Post by fwclipper51 on Jul 13, 2024 13:40:16 GMT -5
This Week in Yankees History July 14th-July 20th
July 14th
1874-Former Yankees Pitcher Jesse Tannehill (1903) was born. (1874-1956)
Before the start of 1903 AL Season, Pitcher Jesse Tannehill had jumped from the NL Pirates to the AL Highlanders. For the 1903 Highlanders, he would post a 15-15 record with a 3.27 ERA in 32 games. On December 20,1903, Jesse was traded by the Highlanders to the Boston Americans (aka Red Sox) for Starter Tom Hughes. The trade didn’t work out for New York; Jesse would win 20 games or more in the next 2 seasons for Boston, meanwhile Tom Hughes would be sent to the Senators, after posting a 7-11 record in 19 games for the team. Jesse would finish his 15 season MLB Pitching career (1894-1911) with a 197-117 record with a 2.80 ERA in 359 games.
1903-Veteran MLB starter Clark Griffith becomes the 1st Yankees Pitcher to hit a Home Run in a game. The Yankees would beat the Tigers by the score of 5-4 at Hill Top Park.
1908-Former Yankees Reliever (1932,1934-1943,1946-1947) and MLB Executive (1948-1970) Johnny “Grand Ma” Murphy was born. (1908-1970.)
On June 27,1931, Pitcher Johnny Murphy was traded by the AA St. Paul Saints (AA) along with INF Jack Saltzgaver, Cash and 2 Players to be Named to the Yankees for a Player to be Named Later. On November 12,1931, the Yankees would send Reserve INF Jimmy Reese to St. Paul complete the trade. For the Yankees, Johnny Murphy would post a 93-53 record with a 3.54 ERA with 104 saves in 415 games. He was a 3-time AL All Star team player (1937-1939). He would lead the AL in saves 4 times (1938-1939,1941,1942). He had appeared in 6 World Series with the Yankees (1936-1939,1941,1943), while posting a 2-0 record with 1.10 ERA and 4 saves in 8 games. On April 12,1947, John was released by the by the Yankees, he had been replaced by young Reliever named Joe Page. On April 15,1947, he was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Red Sox. He retired as an active MLB player at the end of the 1947 AL season. From 1948-1960, Johnny Murphy was the Farm Director for the Red Sox. Johnny would later work in the front office for the NL expansion team, the Mets, as their 1st Director of Player Development, then as a General Manager before having a fatal heart attack in January of 1970. His work with the Mets saw the rise of the NL expansion team to the 1969 World Championship team.
1934-At Navin Field in Detroit, in an effort to keep his consecutive game played streak intact, the Yankees have lumbago-stricken Lou Gehrig's bat lead-off and list him as the Shortstop in their starting line-up. After singling in the 1st inning, the 'Iron Horse' leaves the game without fielding his position. It was his 1,427th straight game. Yankees young INF Red Rolfe ran for him and became the Yankees starting shortstop. Meanwhile, Reserve Yankees INF Jack Saltzgaver would play 1st base, Gehrig's regular fielding position. Lou Gehrig was forced to leave yesterday's game in the 2nd inning; he was given electric pad treatments by the Yankees Trainer thought out the night. The game is a wild affair with the Tigers pounding out 11 doubles to edge the Yankees in a late innings rally to win the game by a score of 12-11 and take a 1 game lead over the Yankees in the 1934 AL pennant race. Also in the game, Lou’s teammate Babe Ruth hits his last HR career at Detroit’s Navin Field.
1939-The Yankees would tie the AL record with only 1 assist, as Bronx Starter Red Ruffing wins the game by a score of 8-3 over the Tigers.
1947-Former Yankees OF Danny Walton (1971) was born. (1947-2017)
On June 9,1971, the Yankees had obtained OF Danny Walton from the Brewers for INF/OF Frank Tepedino and OF Bobby Mitchell. Walton never turned out to be the power hitter the Yankees were looking for. He would spend most of his playing time in the Yankees organization playing at the AAA level with the Syracuse Chiefs (IL). He had appeared in only 5 games for the team, hitting just .143 with 1 HR and 2 RBIs. He would be traded to the Twins for Reserve Catcher Rick Dempsey in the fall of 1972.
1952-Tigers Slugger 1B Walt Dropo goes 5-for-5 against the Yankees in an 8-2 win. All 5 hits of his hits are singles.
1957-Yankees 1B Bill “Moose” Skowron hits an MLB-record 2nd pinch-hit Grand Slam HR of the 1957 AL season off of White Sox hurler Jim Wilson in the 2nd game of a doubleheader. Bill’s big hit comes in the 9th inning as the Yankees score 6 runs to win the game by a score of 6-4. The White Sox would take the 1st game of the doubleheader from the Yankees by a score of 3-1.
1964-Orioles’ Bob Johnson's 6th straight hit as a pinch-hitter sets an AL mark, but the Yankees win the game by a score of 4-3. Yankees Starter Al Downing pitches a complete game picking up his 6th victory of the 1964 AL season. Orioles’ veteran Reliever Stu Miller took the loss.
1967-Former Yankees 3B/1B/DH (2002-2003) and MLB Manager Robin Ventura was born.
On December 7, 2001, INF Robin Ventura was traded by the Mets to the Yankees for veteran OF David Justice. He hit .247 with 27 HRs and 93 RBIs for the 2002 Yankees. The team resigned Robin as an MLB Free Agent in the winter of 2002. His final Yankee player totals were a .239 BA in 230 games while hitting 36 HRs with 135 RBI’s. On July 31,2003, Robin was traded by the Yankees to the Dodgers for 2 Minor League Players: OF Bubba Crosby and Pitcher Scott Proctor.
1979-Former Yankees Minor League INF Bernie Castro was born.
On September 25,1997, INF Bernie Castro was signed by the Yankees as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He never played for the Yankees at the MLB level. On December 18, 2001, Bernie was traded by the Yankees to the Padres for OF Prospect Kevin Reese.
1982-Former Yankees OF (1950-1952) and AL MVP Jackie Jensen had passed away. (1927-1982).
Jackie Jensen was an All-American Football star at USC in college. On October 13,1949, OF Jackie Jensen was traded by the AA Oakland Oaks (PCL) along with INF Billy Martin to the Yankees for a Player to be Named Later and Cash. On July 5,1950, the Yankees would send Catcher Eddie Malone to Oakland to complete the trade. Jackie was unable to crack the regular starting Yankees outfield lineup, despite playing as a part time player in 1950. Then Jackie having a solid 1951 AL season by hitting .298 with 8 HRs and 25 RBIs in 56 games, playing in the outfield along with Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Hank Bauer, Bob Cerv and Gene Woodling. Jackie’s Yankees final player career totals was a .249 BA, while hitting 9 HRs and 32 RBIs in 108 games. He had appeared in 1 game in the 1950 World Series against the Phillies with no hits. On May 3,1952, he was traded by the Yankees along with P Spec Shea, INF Jerry Snyder and OF Archie Wilson to the Senators for 2 Outfielders: Irv Noren and Tom Upton. Yankees Manager Casey Stengel had given up on him after poor start in 1952, he was hitting just .105 and losing the Centerfield starting job. The Yankees would move Mickey Mantle from to RF to CF. The Senators would later trade him to the Red Sox. In 1958, while playing for Boston, he was voted AL MVP. He had hit .286 with 35 HRs and 122 RBIs. Jackie Jensen was named to the AL All-Star team in 1952, 1955 and in 1958. In 1961, he had retired from the MLB, because of his fear of flying. Then Jensen would coach College Baseball at the Univ. of Nevada (1970-1971) and the Univ. of California (1974-1977). Then in 1977, Jackie would move to Virginia to operate a Christmas tree farm and run a baseball camp. He remains the only man to play in the Rose Bowl, East-West Shrine Game, the World Series and Baseball's All-Star game.
1988-Former Yankees OF Whitey Witt (1922-1925) had passed away. (1895-1988).
On April 17,1922, OF Whitey Witt was purchased by the Yankees from the Philadelphia A’s. Whitey played both outfield and infield (mostly shortstop). In 1916 and 1917, he was primarily a (very error-prone) Shortstop for the Philadelphia A’s. He had missed the 1918 AL season because of World War I military service. Then he was half an outfielder and half a 2B in 1919 and from then on, he was mostly an outfielder. He would play centerfield and lead-off for the Yankees. Whitey had appeared in 2 World Series with Yankees, while hitting .233 with No HRs and 4 RBIs in 11 games. He was the leadoff man for the Yankees in both the 1922 and 1923 World Series against the Giants. In 1922, he would lead the AL in walks, getting 5 more than his Yankees teammate Babe Ruth, who was suspended for part of the 1922 AL season. In a crucial game played on September 16th in St. Louis, he was hit on the forehead by an empty pop bottle thrown by a fan while trying to catch a ball in centerfield. He was knocked unconscious and the incident almost caused a riot, but he came back to hit the game-winning single in the 9th inning that virtually clinched the 1922 AL pennant for the Yankees 2 days later. In May of 1925, the Yankees would release Whitey Witt, after playing in 31 games for the team, he was only hitting .200. For the 1922-1925 Yankees, he had played in 464 games, while hitting .300 with 11 HRs and 130 RBIs. On December 8,1925, the Dodgers would sign Whitey. He would finish out his MLB playing career in 1926 with them. From 1927-1929, he would play in the Minor Leagues at the AA Level before retiring as an active player.
