January 24,1939, Jimmy was purchased by the Cubs from the Yankees for $25,000 Cash. He would spend 4 seasons in NL, playing for the Cubs and the Reds. During the 1950-1960’s, Jimmy was a Minor League Manager for the Yankees organization: 1951 Muskegon Reds (CL), 1952,1961,1968 AA Binghamton Triplets (EL), 1959 Kearney Yankees (NSL), 1960 Amarillo Gold Sox (TXL). Then he was an MLB Coach with the 1957 Kansas City A’s and the 1964 Yankees working for Manager Yogi Berra.

2010-The Yankees suffer a double loss today. They lose their game to the White Sox by the score of 7-6, as Chicago Sluggers Andruw Jones and A.J. Pierzynski would hit HRs. Then they would place starting CF Curtis Granderson on the DL because of a strained left groin suffered, while running the bases.

2012-Baltimore Manager Buck Showalter wins his 1,000th game as a MLB Skipper, when Baltimore defeats the Yankees by the score of 7-1. Brian Matusz wins his 1st game in 11 months, while Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy would hit HRs off of Yankees Starter Phil Hughes, who takes the loss. Matusz had gone 0-12 record with a 10.47 ERA in 14 starts since beating the Oakland A’s on June 6, 2011.

2015-Yankees Slugger Alex Rodriguez ties Willie Mays for 4th place on the all-time HR list when he hits HR #660 against the Red Sox. The HR comes as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning against Reliever Junichi Tazawa; it gives the Yankees a 3-2 lead that will hold for the rest of the game.

2017-Blue Jays batter Ryan Goins drives in 2 runners on a sacrifice fly in the 6th inning of Toronto's 7-1 win over the Yankees. Bronx CF Jacoby Ellsbury catches his fly to deep centerfield at New Yankee Stadium, but he crashes into the fence and falls to the ground, allowing Jays baserunner Devon Travis to score from 2B, behind Jays front base runner Justin Smoak. It is the 1st 2-RBI sac fly in the team’s history. Also, Goins would add a 2-run HR, as does Blue Jays Slugger Jose Bautista to help the Jays win their 3rd straight, after having a very tough month in April.

2020-Former Yankees and MLB Pitcher, MLB Executive Matt Keough (1983) had passed away at the age of 64. (1955-2020)
On June 15,1983, Pitcher Matt Keough was traded by Oakland A's to the Yankees for 2 Minor Leaguer Players: Pitcher Ben Callahan and 1B/DH Marshall Brant. Matt was a former A’s Starter, who was now being used as a Reliever by the A’s Manager Steve Boros. For the 1983 A's, Matt had 2-3 record with a 5.52 ERA in 14 games. When Billy Martin led the A’s, Matt had become a successful starter for the team. He was the son of former MLB Player Marty Keough. Matt went 3-4 with a 5.17 ERA in 12 games for the 1983 Yankees. He continued to struggle, putting up a 5.33 ERA in 99 2/3 innings. In 1984, he voluntarily went down to the Yankees AA team, the Nashville Sounds (SL) in the spring; in an unsuccessful attempt to learn a knuckleball. He finally succumbed to the right arm shoulder pain. Matt was placed on the DL by the team with a strained rotator cuff; the Yankees would release Matt at the end of the 1984 AL season. Matt had posted a 2-4 record with the AA Nashville Sounds (SL). He would later pitch in the MLB for the Cardinals, Cubs and the Astros. After leaving the MLB in 1986, Matt would pitch in the Japan Central League for 3 seasons; while posting a 45-44 record with a 3.73 ERA in 107 games. After leaving Japan, he returned to the US to try to make 2 comeback attempts with the Angles, which both were unsuccessful. During his 2nd comeback attempt, Matt had suffered a serious head injury from being hit by a foul ball in an MLB spring Training game with the Angels, resulting into a career ending injury for him. He would finish his MLB Pitching career with a 58-84 record with a 4.17 ERA in 215 games. He never earned a save, while pitching in the MLB for 9 seasons. After his recovery from the head injuries, Matt became a Scout for the Angles. Matt would work with several MLB organizations. Later, he worked with the Oakland A’s, as a Special Assistant to the team’s GM Billy Beane.

2023-Yankees starter Domingo German breezes through the 1st 8 innings of his start against the Guardians, allowing just a hit and a walk. He has a 2-0 lead entering the 9th, but allows a 1-out single to Steven Kwan. In a controversial move, Yankees Manager Aaron Boone decides to replace him with Closer Clay Holmes, but everything falls apart. Holmes loads the bases, then allows a 2-run single to Josh Naylor to tie the game. Reliever Wandy Peralta walks Mike Zunino with 2 outs and the bases full to make it 3-2 for Cleveland. Closer Emmanuel Clase sets down the Yankees in the bottom of the 9th to hand them their 4th straight. Worse, it comes on a day when New York places RF Aaron Judge on the IL with a hip strain.

May 2nd

1896-Former Yankees Pitcher William “Wild Bill” Piercy (1917,1921) was born. (1896-1951)
Bill Piercy had pitched 6 seasons in the MLB during the period of 1917-1926. In 1917, he would come up to the Yankees for 1 game. At the age of 21, but he made more of an impact in 1921 for the team, when he had posted a 5-4 record with a 2.98 ERA in 14 games. He would pitch 1 game for the Yankees in the 1921 World Series against the Giants without giving up a run. Yankee players P Bill Piercy, OFer’s Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel were disciplined by MLB Commissioner Judge Landis for going barnstorming after playing in the 1921 World Series; in violation of a rule that World Series participants could not barnstorm in the off-season. The 3 players involved in the barnstorming would lose their 1921 World Series players shares. Also, they were suspended 1 month for the start of 1922 AL season. On December 20,1921, Piercy was traded by the Yankees along with Pitchers Jack Quinn and Rip Collins, Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh to the Red Sox for Pitchers Joe Bush and Sam Jones and INF Everett “Deacon” Scott. He was with the 1922-1924 Red Sox posting losing records for a team that lost at least 87 games each season. In 1926, he had a record of 6-5 with the Cubs, who had finished over .500. He was called "Wild Bill" because he was among the AL Pitching leaders 3 times in Wild Pitches and 3 times for Hit Batsmen. In 1923, Yankees Rookie Lou Gehrig hit his 1st HR in his MLB playing career off of Piercy. He would finish his MLB Pitching career with a 27-43 record with a 4.26 ERA in 116 games.

1923-Veteran MLB Starter Walter Johnson recorded his 1st shutout of the 1923 AL season and the 100th of his MLB pitching record 113 MLB career shutouts as the Senators defeated the Yankees by the score of 3-0. Yankees Shortstop Everett “Deacon” Scott received a medal from the American League for playing in his 1,000th consecutive game. Scott ‘s streak extended for another 307 games, giving him an MLB record of 1,307 games, until future Yankees 1B Lou Gehrig broke it with his own 2,130 consecutive games streak.