1992-Former Yankees Reserve OF Tim Locastro (2021, 2022) was born.
On June 7, 2013, OF Tim Locastro was drafted by by the Blue Jays in the 13th round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Player Draft. On July 2, 2015, he was traded by the Blue Jays along with INF Chase De Jong to the Dodgers for 2 international bonus slots. On November 21, 2018, Tim was traded by Dodgers to Yankees for Minor League hurler Drew Finely and cash. On January 16, 2019, he was traded by the Yankees to the Diamondbacks for Minor League hurler Ronald Roman and cash. On July 1, 2021, Tim was traded by the Diamondbacks to the Yankees for Minor League Pitcher Keegan Curtis. On November 5, 2021, he was selected off waivers by the Red Sox from the Yankees. On November 30, 2021, Tim was granted his MLB Free Agency by Boston. On March 13, 2022, Tim was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees. With the Bronx Bombers, he was a defensive replacement in the outfield and because of his speed on the bases, he was used often as a pinch-runner. On November 10, 2022, Tim was granted his MLB Free Agency by the Yankees. He would appear in 47 games with the 2021-2022 Yankees, while hitting .188 with 6 HRs and 8 RBIs. He would be signed by the Mets for the 2023 season. For the 2024 season, he is playing for the Padres.
1994-Former Yankees Reserve INF Cesar “Pepito” Tovar (1976) had passed away. (1940-1994)
In September of 1976, Reserve INF Cesar Tovar had batted .250, while appearing in only 13 games for the Yankees. He had played for Manager Billy Martin, when he had managed the Twins. In the 1976 AL Post season, he did not play for the Yankees. On December 17, 1976, the Yankees would grant him MLB Free Agency.
1994-Current Yankees Pitcher Jake Cousins (2024) was born.
Pitcher Jake Cousins was Drafted by the Nationals in the 20th round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft from Univ. of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA). On March 27, 2019, he was released by the Nationals. On July 16, 2019, he was signed as a Free Agent with by the Brewers. In 3 MLB seasons with the Brewers, Jake would post a 3-1 record with a 3.08 ERA in 51 games. On July 31, 2023, he was selected off waivers by the Astros from the Brewers. He didn’t appear in any games for the Astros, who would grant him Free Agency in the off-season. On December 5, 2023, Jake was signed as an MLB Free Agent with the White Sox. On March 31, 2024, Jake Cousins was purchased by the Yankees for Cash considerations from the White Sox. He is currently pitching at AAA Scranton. He has made 2 outings for the 2024 Yankees with a 1-0 record with a 3.00 ERA.
2011-The Blue Jays open the 2nd half of the 2011 AL season with a bang, scoring 8 runs in the 1st inning of their game against the Yankees, chasing veteran MLB Starter Bartolo Colon after two-thirds of an inning. Rookie 3B Eduardo Nunez, filling in for Alex Rodriguez, who underwent a knee operation during the MLB All-Star break, commits a costly error that leads to 5 of the 8 runs scored. The Yankees then close to within 9-7, but the Jays victimize the back end of their bullpen in the late innings to end up with an emphatic 16-7 victory. The 16 runs and 20 hits are season bests for the Jays. Yankees Andruw Jones hits 2 HRs in a losing Bronx cause, while Shortstop Derek Jeter and DH Jorge Posada appear together in a game for the 1,660th time, the all-time record for the Bronx Bombers, beating out HOF players Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri. The Blue Jays get a scare when All-Star Jose Bautista has to leave the game in the 4th inning with a twisted ankle.
2022-The Yankees have reacquired INF/OF Tyler Wade from the Angels for a Player to be Named Later or Cash considerations. With the 2022 Angels, Tyler had played in 67 games, while hitting .218 with 1 HR and 8 RBIs, plus he had stolen 8 bases. The team would assign him to AAA Scranton. He will not appear with the 2022 Yankees. He will be given his MLB Free Agency after the 2022 MLB post season ends.
2022-The Yankees have placed Starter Luis Severino on the IL. They will bring back veteran Reliever Ryan Weber up from AAA Scranton.
2023-The Yankees have signed veteran MLB INF Jake Lamb to a Minor League contract. They have assigned him to their AAA club in Scranton. He had been DFA by the Angels last week, who he had played in 8 games with the team, while hitting just .210.
July 15th
1892-Former Yankees Reserve Catcher Eugene “Bubbles” Hargrave (1930) was born. (1892-1969)
In 1930, the Yankees used veteran Catcher Bubbles Hargrave as a back-up catcher for Bill Dickey. He would hit .278 with No HRs and 12 RBIs in 45 games. After the 1930 AL season, he would leave the MLB, but he would continue to play in the Minor Leagues until 1932. While playing with the 1926 Reds, Hargrave had won NL Batting Crown with a .353 mark. His brother Pinky was also a catcher in the MLB (1923-1933).
1907-The White Sox pound the Yankees by the score of 15-0, the 2nd time this 1907 AL season that they've beaten New York by that score. They'll beat them in 1950 by the same score, the Yankees team record for most runs by an opponent in a shutout in 2004.
1908-Former Yankees OF Jake Powell (1936-1940) was born. (1908-1948)
On June 14,1936, OF Jake Powell was traded by the Senators to the Yankees for OF Ben Chapman. Jake would hit .271 with 13 HRs and 124 RBIs for the Yankees in 272 games. He had appeared in 3 World Series with the Yankees playing in 8 games, while hitting .435 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. In 1938, Bob Elson interviewed Powell for a pre-game show on WGN radio in Chicago. Elson asked Powell what he did as a policeman in Dayton, Ohio during the off-season. Powell said, “I crack n*****s on the head.” For this public statement, he received a 10-game suspension from MLB Commissioner Judge Landis. On December 5,1940, Jake was purchased by AA San Francisco Seals (PCL) from the Yankees. After being arrested by the police in Washington, D.C. for passing bad checks in 1948, Jake Powell would commit suicide with a gun in the police station.
1917-The Yankees would send veteran OF Lee Magee to the St. Louis Browns for OF Armando Marsans, who will appear in 25 games, while hitting .225 for the team. He will bounce back in 1918, hitting .236 in 37 games. Marsans was the 1st Cuban born player to play for the team.
1920-Yankees Slugger Babe Ruth ties his 1919 MLB record of 29 HRs with a game-winner in the 13th inning to beat the St. Louis Browns by a score of 13-10. Two days later, he will break it by hitting 2 HRs off of White Sox Pitcher Richard Kerr.
1934-Yankees Slugger Lou Gehrig returns to 1B and goes 4-for-4, including 3 doubles off of Tigers Starter “Schoolboy” Rowe, but the Yankees still lose to the Tigers for the 2nd day in a row by losing by a score of 8-3.The Tigers now have a 2-game lead over the Bronx Bombers in the AL pennant race
1936-After an absence of several weeks, Detroit Manager Mickey Cochrane rejoins the Tigers in New York City, as they would split a doubleheader with the Yankees. The Tigers take the opener by the score of 5-1, then they lose the 2nd game by a score of 7-4, as the Yankees maintain its 9-game lead in the AL. Cochrane will suffer a relapse and MLB Coach Del Baker will take over the team on the 21st.
1952-The Indians power hitters dazzle the Yankees with a triple steal in the 1st inning as Al Rosen scores, Larry Doby goes to 3B and Luke Easter, in his only MLB theft goes to 2B. The Yankees lose the game by the score of 7-3 to the Tribe.
1960-At Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Yankees Slugger Mickey Mantle cracks a 3-run HR off of veteran hurler Don Mossi, but the Tigers rally to win the game by the score of 8-4.
1964-Yankees Starter Whitey Ford's 2-0 win over the Orioles raises the Yankees to 1st place in the AL. Orioles hurler Dave McNally takes the loss. Joe Pepitone has 2 hits and 2 RBIs for the Yankees.
1965-At Yankee Stadium, Yankees Slugger Mickey Mantle's 5th inning HR off of Nats Pitcher Phil Ortega that ties the game at 1-1. The Bronx Bombers will top the Senators by the score of 2-1.
1966-Former Yankee INF Tommy “Rebel” McMillian (1912) had passed away. (1888-1966)
On August 12,1912, INF Tommy McMillian was traded by AA Rochester (IL) to the Yankees for INF Jack Martin and Pitcher Jack Quinn. For the 1912 Yankees, he had appeared in 41 games, just hitting .228.
1968-Former Yankees Reserve Catcher (1942) and Minor League Manager Eddie Kearse had passed away. (1916-1968)
After an 11-game cup of coffee with the 1942 Yankees, in which he hit only .192. Kearse had fought and was wounded in France during WWII. He returned, after receiving the Purple Heart Award. He would complete his 12-season Minor League playing career. During his last 2 years playing in the Minor Leagues, he was a Player-Manager: 1948 Ventura Yankees, 1949 Grand Forks Chiefs (1st part of the season) and the 1949 Paducah Chiefs (2nd part of the season). Despite an overall losing record and 4th place finish, Paducah would prevail as the league champion in the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League playoffs.
1969-Red Sox Slugger Reggie Smith collects 5 straight hits in the opener, stretching his AL hitting streak to 21 games, leading Boston to a 7-6 win over the Yankees. He'll get another hit in the nightcap, a 4-1 win by Yankees Starter Stan Bahnsen (5-10), but his hitting streak will stop tomorrow.
1972-Former Yankees Reserve INF Wilson Delgado (2000) was born.
On March 23, 2000, INF Wilson Delgado was traded by the Giants to the Yankees for Minor League Player Juan Melo. For the 2000 Yankees, Wilson would hit .244 in 31 games. On August 11, 2000, Wilson was traded by the Yankees to the Royals for Minor League 1B Nick Ortiz.
1974-Former Yankees Reserve INF Claude Derrick (1913) had passed away. (1886-1974)
Claude Derrick was a Reserve INF for the 1910-1912 Philadelphia A’s. The Athletics would send him to the AA Baltimore Orioles (IL). The Tigers had selected him from the Orioles in the 1912 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. On September 18,1912, Claude was traded by the Tigers to the Yankees for Veteran MLB Catcher Red McKee. He would appear in 23 games for the team, while hitting .292 with 1 HR and 7 RBIs. On June 26,1913, Claude was purchased by AA Orioles (IL) from the Yankees.
1984-Former Yankees Pitcher Anthony Claggett (2009) was born.
On November 10, 2006, Pitcher Anthony Claggett was traded by Tigers the along with Pitchers Kevin Whelan and Humberto Sanchez to the Yankees for veteran OF/DH Gary Sheffield. Anthony Claggett's MLB Pitching debut with the Yankees was on April 18, 2009 was one to remember, but for all of the wrong reasons. He came on in relief in the 2nd inning, when Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang was chased after pitching 1⅓ innings. He would close out the inning, but not before the Tribe had scored 14 runs in the inning (8 runs charged to Wang and 6 runs to Claggett), the most ever given up by the Yankees pitchers in a single inning. He then gave up 2 more runs in the 3rd inning before leaving the came with his ERA standing at 43.20. The Yankees would lose the game by the score of 22-4. The Yankees would send him back to AAA Scranton (IL). In September of 2009, the Pirates would claim him on waivers from the Yankees. He would join the Pirates active MLB roster for the final road trip of the 2009 MLB season.
1985-Former Yankees Reliever David Carpenter (2015) was born.
On January 1, 2015, Dave Carpenter was traded by the Braves along with Pitcher Chasen Shreve to the Yankees for Minor League P Manny Banuelos. He went 0-1 with a 4.82 ERA in 22 games for the 2015 Yankees, while working out of their bullpen. On June 11, 2015, he was traded by the Yankees to the Nationals for INF Tony Renda.
1990-Former Yankees Minor League Catcher/OF/DH Peter O’Brien was born.
Peter O'Brien was a 2nd round choice of the Yankees in the 2012 MLB Amateur Player Draft, out of the Univ. of Miami. A year earlier, the Rockies had taken him in the 3rd round of the 2011 draft out of Bethune-Cookman College, but they had failed to come to terms with him. Peter spent most of 2012 season with the Class A Staten Island Yankees (NYPL) where he hit .202 in 48 games. He would split 2013 season between the Class A Charleston RiverDogs (SAL) and the Class A Tampa Yankees (FSL) hitting for a combined line of .291 with 39 doubles and 22 HRs. He drove in 96 runs in 119 games, justifying his status as a top draft pick. He had played 38 games at 3B with Tampa, in addition to his catching duties, as the Yankees wanted him to get as many at-bats as possible without overtiring him by having him catching too many games. The down side was that he struck out 134 times, while drawing only 41 walks. In 2014, he was back at Tampa to start the season, but showed clearly that he had nothing left to prove at that level, with a .321 BA, 9 doubles and 10 HRs in only 30 games. He was promoted to the AA Trenton Thunder (EL) on May 9th. His bat cooled down a bit, as he hit .245 with a .296 OBP in 72 games, but the outstanding power was still there, as he slugged 14 doubles and 23 HRs in that short span. He would continue to move around the playing field, playing more games at 1B than behind the plate in AA, and also seeing time in the OF and at DH. On July 31st, he was traded to the Diamondbacks in return for MLB INF Martin Prado with the Yankees trying to make a push for a MLB postseason appearance in Derek Jeter's final season.
1990-At Yankee Stadium, Royals Slugger Bo Jackson slugs 3 straight HRs, the 3rd HR is his MLB Career 100th HR, then he separates his shoulder in the 6th inning diving for a line drive off the bat of Yankees batter Deion Sanders. The speedy Sanders ends up with an inside-the-park HR, but the Royals still take home a 10-7 win. The Royals victory is costly, as Bo Jackson will be out of the Royals starting line-up for the next 6 weeks.
1991-Mariners’ DH Edgar Martinez just misses hitting for the cycle for the 2nd game in a row. He stokes a single; double and triple in a 5-1 win over the Yankees. On the 14th, he had 2 singles, a triple and a HR against the Indians.
1997-Despite a sluggish pitching performance by Bronx Rookie Pitcher Hideki Irabu wins his 2nd MLB start, leading the Yankees over the Indians by a score of 12-6. Irabu gives up 5 runs and 9 hits in 5 innings, allowing HRs to Tribe hitters Tony Fernandez, Marquis Grissom and Matt Williams. Cecil Fielder, the Yankees 270-pound DH, tries to score from 1st on a double; his head 1st slide results in a broken right thumb. Cecil Fielder will miss 8 weeks of action for the Yankees.
2001-The battle of 2 MLB 1st place teams draws 59,470 fans in Philadelphia, as the Yankees lose a sloppy game to the Phillies by the score of 9-3. In the 5th inning, Jimmy Rollins takes 2B on a passed ball, then swipes 3B for his 26th straight successful steal. Yankees Catcher Jorge Posada has 3 passed balls and he should have been charged with a 4th, while Shortstop Derek Jeter makes a critical error. Jorge Posada will lead the MLB Catchers in passed balls this season with 18.
2008-The AL squad defeats the NL team by the score of 4-3 in 15 innings at the 2008 MLB All-Star Game played at Yankee Stadium. A crowd of 55,632 fans watched the MLB Mid-Season Classic. Yankees players Shortstop Derek Jeter and 3B Alex Rodriguez are in the AL squad starting line-up. Closer Mario Rivera is in the AL bullpen. He gives up only 2 NL hits, no runs and strikes out 2 NL batters. It is the 1st extra-inning wins ever for the AL All-Star team after 7 losses and 1 tie. The 2 teams combine for a record 7 steals, 6 of them by the AL squad. The game goes 4 hours and 50 minutes, also an MLB All-Star Game record.
2014-The AL squad wins the 2014 MLB All-Star Game by the score of 5-3 over the NL team played at Target Field in Minnesota. A crowd of 41,048 fans watched the game. In his last appearance in the mid-summer MLB classic, Yankees Shortstop Derek Jeter leads off the game with a double, later scores on a triple by Angels OF Mike Trout. Jeter goes 2 for 2 at the plate, while Trout adds an RBI double in the 5th inning to win the game's MVP Award.
2017-At Fenway Park, it takes 16 innings for the Yankees to defeat the Red Sox by the score of 4-1. The Yankees are trailing 1-0 in the top of the 9th inning after an excellent start by Boston Starter Chris Sale, but Yankees hitter Matt Holliday ties the game with a HR against Red Sox Closer Craig Kimbrel. A line drive single by Yankees Shortstop Didi Gregorius against Red Sox Reliever Doug Fister in the 16th inning finally puts the Yankees ahead in a game that ends just short of 6 hours to complete.
2019-At New Yankee Stadium, Rays batter Travis d'Arnaud hits 3 HRs, but they all come in 1 game as he leads Tampa Bay to a 5-4 win over the Yankees. His 3-run HR shot with 2 outs in the 9th off of Yankees Closer Aroldis Chapman pulls victory from the jaws of defeat as he accounts for all of the Rays' runs.
2021-The 1st game of the 2nd half of the 2021 MLB season, a make-up contest between the Yankees and Red Sox, is postponed; when 3 pitchers on the Yankees test positive for COVID-19 as health and safety protocols are put in place. All 3 players have been vaccinated and the Yankees as a team are above the 85% vaccination threshold. It is the 8th postponement of a game because of the coronavirus this season, but the 1st since April 19th.
July 16th
1904-At Hill Top Park in New York City, Highlanders Starter Jack Chesbro swipes home plate in the bottom of the 10th inning to win his own game by the score of 9-8.
1908-Former Yankees Pitcher Floyd Newkirk (1934) was born. (1908-1976)
For the 1934 Yankees, Pitcher Floyd Newkirk had appeared in 1 game with no record. On December 19,1934, Floyd was sent by the Yankees to the AA San Francisco Seals (PCL) to complete an earlier deal made on November 21,1934. The Yankees would send Players to be Named Later and Cash to San Francisco Seals (PCL) for OF Prospect Joe DiMaggio. Doc Farrell would refuse to report to his new team in 1935.
1920-Yankees Slugger Babe Ruth becomes the 1st player to hit 30 HRs in an MLB season. The historic HR breaks his own season mark of 29 HRs and the "˜Rajah of Rap'” will finish the 1920 season with a resounding 54 HRs.