1939-Yankees 1B Lou Gehrig did not play against the Tigers in day game played at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, ending at 2,130 his MLB streak of consecutive games played. An ailing Gehrig removed himself from the Yankees starting lineup, telling his Manager Joe McCarthy that he could not play because of his continuing weakness. Doctors will later diagnose Lou Gehrig with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a fatal disease that affects the body’s muscles. Gehrig will never play again for the Yankees; he will remain in uniform and as the Yankees Captain until the end of the 1939 World Series against Cincinnati Reds. Lou Gehrig’s replacement at 1B, Babe Dahlgren led the Yankees hitting attack with a HR and double as the Yankees beat the Tigers by a score of 22-2.

1946-Yankees Co-Team Owner and General Manager Larry McPhail gave away 500 pairs of nylon stockings to ladies in attendance at a game with the Indians. The promotional gimmick was a big success. The game would attract 21,511 fans as the Yankees beat the Tribe by the score of 8-2.

1948-Former Yankees Pitcher Larry Gowell (1972) was born. (1948-2020)
The Yankees in the 4th round of the 1967 MLB Amateur Player Draft had selected P Larry Gowell. For the 1972 Yankees, he had posted a 0-1 record with a 1.29 ERA in 2 games. On October 4,1972, Gowell hit a double off of Brewers P Jim Lonborg for his 1st and only MLB hit and the last hit by a pitcher in a regular season AL game before the start of the new DH rule in 1973. The baseball Gowell hit was accepted as a historical baseball into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, where it now resides. He would pitch in the Yankees organization until 1974. In 1975, he will pitch in the Mexican League for 1 season, before retiring from the game.

1951-At Comiskey Park, a crowd of 8,802 fans watched a Wednesday day game between the White Sox and Yankees. The Bronx Bombers fight back from a Chicago 4-run, 1st inning to beat the Pale Hose by the score of 6-4. The Sox had chased Yankees Starter Frank “Spec” Shea for 4-runs in the 1st, then he is followed by Fred Sanford, who holds down the Pale Hose with 2 scoreless frames. The 3rd Pitcher for the Yankees, veteran Reliever Joe “Professor” Ostrowski, then throws 5 shutout frames, gaining the victory. White Sox Reliever Harry Dorish takes the loss, Chicago Starter Richard Littlefield gets a no decision. The Yankees hitting attack features, Joe Collins’ triple with 1 on, scoring a run. Yankees Reserve Catcher Ralph Houk catches the complete game, but at the plate, he goes 0 for 4 in a rare start for Manager Casey Stengel. Yankee Regulars C Yogi Berra and CF Joe DiMaggio were not in the Yankees starting line-up. The Yankees will take the 2-game series with the White Sox, they are now 10-4 for the 1951 AL season. Next, they will head for St. Louis with a 4-game series with the Browns.

1962-Former Yankees Reserve INF Jim Walewander (1990) was born.
In 1983, the Tigers originally had signed Jim Walewander as MLB Amateur Free Agent. Reserve INF Jim Walewander would appear in only 9 games for the 1990 Yankees, while hitting just .200. He would spend most of the 1990 season playing with their AAA club, the Columbus Clippers (IL). After leaving the Yankees, Jim would play pro baseball in Italy. He would return back to the MLB with the 1993 Angels, before retiring as active player.

1965-Former Yankees Reserve OF/DH Felix Jose (2000) was born.
In 2000, OF/DH Felix Jose had appeared 20 games as a Reserve Outfielder for the Yankees, while hitting .241 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. At the end of the 2000 AL season, the Yankees would grant him MLB Free Agency.

1975-Former Yankees Minor League P Mark Johnson was born.
On February 1,1999, Pitcher Mark Johnson was traded by the Marlins along with Pitchers Todd Noel (Minors) and Ed Yarnall to the Yankees for Rookie 3B Mike Lowell. Mark did not appear with the Yankees at the MLB level. On December 13,1999, he was drafted by the Tigers from the Yankees in the 1999 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft.

1979-Former Yankees Minor League P Jason Arnold was born.
Pitcher Jason Arnold was selected by the Yankees in the 2nd round (63rd overall) of the 2001 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He was signed by the team for $400,000. Arnold began his pro career at short season Class A with the Staten Island Yankees (NYPL). He went 7-2 with a 1.50 ERA and 74 strikeouts. Opponents hit just .157 against him. He was 3rd in the NY-Penn League in ERA. On July 27, 2001, Jason would no-hit the Vermont Expos, the league's lone No-Hitter that season. He made the League’s All-Star team. Baseball America rated him the #9 prospect in the Yankees system, the #3 Pitcher after Brandon Claussen and Sean Henn. In 2002, he started the season pitching well for both the Class A Tampa Yankees (FSL) a 7-1 record with a 2.48 ERA, 83 K in 80 IP and with the AA Norwich Navigators (EL), where he had a 1-2 record with 4.15 ERA, 18 K in 17 1/3 IP. On July 2002, Arnold was traded in a deal that sent him, MLB Starter Ted Lilly and Minor league OF John-Ford Griffin from the Yankees to the Oakland A’s. The Yankees would receive MLB Starter Jeff Weaver from the Tigers, while Detroit picked up 1B Carlos Pena, Pitchers Franklyn German and Jeremy Bonderman from the A’s. Later, the team would trade him to the Blue Jays. After the 2006 season, Jason would retire from baseball due to reoccurring arm injuries. He was the Head Baseball Coach at Cocoa High School in Cocoa, FL in 2007-2008. In 2009-2010, Arnold was the Pitching Coach for Bethune-Cookman College. He was Head Baseball Coach of Eastern Florida State College from 2019-2021, after coaching at Satellite High School (2012-2018).

1984-Former Yankees Minor League Pitcher now with the White Sox, Starter LaMarr Hoyt faced 27 Bronx batters in a 3-0, a 1-hit shutout against the Yankees. Don Mattingly had the only hit for New York, an opposite-field blooper in the 7th inning, which is followed by a double play. On April 5,1977, Hoyt was one of the Yankee Minor Leaguer players, who were sent to the White Sox in the Bucky Dent trade.

1986-The Yankees had signed veteran hurler Tommy John as an MLB Free Agent. He had gone to Yankees MLB Spring Training Camp as a Non-Roster Pitcher. He was called up from Florida, when the team placed veteran MLB Starters Ed Whitson and John Montefusco on the DL. Also, the Yankees would call up Reliever Mike Armstrong from the AAA Columbus Clippers (IL).

1992-Yankees Pitcher Scott Sanderson became the 12th pitcher in MLB history to surrender 4 HRs in a single inning. Sanderson was rocked in the 5th inning of the game against the Twins with Shane Mack, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek and Randy Bush hitting the HRs for Minnesota. The Twins need all the HRs as they won the game by a score of 7-6.

1995-The Red Sox would defeat the Yankees by the score of 8-0 by scoring their runs on Grand Slam HRs in back-to-back innings by former college teammates John Valentin and Mo Vaughn. According to SABR statistician David Vincent, it is the 1st time ever that 2 Grand Slam HRs account for all the runs scored in an MLB game.

1996-Current Yankees Minor League Catcher Luis Torrens was born.
The Valencia, Venezuela, native was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2012. He would spend his 1st pro season with the GCL Yankees 2, hitting .241/.348/.299 in 47 games. In 2014, he was with 3 different teams, the GCL Yankees 1, the short-season Staten Island Yankees (NYPL) and the Class A Charleston RiverDogs (SAL), playing a total of 62 games. The bulk of his playing time came with Staten Island Yankees (NYPL) His batting line was .256/.331/.383 with 3 HRs and 22 RBIs. Torrens then missed the entire 2015 season with a torn labrum, and then went back to Staten Island at the start of 2016. After 12 games, he was promoted back to Charleston (SAL), where he played another 40 games. In 52 games, he had hit .250/.350/.337 with 2 HRs and 15 RBIs. Given his slow progress to date, he was not added to the Yankees' 40-man roster after the 2016 season, making him available for the 2016 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. The Padres made a deal with the Reds, who were picking 2nd, to take him and then send him over in a trade, part of the Padres' strategy to land all 3 top picks in the draft. The decision was a bit surprising given that Torrens was considered to be still quite far away from being able to play in the majors. However, he made the Padres' opening day roster in 2017, like the other 2 top picks in the Rule V player draft, Allen Cordoba and Miguel Diaz, he made his MLB player debut in the 1st game of the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 3rd. The Padres were beaten badly, 14-3, giving a chance for all 3 youngsters to see some action late in the game; Luis caught a couple of innings and went 0 for 1 at the plate. He ended up playing 56 games for the Padres that season, hitting .163 with no HRs and 7 RBIs. Torrens has played 271 career MLB games over parts of 6 seasons with the Padres (2017, 2019-2020), Mariners (2020-2023) and the Cubs (2023), batting .227 (166-for-732) with 67 R, 30 doubles, 3 triples, 19 HRs, 79 RBIs and 62 BB. The right-handed batter began the season with the Cubs, hitting .250 (5-for-20) with 1 R, 1 double, 3 RBIs and 1BB in 13 games. He was acquired by the Orioles in exchange for cash considerations on May 3, 2023. He was DFA by the team on May 9, 2023. Then he would sign with the Nationals as a Minor League free agent on May 18, 2023. He played in 19 games with AAA Rochester, batting .258/.311/.470 (17-for-66) with 8 R, 5 doubles, 3 HRs, 13 RBIs and 6 BB. The catcher was released by the Nationals on July 1, 2023. He would sign with the Mariners as a minor league free agent on August 30, 2023. In 5 games with AAA Tacoma (PCL), he hit .200 (4-for-20) with 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBIs and 1BB. Torrens had his contracted selected by the Mariners, he was added to the active roster on Sept. 12, 2023. He finished the season with Mariners, batting .250 (2-for-8) with 2 doubles and 1 RBI in 5 games. Following the season, he played for Navegantes del Magallanes (Venezuelan Winter League), hitting .273 (39-for-143) with 18R, 6 doubles, 3 HRs,15 RBIs and 16BB in 38 games. Torrens was signed by the Yankees as a Minor League free agent on January 14, 2024.

1997-Former Yankees Minor League OF Blake Rutherford was born.
Outfielder Blake Rutherford was the 1st-round choice of the Yankees in the 2016 MLB Amateur Player Draft, as the 18th overall pick, out of Chaminade College Prep School in West Hills, CA. After signing, he began his pro career with the GCL Yankees West, also he would play for the Class A Pulaski Yankees (APL). In 33 games, he would hit .351 with 15 extra-base hits, 16 runs and 12 RBIs. Then he was moved up to the Class A Charleston RiverDogs (SAL) in 2017, where he would hit .281 in 71 games. On July 18th, he was 1 of 3 prospects traded by the Yankees along with MLB Reliever Tyler Clippard - the other prospects were P Ian Clarkin and OF Tito Polo - to the White Sox in return 3 MLB players: INF Todd Frazier, Relievers Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson. He was assigned to the Class A Kannapolis Intimidators, still in the Sally League, where he hit .213 in 30 games to finish the season at .260 in 101 games, with 2 HRs, 52 runs and 35 RBIs.

1998-Yankees Starter Roger Clemens (7 innings) and veteran Reliever Paul Quantrill (2 innings) combine to 1-hit Oakland by the score of 7-0. The A's only hit is a single by Rookie OF Ben Grieve.

2004-Former Yankees Minor League P Edward “Moe” Burtschy had passed away. (1922-2004)
Before the start of the 1941 NL season, the Dodgers had signed Pitcher Edward “Moe” Burtschy as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He never appears with the team at the MLB level. Before 1942 NL season, Moe was sent from the Dodgers to the Reds in an unknown transaction. During the month of June 1946, Moe was sent from the Reds to the Pirates in an unknown transaction. Before the start of 1947 MLB season, Moe was sent from the Pirates to the Philadelphia Athletics in an unknown trade transaction. He would make his MLB Pitching debut with the 1950 A’s. Moe had appeared in 90 games with the A’s during his 5-season MLB Pitching career. He had compiled a 10-6 record with a 4.71 ERA, 97 strikeouts and 4 saves in 185 innings pitched. On June 14,1956, Moe Burtschy was traded by Kansas City along with OF Bill Renna and Cash to the Yankees for veteran 1B/PH Eddie Robinson and Reserve INF Lou Skizas. Moe was sent to the Yankees AAA team, the Denver Bears (AA) also, he would pitch for the Yankees other AAA team, Richmond Virginians (IL) finishing the 1956 season with a 3-5 record in 21 games. He never appears with the Yankees at the MLB level. Moe would leave the Yankees organization at the end of the 1956 season. In 1957, he would pitch for the Pirates AAA team, the Columbus Jets (IL) going 5-9 in 44 games before retiring from pro baseball at the end of season.