1937-Former Yankees MLB Coach (1989) and MLB Manager Lee Elia was born.
Lee Elia was a Yankees MLB Coach in 1989. He was an MLB player, who had played for both Chicago MLB teams in the 1960’s. He had previously worked with the Phillies and Cubs organizations as a Minor League Manager. Also, he had served as an interim MLB Manager for the Cubs and Phillies. Also, Lee has worked with the Mariners, Blue Jays, Rays and Orioles as an MLB Coach. In 2011-2012, Elia was a Special Assistant to General Manager for the Braves, serving in the area of Player Development and he was also listed as a Special Assistant Coach with the MLB field staff.
1940-Former Yankees Reliever Tom Metcalf (1963) was born.
Pitcher Tom Metcalf was signed in 1961, as an MLB Amateur Free Agent by the Yankees. He was a star at Lincoln High School. From 1959-1961, Tom was college pitcher at Northwestern Univ.. He would post a 1-0 record with a 2.77 ERA in 8 games working out of the bullpen for the 1963 Yankees. In 1964, he had broken his pitching arm, he never returned to MLB despite making several comeback attempts with the Yankees organization, before finally retiring from the game.
1941-Yankees CF Joe DiMaggio singles off of Indians hurler Al Milnar in the 1st inning to extend his hitting streak to 56 games. He has 3 hits in the game as the Yankees would beat the Indians, by the score of 10-3 in Cleveland. DiMaggio's streak will be snapped tomorrow night.
1942-The Yankees had obtained Pitcher Jim “Milkman” Turner from the Reds as partial payment for Minor League OF Fran Kelleher. In 1945, Jim would lead in the AL with 10 saves. Later, he would be Casey Stengel’s longtime MLB Pitching Coach during the 1950’s. At the end of the 1959 AL season, the Yankees had fired him. Former Yankees hurler Eddie Lopat would replace him for the 1960 AL season. Jim would move to the Reds Organization working as Minor League Manager (1960) then as their MLB Pitching Coach until May of 1966. Jim would serve as the MLB Pitching Coach for Yankees Manager Ralph Houk, rejoining the team in May of 1966, holding the job until 1973. Houk had used former Yankees hurler Johnny Sain from 1961-1963 as his MLB Pitching Coach. After Sain left the Yankees after pay raise dispute with the Yankees Front Office in the fall of 1963. He was replaced by Whitey Ford as the Yankees MLB Pitching for new Yankees Manager Yogi Berra for the 1964 AL season.
1947-Two days after joining the Yankees, veteran Pitcher Bobo Newsom wins his 200th MLB career victory, in his 1st as a Yankee Starter by beating the Indians at Cleveland by a score of 3-1. It was the Yankees 17th straight win. In the 2nd game, the Yankees winning streak continues to 18 games, when Yankee Starter Vic Raschi stops the Tribe by a score of 9-2.
1948-The St. Louis Browns would frustrate the 3rd-place Yankees by whipping Starter Allie Reynolds by the score of 10-4. Bob Dillinger leads the Browns hitting attack with a bases-loaded triple, 3 singles, 2 stolen bases and 5 RBIs. Browns Pitcher Cliff Fannin holds the Yankees scoreless until Shortstop Phil Rizzuto's HR in the 8th inning.
1951-While playing series against the Tigers in Detroit, the Yankees would option Rookie OF Mickey Mantle to AAA Kansas City Blues (AA). Mantle, plagued with strikeouts 3 on the 13th and in a hitting slump, he will go 0-for-22 in his start with the Blues, before ending the hitting slump with a batting tear of .361. Blues Manager George “Twinkletoes” Selkirk, a former Yankees OF works with Mickey on his outfield play. The Yankees will recall him on August 20th. Pitcher Art Schallock takes Mickey's place on the Yankees 25-man MLB roster, he gives up 7 hits in 2.3 innings of work in today's 8-6 win.
1953-The St. Louis Browns tie a record with 3 successive HRs -- by Clint Courtney, Richard Kryhoski and Jim Dyck -- in the 1st inning. Their 5 bases-empty HRs in 3 innings establishes a new mark. It's enough to beat the Yankees by the score of 8-6. All 3 Browns players were former Yankees Minor and MLB players.
1955-Former Yankees Minor League P Paul Semall was born.
The Yankees had selected Pitcher Paul Semall in the 19th round of the 1976 MLB Amateur Player Draft, but he didn’t sign with the team. Paul was selected 12th round of 1977 MLB Amateur Player Draft by the Yankees, this time he would sign with the team. In 1978, while pitching for the AA West Haven Yankees, Paul Semall would lead the Eastern League with 17 wins. In June of 1979, he was traded along with Cash to the Cubs for veteran All-Star OF Bobby Murcer. Paul Semall would never appear at the MLB level with the Cubs
1959-After beating the Indians, yesterday the Yankees would sweep a doubleheader today to knock the Tribe out of 1st place in the AL. Yankees win the Opener, when Yogi Berra ties the game in the 9th inning with a HR, while Mickey Mantle wins it by the score of 7-5 in the 10th inning with a 2-HR run shot off of Tribe Pitcher Gary Bell. Yankees Starter Bobby Shantz wins the nightcap by the score of 4-0. The Yankees are now 5 1/2 games out of 1st place in AL.
1961-The Yankees would edge the 3rd place Orioles by beating Starter Steve Barber by a score of 2-1. Bronx Slugger Mickey Mantle drives home both Yankee runs.
1964-Baltimore Starter Steve Barber would regain 1st place for the Orioles with a successful 6-1 outing against the Yankees Starter Jim Bouton.
1967-At Yankee Stadium, the Orioles would outlast the Yankees to win the game by the score of 2-1 in 14 innings. The Yankees manage just only 4 hits, including a solo HR by Mickey Mantle off of Orioles hurler Bill Dillman.
1990-Former Yankees MLB Scout Henry “Dutch” Dotterer (1977-1985) had passed away. (1904-1990)
Henry Dotterer was the Father of Dutch Dotterer, MLB catcher (1957-1961) and Tom Dotterer, Minor League player (1954-1963). He was the Grandfather of Mike Dotterer (drafted by Yankees in 1979, 1983 and the A’s in 1982). Shortstop Henry Dotterer was a Minor League player from 1929-1933. After an injury during spring training camp in 1933, Dotterer became an MLB Scout. He would work for the 1947 AA Syracuse Chiefs (IL), 1949-1961 Reds, 1962-1974 Indians and the 1977-1985 Yankees.
1994-Former Yankees Minor League P Phillip Diehl was born.
Pitcher Phillip Diehl was drafted by the Yankees in the 27th round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Player Draft from Louisiana Tech Univ. (Ruston, LA). He would never appear with the Yankees at the MLB level. In 2018, he had pitched for Class A Tampa (FSL) and the AA Trenton Thunder (EL) going 2-3 in 39 games. On March 25, 2019, he was traded to the Rockies for Reserve OF Mike Tauchman. He has split playing time for 2019 season pitching for the Rockies AA and AAA teams, with 1 game appearance with the Rockies in June.
2003-The Yankees would send 3 Minor League Pitching Prospects: Jason Anderson, Anderson Garcia and Ryan Bicondoa to the Mets for hard-throwing embattled Mets Closer Armando Benitez. The 30-year old NL All-Star Reliever, who is slated to be the setup man for Closer Mariano Rivera. Benitez had blown 7 of 28 save opportunities with the Mets. He was object of much fan booing at Shea Stadium. Benitez will post a 1-1 record with a 1.93 ERA in 9 games for the Yankees before being traded on August 6, 2003 to the Mariners for veteran Reliever Jeff Nelson.
2005-In an effort to bolster their injured pitching rotation, the Yankees had acquired recently released Veteran MLB Starter Al Leiter from the Marlins. The 39-yearold $8-million lefty hurler, who posted a disappointing 3-7 record with a 6.64 ERA with the 2005 Marlins; he will quickly pay dividends for the Yankees by limiting the Red Sox to 1 run and 2 hits in his 1st start back as a Yankees Starter. Al had originally started his MLB Pitching career with the Yankees before being traded to the Blue Jays for OF Jesse Barfield on April 30,1989.
2013-The AL squad wins the 2013 MLB All-Star Game by the score of 3-0 over the NL team, as hitters form the senior circuit only manage 3 hits off the AL team Pitching staff. Yankees Closer Mariano Rivera, who has announced his player retirement at the end of the 2013 MLB season, is named the 2013 All-Star Game MVP.
2013-The Yankees had sign left-hand Pitcher Artur Strzalka. He becomes the 1st player born and raised in Poland to sign with an MLB team. He had pitched for the Poland National baseball team. In 2015, he went 1-0 with a 5.11 ERA in 10 games for the Yankees2 team in the Gulf States League.
2022-The Yankees have announced that former MLB Reliever Pitcher Vinny Nittoli is optioning out of his Minor League contract to become an MLB Free Agent. He had been pitching at AAA Scranton.
2022-The American League team wins the 2022 Futures Game, played at Dodger Stadium, 6-4, over the National League. Catcher Shea Langeliers wins the Larry Doby Award as the game's MVP with a HR in the 4th and by throwing out baserunner Corbin Carroll on a steal attempt of 3rd base. Jasson Dominguez and Matt Wallner, both hit 2-run HRs for the AL in the 3rd to give it the lead for good, Dominguez's blast atoning for dropping a fly ball at the warning track with 2 outs in the 2nd that resulted in 2 runs.