2015-Former Yankees Catcher Bob Schmidt (1965) had passed away. (1933-2015)
On May 8,1963, Veteran MLB Catcher Bob Schmidt was purchased by the Yankees from the Senators. Bob was known as a fine defensive catcher during his MLB playing career. In 1951, Bob was originally signed as an MLB Amateur Free Agent by the Giants. In 1958, while playing for the Giants, he was named to the 1958 NL All-Star team, but he did not appear in the game. He had played in 127 games for the Giants in his 1958 NL Rookie season, while hitting .244 with 14 HRs and 54 RBIs. Later, Bob would play for the 1961 Reds, 1962-1963 Senators before joining the 1963 Yankees Organization. With the 1961 Reds, he didn’t appear in the World Series against the Yankees. From 1963-1964, he had played for the Yankees AAA team, the Richmond Virginians (IL). The Yankees still had Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and Johnny Blanchard on their MLB 25-man team roster. During the months of May-June 1965, Bob would hit .250 with 1 HR and 3 RBIs in 20 games for the Yankees as a Reserve Catcher, then he was sent back to their AAA team, the Toledo Mud Hens (IL). They had decided to use recently acquired Catcher Doc Edwards from the A’s; the Yankees had traded veteran Catcher Johnny Blanchard for him. Also, the team brought up young Catcher Jake Gibbs, while Schmidt stayed at AAA Richmond. In 1966, Bob Schmidt finished up his pro baseball career at the age of 33 with the AAA Mud Hens, while hitting .243 with 5 HRs and 37 RBIs, while appearing in 89 games. As an MLB player, Bob would finish his pro baseball career with a .243 BA along with 39 HRs and 150 RBIs in 454 games.

2022-The Yankees would extend their winning streak to 10 games, improving their MLB-best record to 17-6 with a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays. Gleyber Torres drives in all 3 runs for New York with a 2-run HR off of Starter Ross Stripling in the 4th and a 9th-inning single off of Reliever Yimi Garcia.

May 3rd

1894-Former Yankees Pitcher Cliff Markle (1915-1916,1924) was born. (1894-1974)
In September of 1915, Pitcher Cliff Markle had joined the Yankees, after pitching for the Class B Waco Navigators (TXL); where he had gone 19-11 with a 2.63 ERA in 45 games. Cliff would pitch for the 1915-1916,1924 Yankees and then for the 1921-1922 Reds in the NL. On March 21,1919, P Cliff Markle was purchased by AA Salt Lake City (PCL) from the Yankees. In 1923, he would join the AA St. Paul Saints (AA). He would post a 25-12 record with a 3.36 ERA, while leading the American Association with 184 strikeouts for the 1924 Saints team. On June 16,1924, Cliff was traded by the AA St Paul Saints (AA) to the Yankees for Cash and 3 Players to be Named Later. Cliff would post a 0-3 record with an 8.87 ERA in 7 games for the Yankees. On July 22, 1924, he was re-purchased by the AA Saints from the Yankees. Overall, for the Yankees, Cliff had a 6-6 record with a 4.60 ERA in 21 games. As an MLB hurler, Cliff would post a 12-17 record with a 4.10 ERA in 56 games with the Yankees and Reds. His Minor League Pitching record was a 211-144 mark with a 3.69 ERA in 466 games. He had led 4 different Minor Leagues in strikeouts during his pitching career.

1904-Future HOF Yankees Pitcher Charles “Red” Ruffing (1930-1942,1945-1946) was born. (1904-1986)
On May 6,1930, the Yankees had obtained hurler Charles Ruffing from the Red Sox for Yankees Reserve OF Cedric Durst and $50,000 Cash. Red had 6 losing seasons with the lowly Red Sox (1924-1930), his fortune would change for him in the Bronx. Ruffing would lead the Yankee Pitchers in career wins with 231 wins, until Whitey Ford broke his club record in 1967, who will finish with 236 career wins as a Yankees hurler. Also, he was a pretty good pitching pitcher for the team, whiles hitting a Grand Slam HR. Red batted over .300 6 times, while hitting 38 HRs. As a Yankees Starter, Red would post a 231-127 record with a .651 WP with a 3.47 ERA and 9 saves in 426 games. He had 261 complete games along with 40 shutouts. Ruffing was named to the AL All-Star team 6 times during his MLB pitching career. He was 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 10 games with 7 complete games in World Series play for the Yankees. The 37-year-old Ruffing was inducted into the Air Force in December 1942. He was discharged in June of 1945. Ruffing will win 273 games during a 22-year MLB Pitching career with the starting with the 1924-1930 Red Sox, then with the 1930-1946 Yankees and finishing with up his MLB Pitching career with the 1947 White Sox. After retiring, Ruffing was an MLB Coach with the White Sox and the 1962 NL Expansion team, the Mets. He will gain election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.

1912-Leading by the score of 18-5 after 8-innings, Philadelphia A’s Pitchers gave up a record 9-inning outburst of 10 runs to the Yankees before finally veteran hurler Eddie Plank stopped them at the score of 18-15 to win the game for the A’s.

1916-Former Yankees Reserve Catcher and MLB Coach Ken “Hawk” Silvestri (1941,1946-1947) was born. (1916-1992)
Before the start of the 1936 AL season, Ken “Hawk” Silvestri was signed as an MLB Amateur Free Agent by the White Sox. On December 21,1940, Ken was traded by Chicago to the Yankees for Reserve INF Bill Knickerbocker. Silvestri had played in 33 games as a Reserve Catcher for the Yankees, while hitting .254 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. On November 10,1948, Ken was drafted by the Phillies from the Yankees organization in the 1948 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. He would appear in 1 game of the 1950 World Series with the Phillies against his former team with no hits. After his MLB playing career had ended in 1951, Ken Silvestri would manage in the Minor Leagues for the Yankees organization from 1955-1958. He had won league championships for the organization in 1957-1958. He was an MLB Coach with the 1959-1960 Phillies. Then he was with the 1961-1962 AAA Louisville Colonels. Next, Ken was an MLB Coach with the 1963-1975 Braves. He would serve as the Interim Manager for the 1967 Braves. Also, Silvestri was an MLB Coach for the White Sox (1976,1982).

1936-Future Hall of Fame Outfielder Joe DiMaggio made his MLB Rookie Player debut for the Yankees. At Yankee Stadium, Joe had 3 hits in a 14-5 victory over the St. Louis Browns. Joe hits a triple and 2 singles, as he drove in a run and scored 3 runs in his 1st MLB game.

1945-The Yankees had released veteran MLB OF Paul “Big Poison” Waner (1944-1945). After a fine MLB playing career in the NL with the Pirates, Dodgers, Braves and the Yankees, veteran OF Paul Waner had retired as an MLB player. His legs had given out on him, he couldn’t play the outfield anymore and barely could pinch-hit for the team. Paul would appear in only 10 games with the 1944-1945 Yankees, hitting just .143 with No HRs and 1 RBI. He was retiring with a lifetime MLB BA of .333 with 113 HRs and 1,303 RBIs with 3,152 MLB hits in 2,545 MLB games (1925-1945). He would be elected to Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952.