2023-The Yankees announced that former MLB Pitcher Matt Bowman had opted out of his Minor League contract with the team. The club has 24 hours to add him to their MLB 40-man roster before he would become an MLB Free Agent. On July 20th, he will be signed by the Yankees to an MLB player contract and optioned to AAA Scranton. He had signed a 2year Minor League deal with the club in 2020, while recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He has been pitching at AAA Scranton this season.
2023-The Yankees have transferred 3B Josh Donaldson from the 10-Day IL to the 60- Day IL due to a grade 3 calf injury. The team doesn’t expect him to play again in 2023.
July 17th
1919-The Yankees (21) and Browns (17) would combine for 38 hits during the St. Louis Browns 7-6, 17-inning victory. The Browns winning run was a scored on a squeeze play.
1923-An un-sympatric Yankees Manager Miller Huggins refuses to remove Yankees veteran Starter Carl Mays, as he allows the Indians to batter Mays for 20 hits and 13 runs during a Tribe 13-0 win. Yankees Manager Miller Huggins and Carl Mays never got along well, it would end with him, later being sold by the team to the Reds for $85,000 Cash in December of 1923.
1930-Former Yankees Minor League OF Jerry Lynch was born. (1930-2012)
Before the start of the 1951 AL season, OF Jerry Lynch was purchased from Greenville (CSL) by the Yankees. Jerry would never play for the Yankees at the MLB level. On November 30,1953, he was drafted by the Pirates from the Yankees organization in the 1953 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. Jerry Lynch would become the greatest MLB pinch-hitter of his era. Although he appeared in 1,184 MLB games, only 710 of them were in the field (mostly as a LF). He had only 1 season with more than 400 at-bats, that being in 1958, when he hit .312 with 16 HRs in 420 at-bats. He became more or less a regular outfielder (he had appeared in 98 games) as a Rookie with the 1954 Pirates, making his debut at age 23 on a team, whose average age was 26. He would play in the NL with the Prates (twice) and the Reds finishing his 14-year MLB playing career with a lifetime BA of .277. He would appear in 4 games for the Reds in 1961 World Series against the Yankees with no hits.
1934-Yankees Slugger Babe Ruth would draw his 2,000th MLB career base on balls at Cleveland. He will retire from MLB in 1935 with an MLB walk record of 2,062.
1936-Yankees’ hitters Red Rolfe, Lou Gehrig and Bill Dickey hit 3rd-inning HRs against the Tigers to tie the AL record, since topped. The Yankees would roll to a
9-4 victory, dropping the Bengals to 4th place in the AL. Goose Goslin has a pair of HRs for the Tigers.
1938-Former Yankees Reserve OF/INF and MLB Player Deron Johnson (1960-1961) was born. (1938-1992)
In 1956, the Yankees had signed INF/OF Deron Johnson as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. Deron was never able to find a regular position to play with the Yankees at the MLB level. At 3B, Clete Boyer had blocked him and at 1B there was AL All-Star Bill Skowron. Plus, Mickey Mantle (CF), Roger Maris (RF) and Yogi Berra-Hector Lopez (LF) filled in the Yankees regular outfield. For the 1960-1961 Yankees, he would play in 19 games, while hitting only .174. On June 14, 1961, he was traded along with veteran Starter Art Ditmar to Kansas City for veteran P Bud Daley. Later, KC would trade him to the Reds organization. Deron would really finally find MLB success playing with the 1964-1967 Reds. Johnson's best MLB season came in 1965 with the Reds, when he would hit 32 HRs along with 130 RBIs, while hitting .287 and finishing 4th in the NL MVP voting. Also, he would play for the Braves in the NL, playing at 1B, while his former Yankees teammate Clete Boyer handled 3B. With the 1971 Phillies, he had slugged 34 HRs with 95 RBIs along with a .265 average. Then he would return to the AL in 1973 as a DH for the Oakland A’s. He did appear in 6 games of the 1973 World Series for Oakland, while hitting .300. Then he would play for the Brewers, Red Sox (twice) and the White Sox before retiring as an active player. In spite of his success as a power hitter, he was never an MLB All-Star player. After finishing his MLB playing career, Deron would begin his MLB Coaching career with the 1979-1980 Angels. He was a Mets MLB Coach in 1981. Then he was a member of the Phillies MLB Coaching staff from 1982 to 1984. Next, he was with the 1985-1986 Mariners. Then he would spend the 1987 AL season with the White Sox. Then he would return to the Angels as their MLB Hitting Coach from 1989 to 1991. In 1992, Deron Johnson would pass away at age of 53 from Lung Cancer.
1941-In front a crowd of 67,468 fans at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, Yankees Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak is ended at 56 games. Indian Pitchers Al Smith and Jim Bagby, Sr., plus sensational plays by 3B Ken Keltner, stop the Yankee Clipper’s hitting streak, but the Yankees still edge the Indians by a score of 6-5.
1947-The Yankees would sweep a doubleheader against the Indians by scores of 3-1 and 7-2 to extend their winning streak to an AL record 19 games. Their streak matches that of the 1906 White Sox.
1948-Yankees Starter Ed Lopat would scatter 11 St. Louis hits to beat the Browns by a score of 4-0. It is the Yankees hurler's 2nd shutout in a row and his 3rd this 1948 AL season.
1949-Former Yankees Announcer Charley Steiner (2002-2004) was born.
Charley Steiner became a household name while working at ESPN. He is now the voice of the s Dodgers and is paired with former MLB player Rick Monday. Steiner began his broadcasting career in 1969, in Peoria, Illinois when he worked at his campus radio station. In the 1970s, he would work in Davenport, Iowa and Cleveland before landing in New York City in 1978. Steiner spent a decade in New York doing a variety of sports. He was the voice of the 1986-1987 New York Jets. In 1988, he would join ESPN as an anchor on SportsCenter and their lead boxing analyst. After 14 years at the Worldwide Leader in Sports, Steiner moved back to NYC to call Yankees games on radio. Steiner had left ESPN in 2002 and joined the New York Yankees' Radio booth, replacing Michael Kay as John Sterling's play-by-play partner. Steiner was at the microphone when Yankees 3B Aaron Boone won Game 7 of the ALCS with a HR in the 11th inning to defeat the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
“ There's a fly ball deep to left... it's on its way... there it goes... and the Yankees are going to the World Series! Aaron Boone has hit a home run! The Yankees go to the World Series for the thirty-ninth time in their remarkable history! Aaron Boone down the left field line... they are waiting for him at home plate, and now he dives into the scrum! The Yankees win it, six to five! ”
After Steiner completed his call, he joined Sterling in his famous "Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!" call, saying he "had always wanted to do that".
In 2005, he would join the Dodgers broadcasting team replacing 28-year veteran Ross Porter. In 2015, his alma mater, Bradley Univ., would honor him by naming its Sports Communication Program in his honor as the "Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication."
1950-At Yankee Stadium, Bronx Rookie Starter Whitey Ford wins his 1st MLB game by beating the visiting White Sox by the score of 4-3. A crowd of 24,218 fans watched the Yankee Rookie Starter pick up the 1st of 236 MLB career wins. Whitey Ford goes 7.2 innings. while allowing just 3 earned runs, 8 White Sox hits, 3 walks, while striking 3 Chicago batters. Bronx Closer Tom Ferrick would finish game for the Yankees, picking up his 5th save of the 1950 AL season.
1955-Tigers’ base runner Earl Torgeson steals home in the 10th inning to beat the Yankees by a score of 6-5.
1959-At Yankee Stadium, White Sox veteran Starter Early Wynn and the Yankees hurler Ralph Terry match zeros for 8 innings. Before Chicago's Jim McAnany collected the 1st White Sox hit in the 9th inning. Then Jim Landis adds a 2nd hit to drive home 2 runs to give the White Sox, a 2-0 win. Early Wynn had also matched Ralph Terry by also allowing just 2 hits.
1961-The Yankees top the Orioles by a score of 5-0 in 1st game of a win-bill behind Whitey Ford's 13th straight win of the 1961 AL season. Mickey Mantle (#33) and Bill Skowron hit long HRs at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. The nightcap goes into the 5th inning when, with 2 outs and the Yankees up by the score of 4-1; when a thunderstorm strikes. The umpires would wait for 65 minutes before calling the game, thus washing out the HRs hit by Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle.
1961-MLB Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick decrees that Babe Ruth's record of 60 HRs in a 154-game schedule in 1927 "cannot be broken unless some batter hits 61 or more within his club's 1st 154 games." As the 1961 AL season with expansion of 2 new teams: Senators and the Angels, the league goes from a 154-game schedule to a 162-game schedule for the 1961 AL season.
1968-Former Yankees Reserve Catcher Ken “Ziggy” Sears (1943) had passed away. (1917-1968)
Catcher Ken Sears was the son of MLB Umpire Ziggy Sears. He had joined the Navy in November of 1943. In December of 1945, Ken was discharged from the Navy. As a Reserve Catcher, Ken had appeared in 60 games for the 1943 Yankees, while hitting .278 with 2 HRs and 22 RBIs. He didn’t appear in the 1943 World Series against the Cardinals. He would return to MLB to play in 1946, as a Reserve Catcher for the St. Louis Browns.
1977-The Yankees lose by a score of 8-4 for their 3rd straight loss to the Royals. The Yankees have now lost 7 of their last 9 games; they are now 3 games in back of the AL Eastern Division leading Orioles.
1978-In the latest incident in his feud with Manager Billy Martin, the Yankees OF Reggie Jackson ignores instructions and attempts to bunt in the 10th inning of a tie game with the Royals. Jackson pops up; the Yankees lose the game by the score of 9-7 in the 11th inning. Manager Billy Martin serves Jackson with a 5-day suspension without pay. The Royals' 3-game sweep at Yankee Stadium leaving Yankees in 4th place in the AL East, 14 games behind the 1st place Red Sox.
1983-Former Yankees Minor League 1B Adam Lind (2018).
On March 2, 2018, veteran 1B/DH Adam Lind was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees. He had agreed to a Minor League deal with the team, who were looking for some veteran MLB insurance at 1st base in case the injury-prone Greg Bird was once again to miss big blocks of playing time as he had the previous 2 seasons. On March 14,2018, he was released by the team to look for another MLB team that would give him more playing time. On April 18,2018, he was resigned as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees, who would send him to AAA Scranton (IL). On May 25, 2018, Adam was released by the team. On June 2, 2018, he was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Red Sox. He was assigned to their AAA club, Pawtucket (IL).
1987-Yankees' 1B Don Mattingly becomes the 1st AL player to hit a HR in 7 consecutive games.
1989-Veteran All-Star White Sox Catcher Carlton Fisk gets his 2,000th MLB career hit in a 7-3 win over the Yankees.
1990-At Yankee Stadium, Mel Stottlemyre, Jr. makes his MLB Pitching debut, pitching an inning of relief against the Yankees. He gives up 3 runs, but the Royals unloaded on Yankees Starter Andy Hawkins (1-8) to win the game by a score of 10-7. Royals Slugger Bo Jackson slugs 3 straight HRs, the 3rd his MLB career 100th, then he would separate his shoulder in the 6th inning diving for a line drive off the bat of Yankees Dion Sanders that ends up with an inside-the-park HR, but the Royals would take home a 10-7 victory. Royals OF Bo Jackson will be sidelined for 6 weeks.
1996-At Fenway Park, the Red Sox take a 9-2 lead over the Yankees into the 7th inning. New York would score 3 runs in the 7th inning, 2 runs in the 8th inning and 4 runs in the 9th inning to move ahead by a score of 11-9. The Red Sox bounce back with 3 runs of their own in their last at bat to defeat Yankees by a score of 12-11 ending Yankees Closer John Wetteland's record save streak.
2001-In an MLB Interleague night game played at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, the Yankees beat the Phillies by the score of 4-1 in 12 innings. A crowd of 47,529 fans watched the Inter-league contest. Yankees Catcher Jorge Posada hits a 2-run HR in the 12th inning as the Bronx Bombers break the 1-1 tie game, 3 Yankee runs scored in the inning. Yankee Starter Jim Mussina starts the game, going 7 innings, allowing only 1 Phillies run. Yankees Reliever Randy Choate picks-up the win, he is now 3-1 for the 2001 AL season. Yankees Closer Mo Rivera gets his 31st save of the 2001 AL season. Phillies Reliever Wayne Gomes takes the loss; he is now 4-3 for the 2001 season.
2005-At a Sunday game at Fenway Park, newly signed MLB hurler Al Leiter makes his 1st start for the Yankees. A crowd of 34,802 fans watch the return of Leiter to the Yankees as he defeats Boston by the score of 5-3. He goes 6.1 innings; allowing only 3 Boston hits with 1 earned run and 8 Red Sox strikeouts. Yankees Relievers Sturtze and Tom Gordon hold off the Boston batters. Mo Rivera picks up his 23rd of the 2005 AL season. Veteran Red Sox Starter Tim Wakefield takes the complete game loss; he is now 6-8 for the season. The Yankee hitting attack is led by HRs from Jorge Posada, Gary Sheffield and A-Rod.
2017-The Yankees had announced 2 medical surgeries for 2 players. Yankees Starter Mike Pineda will have season ending Tommy John Surgery; meanwhile 1B Greg Bird will have right-ankle surgery. He is expected to return to the team in September.
2018-The Yankees had acquired OF Terrance Gore from the Royals. He is not on the Yankees 40-man MLB roster. He was assigned to AAA Scranton (IL). Terrance would appear in 21 games with AAA Scranton (IL), while hitting only .164 with No HRs and 1 RBI. On November 4, 2019, the Yankees would grant him MLB Free Agency. In February of 2020, he would be signed by the Dodgers to a minor league deal with an invite to their 2020 MLB Spring Training Camp.
2018-The 2018 MLB All-Star Game, the 89th edition of the midsummer Classic, was played on July 17th at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. It was the 4th straight year the game was played in a National League ballpark. A crowd of 43,843 fans watched the game. The logo for the game featured an outline of the dome of the U.S. Capitol in front of a flag-themed background. The AL won the game by the score of 8-6, in 10 innings over the NL for its 18th win in the last 21 editions of the classic. A record 10 HRs were hit in the game, including 1 by Ted Williams Award-winner Alex Bregman which put the AL ahead to stay in the 10th. Yankees OF Aaron Judge was the only Bronx starter in the AL line-up. He would hit a HR in the 2nd inning. Yankees starter Luis Severino had pitched a scoreless 2nd inning. Yankees Closer Aroldis Chapman and 2B Gleyber Torres didn’t play due to injuries.
July 18th
1916-Former Yankees Reserve OF/1B Johnny “Hippity” Hopp (1950-1952) was born. (1916-2003)
On September 5,1950, veteran 1B/OF Johnny Hopp was purchased by the Yankees from the Pirates. He would hit .333 with 1 HR and 8 RBIs in 19 games for the Yankees. Due to his late trade date was in September, he could not play for the Yankees in the 1950 World Series against the Phillies. In 1951, he would fade to a .206 mark with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs in 46 games. He was only hitting .160 with 2 HRs and 2 RBIs in 15 games, when the Yankees released him during the 1952 AL season. Johnny had appeared in 2 World Series with the Yankees, playing in 4 games with no hits. The Tigers would pick him up finishing his 14-season MLB playing career with them. Johnny had been in the MLB from 1939 to 1952, playing for the Cardinals, Braves, Pirates, Yankees and the Tigers. He would finish his MLB playing career with a .296 BA, while hitting 46 HRs and 458 RBIs in 1,393 games.
1918-Former Yankees Pitcher AL Lyons (1944,1946-1947) was born. (1918-1965)
Al Lyons had posted a 1-1 record with a 5.49 ERA in 19 games for the Yankees before being sold to the Pirates in 1947. He had appeared in 11 games for the 1944 Yankees with no decisions. He was called into the Navy, serving on active duty until 1946. He went 7-12 for the AA Kansas City Blues (AA) with a brief call up to the Bronx going 0-1 in 2 games. In 1947, he had appeared in 6 games for the team, while posting a 1-0 record. Al’s finial Yankees career pitching record was a 1-1 mark with a 5.49 ERA in 19 games.
1921-Yankees Slugger Babe Ruth hits the 139th HR of his MLB playing career, passing Roger Connor to become baseball's all-time HR leader. His HR blast off of Tigers P Bert Cole at Navin Field in Detroit is estimated by some to have traveled upwards of 575 feet, the longest in MLB history.
1933-The Yankees win their 9th straight game taking the AL lead from the Senators by beating the White Sox by a score of 5-4.
1934-Twenty-two players hit safely in the Indians’ 15-14 win over the Yankees. Bronx Slugger Babe Ruth is hit in the leg by a ball. He will be out of the Yankees starting line-up for 10 days. It is the 2nd time an injury has sidelined him this 1934 AL season.
1937-Former Yankees Reserve 1B/C Fred Jacklitsch (1905) had passed away. (1876-1937)
On September 15,1905, 1B/C Fred Jacklitsch was sent from AA Providence (EL) to the Highlanders in an unknown transaction. Fred only appeared in 1 game with no hits for the 1905 team. Before the start of the 1906 AL Season, Fred was sent from the Highlanders to York (TSL) in an unknown transaction. Jack would play in the MLB for 13 seasons (1900-1917) with the Phillies (twice), Dodgers, Yankees, Braves and with Baltimore (Federal League) before retiring from the game. He would finish with .243 BA, while hitting 5 HRs and 153 RBIs in 490 MLB games.
1940-Former Yankees Hall of Fame Manager and MLB Player Joe Torre (1996-2007) was born.