1946-The Yankees had sold Pitcher Steve Roser to the Boston Braves. In 1944, Steve was a Yankee Rookie hurler, who had posted a 4-3 record with a 3.86 ERA and 1 save in 16 games for the team. In 1945, he had no decisions with a 3.67 ERA in 11 games. For the 1946 Yankees, Steve had appeared in 4 games, while posting a 1-1 record with a 16.20 ERA. Overall, as a Bronx hurler, Steve would post a 5-4 record with a 4.17 ERA and 1 save in 31 games. With the 1946 Braves, he will post a 1-1 record with a 3.60 ERA and 1 save in 14 games for the team, before being sent down to their AAA team, the Indianapolis Indians (AA). He would finish his pro baseball career in 1947 with the Braves organization with their new AAA Club, the Milwaukee Brewers (AA).

1946-The Yankees had released veteran OF Bud Metheny. In 1943, Bud had been called up by the team from the AA Newark Bears (IL). He was the team’s RF for the 1943-1945 AL seasons, hitting .247 with 31 HRs and 156 RBIs in 376 games. He had gone hitless in 3 at bats for the team in 1946. After his player release, Bud would be signed by the Yankees AAA Minor League team, the Kansas City Blues (AA). Bud would finish pro baseball career as 1B/OF with the 1947 AA Newark Bears (IL), the other Yankees AAA Minor League team.

1949-The Yankees had obtained Pitcher Edward “Babe” Klieman on waivers from the Senators. His stay with the Yankees was brief with the team, having no MLB appearances. On May 16,1949, Ed was purchased by the White Sox from the Yankees.

1950-Yankees Starter Vic Raschi commits 4 balks in his 4-3 win over the White Sox, thereby tying an MLB record for Balks in a game. He would finish the 1950 AL season with a record tying 6 balks. Raschi was troubled by the new AL balk rule that requires a 1-second stop before delivery with men on base.

1951-At St. Louis’ Sportsman Park, Yankees Rookie INF Gil McDougald ties modern MLB record by driving in 6 runs in 1 inning by tripling home 2 runs and later adding a Grand Slam HR in the game. The Yankees would score 11 runs in that 9th inning, an MLB record for runs scored in the final inning of a regulation game. They had chased 3 St. Louis Browns’ Pitchers, winning the game by a score of 17-3. Gil would go on to win the 1951 AL Rookie of Year Award, beating out White Sox Rookie OF Minnie Miñoso.

1952-The Yankees had obtained Outfielders Irv Noren and INF Tom Upton from the Senators for 2 Outfielders: Jackie Jensen and Archie Wilson, P Frank “Spec” Shea and Reserve INF Jerry Snyder. In the spring of 1952, Jackie Jensen was given the Yankees Centerfield job by Yankees Manager Casey Stengel, but he failed to hit, having a .105 BA (2 for 19). Casey would bench him, using veteran OF Gene Woodling and Rookie OF Bob Cerv in CF instead. Jensen had hit .298 with 8 HRs and 25 RBIs in 56 games in 1951. After the trade was made, Stengel would move RF Mickey Mantle to CF, where he would play for the next 15 MLB seasons. Reserve INF Jerry Snyder never appeared with the Yankees at the MLB level. Pitcher Frank Shea was dealing with pitching arm problems. In 1947, he had as a Yankee Rookie hurler, Spec had posted a 14-5 record during the 1947 AL season. In the 1947 World Series against the Dodgers, he won 2 games for the team. He leaves the Yankees with an overall 29-31 record with a 3.68 ERA along with 3 saves. OF Irv Noren would play well for the Yankees in 3 out of 4 seasons, including hitting .319 in 1954, despite having 2 bad knees. He had hit .295 in 1950 and .278 in 1951 for the Senators. INF Tom Upton was a former Yankees Minor League player; he was sent to play for the AAA Kansas City Blues (AA) replacing Jerry Snyder on the team’s roster. INF Jerry Snyder would spend 7 seasons with the Senators. OF Archie Wilson will be traded by the Senators to the Red Sox during the 1952 AL season, which would be his last active MLB season.

1959-Tigers OF Charley Maxwell hit 4 consecutive HRs in a doubleheader sweep of the Yankees by scores of 4-2 and 8-2 played at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. During his MLB playing career Maxwell will hit 40 of his 148 MLB Career HRs on Sunday. He loved to hit against the Yankees Pitchers, Maxwell would hit over 23 HRs against them during his MLB playing career with the Tigers and the White Sox.

1965-The 1965 Mayor’s Trophy Game is played at Yankee Stadium. A crowd of 22,8881 fans watched the Mets beat the Yankees on a run in the 10th inning, a wide throw on a 2-out squeeze bunt by Mets’ hitter Cleon Jones decides the game as Mets base runner Chris Cannizaro score the winning run. Veteran Mets Starter Warren Spahn picks-up the win, while the 1964’s game winner Yankees Reliever Pete Mikkelsen took the loss.

1965-The Yankees had obtained Catcher Doc Edwards from Kansas City A's for Pitcher Rolland Sheldon and C/1B/OF Johnny Blanchard. This is a classic Yankees GM Ralph Houk trade trading bad for worst and trying to save player contract money ordered by the new CBS, Inc. Ownership. Also, the Yankees still had former MLB Catcher Bob Schmidt at AAA. Doc Edwards would hit .190 with 1 HR and 9 RBIs in 45 games for the 1965 Yankees. At the age of 32, veteran Johnny Blanchard had only played in 12 games, while hitting just .145 with 1 HR and 3 RBIs for the Yankees. Manager Ralph Houk had given up on Blanchard to start hitting better for the team. After playing for the A’s and the Braves in 1965, he would retire as MLB Player in spring of 1966. John was still a better defensive catcher than Doc Edwards, who would be sent down to the Minor Leagues in 1966, before returning to MLB for his final MLB season with the 1970 Phillies. Plus, Johnny Blanchard still could play INF/OF. The veteran hurler Roland Sheldon had appeared only in 3 games with the 1965 Yankees with a 0-0 record with a 1.42 ERA before his trade to the A’s. In 1964, he had posted a 5-2 record with a 3.61 ERA and 1 save in 19 games. He had appeared in 2 games for the Yankees in the 1964 World Series against the Cardinals with no decisions. Sheldon leaves the Yankees with an overall pitching record of 23-15 along with a 4.14 ERA and 2 saves in 91 games. Roland would finish the 1965 AL season with a 10-8 record in 32 games for the A’s. The Yankees should have held on to both of them.