Joe Torre had served as the Yankees Manager under the controversial Team Owner George Steinbrenner, who was famous for frequently firing his team's managers. Torre lasted 12 full seasons, managing 1,942 regular season games (with a won-loss record of 1,173–767). He took the team to the AL post-season playoffs every 1 of his 12 seasons with the club, winning 6 AL pennants and 4 World Series Championships. This was by far the longest tenure for a Yankees skipper in the Steinbrenner era. Joe Torre's era was the 2nd-longest managerial tenure in the club's history: only Joe McCarthy had lasted longer (1931-1946). Joe would manage the 2008-2010 Dodgers before retiring from the MLB. He would come back to the game working in the MLB Commissioner’s office, working as Vice-President for On-Field Operations. In December of 2013, Joe was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame as an MLB Manager (Mets, Cardinals and the Yankees). As an MLB player, he had a .297 lifetime BA along with 2,342 hits, while playing for the Braves, Cardinals and the Mets. He was 9-time member of the NL All-Star team. In 1971, he was named the NL MVP Award winner and NL Batting Champ. His older Brother, Frank Torre had played 1B for the Braves and Phillies during the 1950-1960’s.
1944-Former Yankees Pitcher Rudy May (1974-1976,1980-1983) was born.
On June 15,1974, Pitcher Rudy May was purchased by the Yankees from the Angels for Cash. For the 1974-1976 Yankees, Rudy had posted a 26-19 mark in 60 games. On June 15,1976, he was traded along with Reserve C Rick Dempsey, Pitchers Tippy Martinez, Scott McGregor and Dave Pagan to the Orioles for 4 Pitchers: Ken Holtzman, Doyle Alexander, Grant Jackson, Jimmy Freeman and Reserve C Ellie Hendricks. On November 8,1979 Rudy would return to the Yankees as an MLB Free Agent. In 1980, May would post a 15-5 mark along with an AL leading ERA of 2.46. For the 1980-1983 Yankees, May will go 28-27 in 124 games. Overall, Rudy May’s Yankees career pitching totals was a 54-46 record along with a 3.12 ERA and 7 saves in 184 games during his 2 tours with the team.
1947-The Yankees 19-game winning streak comes to an end, when Tigers Starter Fred Hutchinson shuts out the team by a score of 2-0.
1954-After winning 13 games in a row, the Yankees would lose the 2nd game of a doubleheader to the Tigers by the score of 8-6. They now trail the Indians in the 1954 AL pennant race by 1/2 game.
1957-In what will later be revealed as false testimony, Kansas City A's Team Owner Arnold Johnson denies before the Celler Senate Committee that he had any ties to the current Yankees Team Ownership (Del Webb and Dan Topping Sr.) or has favored them in any MLB baseball trades made by the A’s. This Congressional Committee was looking into MLB legal activities including Anti-Trust Laws and the MLB Players Reserve Clause.
1957-New York Giants Team Owner Horace Stoneham says that the team will quit NYC after the 1957 NL season ends. He says he has not heard anything more from the city of San Francisco and that his move is not contingent on that of the Dodgers move to the West Coast. He sees a new stadium or joint occupancy with the Yankees as the only solution that could convince the Giants to stay in New York. The Yankees state that they will not share Yankee Stadium with the Giants for the 1958 MLB season. The Giants team owner Stoneham has his eye towards his AAA Franchise, the Minneapolis Millers (American Association), who played in Bloomington, MN, whose current Metropolitan Stadium was recently built in the 1955. It will be later used by the Twins in 1961. Stoneham finally agrees with the Dodgers to go to the West Coast, as he would settle in San Francisco. In the fall of 1961, the Yankees will refuse to allow the NL’s new NYC expansion baseball team, the 1962 Mets to play at Yankee Stadium. They will have to use the Giants old ball park, the Polo Grounds, until their new Ballpark named Shea Stadium is bult in Flushing Meadows and opens in 1964.
1960-At Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, Yankees would score 5 runs in the 3rd inning off of Indians Starter Richard Stigman, as veteran Bronx starter Whitey Ford coasts to a 9-2 complete game victory. Ford allows only 2 runs on 8 Tribe hits. Meanwhile Stigman lasts only 5 innings for the Tribe, as veteran Reliever Barry Latman finishes the game. The Yankee hitting attack is led by the M&M boys (Mantle and Maris), who would hit HRs for the Bronx Bombers.
1961-At Griffith Stadium, Yankees Slugger Mickey Mantle poles 2 HRs off of Rookie Nats hurler Joe McLain to pace the Yankees to a 5-3 win over the new AL expansion Senators. A crowd of 17,695 fans watch the Tuesday game played in the old ballpark in Washington, D.C. Yankees Rookie Starter Rollie Sheldon goes 6 innings, while Yankees Closer Arroyo picks the win, he is now 5-3 for the 1961 AL season. In pre-game ceremonies, Mickey Mantle teamed with NY Congressman Eddie Dooley to win the HR-hitting contest against other US Congressional-MLB Player duos.
1985-Former Yankees Reserve INF Ramiro Pena (2009-2012) was born.
Reserve INF Ramiro Pena had appeared in 46 games in 2009 AL season, while hitting .267 before being sent back to AAA Scranton (IL). Overall, he had played in 180 games for the 2009-2012 Yankees, while hitting .233 with 2 HRs and 32 RBIs. After the 2012 AL season, Pena became an MLB Free Agent signing with the Braves organization for 2013 NL season. He last played in the MLB with the 2016 Giants. In 2017, he would play pro ball in Japan.
1987-Yankees 1B Don Mattingly hits a HR in his 8th consecutive game, tying the MLB record set by former NL Slugger Dale Long in 1956, but the Yankees lose the game to the Rangers by a score of 7-2. His consecutive game HR streak will end tomorrow, when he goes 2-for-4, but he hits no HRs.
1995-The White Sox would blast Yankees Starter “Black” Jack McDowell for 13 hits and 9-runs in 4 2/3 innings in their 11-4 win in the 2nd game of a doubleheader. McDowell makes an obscene gesture to the fans as he is booed walking off the field.
1999-On “Yogi Berra Day” at Yankee Stadium, Bronx Starter David Cone becomes the 16th pitcher in MLB history and the 3rd Yankees starter in team history to toss a perfect game by beating the Montreal Expos by a score of 6-0. In pre-game ceremonies, former Yankees Starter Don Larsen threw out the ceremonial 1st pitch to his former Catcher Yogi Berra commemorating his 1956 World Series Perfect Game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium.
2008-The Yankees had signed MLB Free Agent veteran 1B/DH Richie Sexton, who had been released by the Mariners. He would only appear in 22 games with the 2008 Yankees. Sexton would hit .250 before being released by the team in August of 2008.
2017-In a major deal before the July 31st MLB trade deadline, the Yankees would acquire veteran MLB INF Todd Frazier and Relievers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle from the White Sox in exchange for MLB Reliever Tyler Clippard along with 3 Minor League Players: Pitcher Ian Clarkin, Outfielders Blake Rutherford and Tito Polo. The Yankees will use veteran MLB INF Todd Frazier at 3B. Meanwhile Former Yankees Closer David Robertson and Reliever Tommy Kahnle will become part of the 2017 Yankees bullpen.
July 19th
1886-Former Yankees Pitcher Charles “Butch” Schmidt (1909) was born. (1886-1952)
On September 1,1908, Pitcher Butch Schmidt was drafted by the Yankees from the Class AA Baltimore Orioles (EL) in the 1908 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. Butch would appear in only 1 game with the 1909 Yankees with no record.
1888-Former Yankees C/1B/OF Ed Sweeney (1908-1915) was born. (1888-1947)
For the 1908-1915 Yankees, OF/C/1B Ed Sweeney had played in 627 games, while hitting .235 with 3 HRs and 151 RBIs. After the 1915 season, Ed would play in the Minor Leagues until 1919, making a brief 19-game appearance with the Pirates. He would retire after the 1920 Minor League season had ended.
1896-Former Yankees OF Bob “Long Bob” Meusel (1920-1929) was born. (1896-1977)
On August 17,1917, OF Bob Meusel was purchased by the Yankees from AA Veron (PCL). Bob would play in 1,294 games for the 1920-1929 Yankees, finishing his Bronx Bomber playing career by hitting .311 along with 146 HRs and 1,009 RBIs. He was known for his strong throwing arm in the Outfield. In 1925, he was the AL HR King with 33 HRs and the AL RBIs leader with 138. He had played in 6 World Series for the Yankees, appearing 34 games; while hitting .225 with 1 HR and 17 RBIs. During his Yankees playing career, he would hit for the cycle 3 times. He had hit over .300 7-times; he had batted in more than 100 runs 5 times. A good base-runner with speed, Bob would lead the team in steals 5 times. His Brother, Irish Meusel had played for the NL cross-town rivals. the Giants. On October 17,1929, Bob was purchased by the Reds from the in 113 games. When the 1930 NL season had ended, Bob would return to play in the high Minor Leagues with 1931 AA Minneapolis Millers (AA) and the 1932 original AA Hollywood Stars (PCL).
1902-Former Yankees INF Mark Koenig (1925-1930) was born. (1902-1993)
On May 29,1925, INF Mark Koenig was traded by the AA St. Paul Saints (AA) to the Yankees for a Player to be Named Later, C Fred Hofmann, P Oscar Roettger and $50,000 Cash. He would become the Yankees Starting Shortstop from 1925 to 1930. On October 28,1925, the Yankees would send Reserve INF Ernie Johnson to the Saints to complete the trade. Mark was the starting Shortstop for the 1927 World Champion Yankees. His best Yankees player season was in 1928, when he hit .319 with 4 HRs and 63 RBIs in 132 games. As a Yankees player, he had appeared in 567 games, while hitting .285 with 15 HRs and 244 RBIs. Mark had appeared in 15 World Series games for the team, while hitting .231 with No HRs and 4 RBIs. On May 30,1930, Mark was traded by the Yankees along with veteran P Waite Hoyt to the Tigers for P Owens Carroll, OF Harry Rice and Reserve INF Yats Wuestling. In 12 MLB seasons, Mark had played for the Yankees, Tigers, Cubs and the Reds; finishing up his MLB playing career with the 1936 Giants as a Reserve Infielder. He had appeared in the 1932 World Series with the Cubs and the 1936 World Series with the Giants, both times he faced his old Yankees teammates and his NL team lost the World Series.