1966-The Yankees had purchased Pitcher Alan Closter from the Senators. The Indians had paid $8,000 Cash to draft Closter from the Yankees organization in November,1965. Before the start of the 1966 AL season, the Tribe had sold him on waivers to the Senators. The Yankees would send Closter to their Class A Greensboro team (CL). He would pitch for the 1971-1972 Yankees, while posting a 2-2 record with a 5.58 ERA in 16 games, before being traded to the Braves in September of 1973.

1968-Former Reserve 1B Ivan Cruz (1997) was born.
On November 27,1995,1B Ivan Cruz was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees. He would play for the AAA Columbus Clippers (IL) for the 1996-1998 seasons. After hitting .300 with 24 HRs and 95 RBIs in 116 games. He made his MLB Player debut with the Yankees on July 18, 1997. He had appeared in 11 games for the 1997 Yankees, while hitting .250 with No HRs and 3 RBIs. On October 3,1998, Ivan was granted MLB Free Agency by the team. He would be signed by the Pirates.

1974-The Yankees had traded Pitcher Ken Wright to the Phillies for hurler Mike Wallace. The Yankees had received Pitcher Ken Wright from the Royals in the Lindy McDaniel-Lou Piniella trade. He had made 3 appearances for the team with no decisions. Mike Wallace was 1-0 for the 1974 Phillies. The Yankees would send Wallace to AAA Syracuse Chiefs (IL), meanwhile the Royals would send Wright to their AAA club, the Toledo Mud Hens (IL).

1986-Bronx Bombers All-Star 1B Don Mattingly connected for 3 sacrifice flies in a 9-4 victory over the Rangers. Mattingly became only the 6th MLB player to accomplish this feat.

1991-Former Yankees Reserve 1B Frank Leja (1954-1955) had passed away. (1936-1991)
In 1953, Frank Leja was signed out of high school with rave reviews by MLB scouts as being the next Lou Gehrig. He was on the Yankees MLB Roster as a “Bonus Baby” for 2 seasons; because of the 2-year MLB rule that required bonus players, who had signed for a certain amount of money had to stay with their MLB team for 2 years. The Yankees had signed Leja for $45,000. Yankees Manager Casey Stengel would seldom use him, preferring to play a veteran player instead. He would appear in only 19 games for the 1954-1955 Yankees before going to the Minor Leagues, with Bill Skowron, Elston Howard and other players ahead of him at 1B on the Yankees and others in their farm system, Frank faced a long challenge to get back to the Bronx. He had possibly his best pro season in 1957, when he led the Eastern League with 117 RBIs and hit 22 HRs to help the Binghamton Triplets to the EL pennant. Also, 1958 was a good season, when he hit for a .263 BA with 29 HRs for the AA New Orleans Pelicans (SA). You could also say that 1961 season with the AAA Richmond Virginians was another good season, when he led the International League with 98 RBIs, while hitting .260 with 30 HRs that was 2nd only to Rochester’s Boog Powell’s 32 HRs. Frank hung in there sticking out for 8 seasons playing in the Yankees farm system. He wound up with a Minor League career BA of .248 with 164 HRs. He would stay in the Minors, even when Yankees All Star 1B Bill Skowron broke his arm during the 1959 AL season. The team would use Marv Throneberry and others rather than bring him up to play 1B at the MLB level. Finally, in the winter of 1961, Frank was sold to the St. Louis Cardinals, who would assign him to their AAA team at Louisville (AA). He would reappear briefly in the MLB in 1962, with the Angels, while appearing in only 7 games before being send back to Minor Leagues. His final MLB career BA was only .043 in 26 games. He would retire from pro baseball, after playing for the 1963 AAA Toronto Maple Leafs (IL), while hitting .260 with 17 HRs and 42 RBIs in 97 games.

1995-Former Yankees Pitcher Ronald Herrera (2017) was born.
After being signed by the A’s, P Ronald Herrera began his pro career in 2012. He had a 2.47 ERA in 14 starts as a 17-year-old for the DSL A’s that season. In 2014, he was sent to the Padres in a trade as the Player to be Name Later for OF Kyle Blanks. On November 11, 2015, he was traded to the Yankees for INF Jose Pirela. He had reached AAA for the 1st time in 2016 and won double-digit games for the 1st time that year as well, finishing with 10 victories (all at AA). On April 26, 2016, he pitched the 1st part of a No-Hitter against the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats (EL), before being relieved by Jonathan Holder. On June 14, 2017, he was called up by the Yankees to make his MLB Pitching debut, replacing the injured Starter CC Sabathia on the MLB 25-man roster. In his MLB pitching debut against the Angels that day, he had pitched 2 innings in relief, but he gave up a game-winning 2-run HR to Andrelton Simmons in the 7th inning, to be saddled with a 7-5 loss. He only pitched 1 other game for New York, ending up with a 6.00 ERA in 3 innings. ¬¬In the Minor Leagues, he made a total of 14 starts, including 3 on a rehab assignment with the GCL Yankees East. He was 8-1 with a 1.91 ERA in those games, including a record of 8-0, with a 1.13 ERA in 8 starts for the AA Trenton Thunder (EL). On November 20, 2018, he was traded by the Yankees to the Rangers in return for lower-level Minor League Pitcher Reiver Sanmartin.

1999-Former Yankees Minor League Pitcher Luis Medina was born.
On July 8, 2015, Pitcher Luis Medina was signed by the Yankees as an MLB Amateur Free Agent from the Dominican Republic. He began his pro career, 1 year later with the DSL Yankees 1. In 2017, he started the season with the same team but then he would earned a promotion to pitch for the Pulaski Yankees (AAPL), by going with a 2-2 record with a 5.35 ERA in 10 games between the 2 stops. He then spent all of 2018 with Pulaski, going 1-3, 6.25 in 12 starts. Apart from a good strikeout rate of approximately 1 batter per inning, he had done little to distinguish himself from the mass of lower-level minor leaguers during these 1st 3 pro seasons. In 2019, he started the year with the Class A Charleston RiverDogs (SAL), and it was more of the same, with a record of 1-8 with 6.00 ERA in 20 starts. He had good stuff, with 115 strikeouts in 93 innings, but his 67 walks showed what the problem was. However, he got the chance to make a couple of starts at a higher level with, the Class A Tampa Tarpons (FSL), and these went a lot better as his ERA was 0.84 in 10 2/3 innings. He then was unable to pitch in the minors in 2020 because they were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he did well in winter league ball, going 2-1, 1.78 in 6 starts for the Indios de Mayagüez, including 2 appearances in the 2021 Caribbean Series as an addition to the roster of the Criollos de Caguas. He made the Puerto Rican League All-Star team while being named its Pitcher of the Year (leading with a 0.54 ERA and 32 K in the regular season). That success at a higher level got him geared up to start 2021 on a good foot with the Hudson Valley Renegades ( High-A East.) He went 2-1, with a 2.76 ERA and was striking out opponents at a high rate while lowering his walks. It earned him a promotion to the Somerset Patriots, the Yankees' new AA affiliate and also a nomination to pitch for the American League squad in the 2021 Futures Game. He continued to pitch well in Somerset and finished the year at 6-4, with 3.39 ERA in 22 games (21 starts), with 133 strikeouts and 60 walks in 106 1/3 innings, and just 83 hits allowed. In 2022, he was back at AA Somerset, where he went 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 17 starts. On August 1st, he was 1 of 4 prospects - the others being Connor Bowman, J.P. Sears and Ken Waldichuk, who were sent to the Oakland Athletics in a trade for 2 veteran pitchers Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino.

2004-Former Yankees Reserve Catcher and MLB Manager Darrell Johnson (1957-1958) had passed away. (1928-2004)
In the winter of 1954, Catcher Darrell Johnson had joined the Yankees, as part of the 17-Player Trade between the Yankees and the Orioles. He will spend the 1955-1956 seasons with AAA Denver Bears (AA) playing for future Yankees Manager Ralph Houk. He was one of the Reserve Catchers for All-Star Catcher Yogi Berra during the 1957-1958 AL seasons. He would appear in only 26 games for the team, while hitting just .226 with No HRs and 5 RBIs for the Yankees. Johnson did not appear in any of 1957-1958 World Series games against the Braves for the team. On November 30,1959, Darrell was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Yankees organization in the 1959 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. He would be an MLB Coach for the team from 1960-1961. Darrell would be traded to the Phillies during the 1961 NL season, before being sold to the Reds finishing out the 1961 NL season with them. He appeared in 2 games of the 1961 World Series with the Reds against his old team the Yankees, hitting .500 (2 for 4). When the Reds had released him in early 1962, he would join the Orioles. Johnson would finish his MLB playing career with the Orioles as a Player/ MLB Coach. Overall, he had appeared in 134 MLB games, while hitting .234 with 2 HRs and 28 RBIs. He would manage in the Minor Leagues for the Orioles (1963-1966) and then in the Red Sox organization (1971-1973). In 1967, Johnson would return to the Yankees organization as an MLB Scout. He would later become an MLB Manager (1974-1980,1982). He would manage in MLB with the Red Sox, Mariners and the Rangers. His 1975 Red Sox team went to the World Series losing to the Reds. He was the 1st manager of the AL new expansion team, the Seattle Mariners. His last MLB Manager job was with the 1982 Rangers. As an MLB Manager for 8 seasons, Darrell Johnson had a record of 472-590 in 1,063 MLB games.

2012-The Yankees great Mariano Rivera, MLB's All-Time Save Leader, suffers a torn ligament in his right knee, while shagging fly balls during batting practice before the Yankees' game with the Royals in Kansas City. He is carted off the field and at the age of 42, the knee injury may well be MLB career ending. Mariano will recover to pitch for the 2013 Yankees. In the Yankees 2013 MLB Spring Training Camp, he announced that he would retire from MLB, when the 2013 AL season ended.

2020-Former Yankees and MLB Scout Rudy Santin had passed away. (1960-2020)
Rudy Santin would pitch in the Minor Leagues from 1978 to 1980. He was an 8th round pick in the 1978 MLB Amateur Player Draft by the Mariners. He would started his pro career that year with the Bellingham Mariners (NL), but after a few games he found himself with the unaffiliated Salem Senators in the same league. Between the 2 stops, he went 2-1, with a 4.78 ERA in 8 games. In 1979, he was in the Cardinals organization with the Johnson City Cardinals (AL) with no decisions and an ERA of 6.75 in 6 games. In 1980, he found work with another unaffiliated team, the Macon Peaches (SAL). Rudy went 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 6 games. He was born in Cuba, his family had fled to Miami, FL, when he was a young boy. In high school, he had the rare ability to pitch ambidextrously. After his playing career had ended, he would scout for the Yankees, Giants and the Devil Rays, being Director of Latin American Operations for both the Giants and Devil Rays. He later was a Player Agent. As a MLB Scout, he had signed Bartolomé Fortunato, Juan Salas and Ramon Soler. As an agent, he worked with Alexander Guerrero. He later ran a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, which trained future professional players Rafael Devers and Wander Franco. He is a member of the Professional Scouts Hall of Fame. He was sometimes tainted by controversy, as he was suspected of making illegal bonus payments, while working in the Yankees system, as detailed in the book The Duke of Havana about the signing of Cuban defector P Orlando Hernandez, which came out in 2001. Also, he was also investigated for his role in the signing of another defector, Hector Olivera, as Olivera alleged that Santin signed him to an exclusive representation contract, when he arrived in the D.R., charging him an exorbitant 37.5% of future earnings, something which Olivera later charged to have been done under duress. In turn, Rudy alleged that he had been scammed by Greg Genske, who had become Olivera's agent before he signed a lucrative contract with the Dodgers. In March 2020, with his health failing after a stroke, he decided to become a whistleblower, denouncing a widespread system of illegal agreements with underage players to ensure their future signing, but that leave them open to future exploitation. Part of that system includes providing loans to families that indebt them to shady lenders. He died on May 3rd, the victim of a heart attack, while still cooperating with the FBI on their investigation into these illegal practices, including allegations of human trafficking. Others have denounced the system, including Hall of Famer Pitcher Pedro Martinez.

May 4th

1918-The Yankees set an MLB record by recording 8 sacrifices in 1 game (6 bunts and 2 sac flies) during their 5-4 win at Fenway Park. The Yankees took advantage of the less-than-nimble and far-from left-handed Red Sox Pitcher named Babe Ruth. Those recording sacrifices were: Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh 2, OF Elmer Miller 2, 1B Wally Pipp, OF Ping Bodie, 2B Del Pratt and Catcher Truck Hannah.

1924-In an effort to put less strain on his leg, Babe Ruth played 1B, as Lou Gehrig moved to Right Field. Gehrig would make a costly error in the outfield helping the Senators beat the Yankees by the score of 7-3. Together, they have 5 hits at the plate in the losing effort. This change of positions experiment for the 2 Yankees stars ends the next day.

1929-Yankees 1B Lou Gehrig hits 3 consecutive HRs against the Tigers during an 11-9 victory at Yankee Stadium. Also, during the 6th inning, Lou’s 2nd HR was sandwiched between HRs by his Yankees teammates, Sluggers Bob Meusel and Babe Ruth.

1933-Yankees Starter Lefty Gomez’s no-hit bid is spoiled in the 9th inning, when Tigers 2B Charlie Gehringer leads off the 9th inning with a HR. Next, Gerald Walker follows with a double, he goes to 3rd on a wild pitch by Gomez, then he scored on an INF out before finally Gomez settles down and retires the side. Final score of the game was Yankees 5-2.

1936-The Yankees had waived Reserve OF Dixie Walker (1931,1933-1936) to the White Sox. The current Yankees outfield of Rookie Joe DiMaggio, George Selkirk and Ben Chapman blocked Dixie Walker with Charlie Keller and Tommy Henrich coming right up behind him in the Yankees Minor League system. He had been with the team for 5 seasons. Overall, Walker had appeared in 131 games for the Yankees, while hitting .268 with 16 HRs and 58 RBIs. Walker’s best season with the Yankees was in 1933, when he appeared in 98 games, while hitting .274 with 15 HRs and 51 RBIs. He would play for the White Sox and Tigers in the AL, before going over to the NL in 1939. Dixie would have a good MLB playing career in NL, especially with the Dodgers, where he was nicknamed “The Peoples Cherce” by the Brooklyn Dodgers Fans. His younger brother, Harry “The Hat” Walker was a 1940’s star in NL with the Cardinals and later became an MLB hitting Coach and MLB Manager.

1971-Former Yankees Reliever Joe Borowski (1997-1998) was born.
After being obtained from the Braves on waivers, Reliever Joe Borowski would post a 1-1 record with a 6.94 ERA in 25 games for the 1997-1998 Yankees. He was granted MLB Free Agency by the team. He would sign with the Reds for the 1999 NL season.

1974-The Yankees had traded Minor League P Mike Pazik to the Twins for MLB Pitcher Dick Woodson, who had a 33-30 MLB pitching record with pitching for the Twins. He was 1-1 for the 1974 Twins at the time of the trade was made. Mike Pazik was with the Yankees AAA club, the Syracuse Chiefs (IL). The Twins would send him to their AAA club at Tacoma (PCL). To clear MLB roster space for Woodson, the Yankees would send down Pitcher Rick Sawyer to the AAA Syracuse Chiefs (IL). For the 1974 Yankees, Woodson would post a 1-2 record with a 5.79 ERA in 8 games. On April 10,1975, he was traded by the Yankees to the Braves for Pitcher Dave Cheadle, a former Yankees Minor League Pitcher.

1974-Former Yankees Reserve INF/OF Miguel Cairo (2004, 2006-2007) was born.
On September 20,1990, INF/OF Miguel Cairo was signed by the Dodgers as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He would never appear with the Dodgers at the MLB level. Miguel Cairo would appear in 257 games as Reserve INF for the Yankees, while hitting .269 with 6 HRs and 82 RBIs. On August 15, 2007, the Yankees had released Cairo; he would be picked by the Cardinals for the rest of 2007 NL season. After the 2012 MLB season, Cairo retired as an active player. He was named a Special Assistant to the Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty. He was also invited to the Reds' MLB spring training camp in 2013 as an Instructor for both MLB and Minor League players. During his MLB 17 season playing career (1996-2012), Miguel Cairo had played for the Blue Jays, Cubs (twice), Devil Rays, Cardinals, Yankees (twice), Mets, Mariners, Phillies before finishing up with the 2012 Reds. He had played in 1,490 MLB games finishing with a lifetime .264 BA with 41 HRs and 394 RBIs.

1981-Yankees Reliever Ron Davis struck out 8 consecutive Angel batters in the 4-2 victory over the Angels at Anaheim Stadium, tying a AL pitching record set by Nolan Ryan.

1985-Former Yankees and MLB Pitcher and AL Umpire (1968-1984) Bill Kunkel (1963) passes away from Cancer. (1936-1985).
In 1955, the Red Sox originally had signed Bill Kunkel as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He never appeared with the team at the MLB level. Before the start of the 1956 AL season, Bill was sent from the Red Sox to the Dodgers in an unknown deal. He had spent the 1957-1958 seasons serving in the military. On November 28,1960, Bill Kunkel was drafted by the A’s from the Dodgers organization in the 1960 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. Bill had pitched for 1961-1962 A’s by going 3-4 with a 5.04 ERA in 67 games. On August 3,1962, Kunkel was traded by A’s along with OF Leo Posada to the Braves for P Orlando Pena. On November 26,1962, Bill Kunkel was drafted by the Yankees from the Braves organization in the 1962 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. Bill would post a 3-2 record with a 2.72 ERA in 23 games, while working out of the bullpen with the 1963 Yankees. He would pitch in the Minor Leagues from 1964 until 1965 with various MLB organizations, until retiring as an active player in 1965; then he became a Professional Baseball Umpire reaching the MLB level in 1968. Twice during his Professional Umpire career, he took leaves from his job to undergo Cancer surgery and twice he returned. He would umpire in 2 World Series (1974 and 1980). Bill was in the 1972 and 1977 MLB All-Star Games, serving as Home Plate Umpire in the latter. His son, Jeff Kunkel was an MLB Infielder for 8 seasons from 1984 to 1992 with the Rangers and the White Sox. During a 1984 spring training game, Kunkel's son Jeff, a member of the Rangers, brought the lineup card to the plate the only time Father and Son have appeared in the same MLB game as Umpire and Player. Shortly after his son Jeff was called up by the Rangers in July of that season, Bill decided to retire as an MLB Umpire. He would work his last MLB game on August 28,1984. He was the last of a breed, as no former MLB player has umpired a game since that day, even though the transition from player to umpire was very common until the 1950s. On May 4, 1985, he would pass-away from Cancer shortly after his retirement at age of 47 at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, NJ.

2006-Former Yankees Reserve OF Jim Delsing (1949-1950) had passed away. (1925-2006)
On December 14,1948, OF Jim Delsing was traded by the White Sox to the Yankees for OF Steve “Bud” Souchock. Jim will only appear in 21 games as a Reserve Outfielder for the 1949-1950 Yankees, while hitting .367 with 1 HR and 3 RBIs. On June 15,1950, Jim Delsing was traded by the Yankees along with 2 Pitchers: Don Johnson, Duane Pillette, veteran MLB INF George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss and $50,000 Cash to the St. Louis Browns for Pitchers Tom Ferrick, Joe Ostrowski and Reserve INF Leo Thomas. Jim would play in the MLB for 10 seasons, finishing with a lifetime BA of .255 with 40 HRs and 286 RBIs in 822 games. He would play for the White Sox (twice), Yankees, Browns, Tigers before finishing up with the 1960 Kansas City A’s.

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This Week in Yankees History April 28th-May 4th

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