1914-Former Yankees Pitcher Marius Russo (1939-1943,1946) was born. (1914-2005)
For the Yankees, Pitcher Marius Russo would post a 45-34 record with a 3.13 ERA in 120 games. In 1940, he had a 14-8 mark with 3.28 ERA and 1 save in 30 games for the team. His best Yankees Pitching season was in 1941, when he would post a 14-10 mark with 3.09 ERA and 1 save in 28 games. Also, he was named to the 1941 AL All-Star team, but he didn’t appear in the MLB Mid-Season Classic. In the 1941 World Series, he won a duel with Dodgers Starter Freddie Fitzsimmons, knocking the veteran out of the box with a line drive to the pitcher’s knee. After the 1943 AL season, Russo would spend 2 years in the Army during World War II; entering the service in February 1944; being discharged from active duty in January 1946. He had appeared in 2 World Series for the Yankees, while posting a 2-0 mark. In 1946, he went 0-2 with 4.34 ERA in 8 games for the Yankees; Marius was sent back to the AAA Newark Bears (IL). He would pitch in the Yankees Minor League system at the AAA Level until 1947. In 1948, he would join the Tigers Minor League system as he finished his pro pitching career with the AAA Seattle Rainers (PCL).
1919-The Yankees had purchased Pitcher Jack Quinn from AA Veron (PCL) for Pitcher Joe Finneran, 1B Zinn Beck and other considerations. Jack would spend 2 tours with the Yankees (1909-1912) and (1919-1921) posting a 83-67 record with a 3.15 ERA in 228 games, before being traded to the Red Sox. He had appeared in 1 game of the 1921 World Series against the Giants, losing a decision in relief. Overall, John would pitch in the MLB from 1909 to 1933, including several seasons with the Baltimore Terrapins (Federal League). Overall, he had posted a 247-218 pitching record with a 3.29 ERA in 756 games.
1920-Yankees slugger Babe Ruth becomes the 1st player in MLB history to hit 30 HRs in 1 season. The HR shot off of White Sox hurler Dickey Kerr breaks his record of 29 HRs from the previous AL season. He would add a 2nd HR later in the game, but the Yankees still lose to Chicago at the Polo Grounds by the score of 8-5. Babe Ruth would finish with an astounding 54 HRs in 1920, outhomering every other MLB team except the Phillies (64).
1922-Former Yankees Minor League Manager Ray Yochim (1958) was born.
Ray Yochim had managed the Yankees AA team, the New Orleans Pelicans (SA) for part of the 1958 baseball season, before being replaced by Charlie Silvera. Also, Ray would pitch for the team that season. Before joining the Yankees organization in 1958, Ray had pitched in the Cardinals Minor League system.
1927-Former Yankees Reserve INF (1961-1962) and MLB Manager Billy Gardner was born. (1927-2024)
On June 14,1961, Veteran INF Billy Gardner was traded by the Twins to the Yankees for lefty hurler Danny McDevitt. Billy had appeared in 45 games for the 1961-1962 Yankees, while hitting just .210 with 1 HR and 2 RBIs. He had played in 1 game of the 1961 World Series for the Yankees against the Reds with no hits. On June 12,1962, Billy was traded by the Yankees to the Red Sox for OF Tom Umphlett and Cash. After retiring as an active MLB player in the fall of 1963, Billy became an MLB Coach for the Red Sox. Later, he would manage the 1981-1985 Twins and the 1987 Royals finishing with an overall 330-417 MLB manager record.
1937-The Yankees hurler Johnny Broaca is fined $250 and suspended indefinitely by the Yankees GM Edward Barrow for jumping the club. He had jumped the Yankees during the 1937 AL season; as he sat out the rest of the season, as well as all of 1938 AL season. At the time of his player suspension, Johnny was 1-4 with a 4.70 ERA in 7 games for the 1937 Yankees. Broaca had pitched for the 1934-1936 Yankees, while posting a 40-27 record with a 4.04 ERA and 3 saves in 99 games. In November of 1938, after restoring Johnny to their MLB player roster, the Yankees would place him on waivers. The Indians will claim him on waivers from the Yankees. For 1939 Indians, he would post a 4-2 record with a 4.70 ERA in 22 games before leaving the MLB.
1940-Yankees Catcher Buddy Rosar hits for the cycle; Red Sox Shortstop Joe Cronin will do it on August 2nd and the Yankees 2B Joe “Flash” Gordon will repeat the cycle on September 8th.
1942-After being released by the Reds, the Yankees had signed MLB Free Agent Catcher Rollie Hemsley. He would hit .294 in 31 games for the 1942 Yankees. Hemsley would appear in a total of 174 games with the 1942-1945 Yankees, while hitting .262 with 4 HRs and 50 RBIs. On March 25,1946, Rollie was purchased by the Phillies from the Yankees.
1949-Former Yankees Reserve OF/1B Gene Locklear (1976-1977) was born.
On July 10,1976, OF Gene Locklear was traded by the Padres to the Yankees for a Player to be Named Later. Gene only appeared in 14 games with the Yankees, while hitting .270 with No HRs and 3 RBIs. On July 31,1976, the Yankees would send P Rick Sawyer to the Padres to complete the trade. In 1977, Gene played for the AAA Syracuse Chiefs (IL); he would appear in 121 games, while hitting .290 with 20 HRs and 84 RBIs. In 1978, Gene would play pro baseball in Japan with the Nippon Hamfighters. He would hit .240 with 8 HRs and 38 RBIs in 108 games. Locklear is a full-blooded member of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina. Since his retirement from pro baseball, he has become a well-known commercial artist.
1950-The Yankees had obtained their 1st black players; OF Elston Howard and Pitcher Frank Barnes. They were the 2 players purchased from the Kansas City Monarchs (Negro Leagues). They were both assigned to Muskegon (CL). The Yankees would later release Pitcher Frank Barnes. He would make it to the MLB with the Cardinals, while Elston Howard will become the 1st black MLB Yankees player in 1955.
1950-At Yankee Stadium, the Bronx veteran Southpaw Eddie Lopat wins his start by the score of 16-1 over the St. Louis Browns by throwing a 2-hitter in the 1st game of a doubleheader sweep by the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers had chased the 4 St. Louis pitchers for 21 hits,16 runs with 13 of them being earned. In the 2nd game, the Yankees beat the Browns by the score of 4-3. Yankees Closer Tom Ferrick picks-up the victory, he is now 3-4 for the 1950 AL season. Browns Starter Ned Garver takes the loss; he is now 8-9 for the season. Yankees Slugger Johnny Mize hits a solo HR in the game.
1957-Former Yankees Pitcher Kurt Kaufman (1982-1983) was born.
The Yankees had signed Pitcher Kurt Kaufman as an MLB Amateur Free Agent in 1979. For the 1982-1983 Yankees, he would post a 1-0 record with a 4.15 ERA in 11 games. On December 7,1983, Kurt was traded by the team along with Cash to the Angels for veteran MLB INF Tim Foli.
1958-At Yankee Stadium, the Yankees LF Norm Siebern has his 2nd 5-hit game of the month against the Kansas City A’s, as the Yankees lose the game by a score of 6-4. He has 1 RBI in the game. Meanwhile A’s hitters Bob Cerv, Roger Maris and Bill Tuttle would hit HRs in the game. KC Reliever Bud Daley picks-up the victory, while Ralph Terry gets his 1st save of the season for the A’s. Yankees Closer Ryne Duren takes the loss in a 4 innings of work, while giving up 4 A’s hits and 3 runs. Yankees Starter Duke Maas went 7 innings, while giving up 4 hits with 2 runs; Yankee hurlers Bob Turley and Bobby Shantz had followed him.
1959-Before a crowd of 57,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees would sweep a doubleheader from the visiting White Sox, winning the nightcap by the score of 6-4 on Mickey Mantle's HR off of veteran Reliever Turk Lown. In the 1st game, Yankees veteran OF Enos Slaughter belts a pair of HRs: at age 43, he is the oldest player this century to accomplish the feat. Carlton Fisk, a few months older, will top Enos Slaughter’s HR mark in 1991.
1960-The Yankees out-slug the Indians by a score of 13-11 behind the hitting of AL All-Star 1B Bill “Moose” Skowron. The “Moose” follows, a Yogi Berra HR blast with his 2nd HR in the 8th inning, but the Tribe answers back with 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning for an 11-8 lead. Then “Moose” hits a bases-loaded double in the 9th inning to win the game. Yankees RF Roger Maris hits his 30th HR of the 1960 AL season, as veteran Tribe CF Jimmy Piersall also had hit a HR.
1961-MLB Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick, an old friend of Babe Ruth's, announces that should Ruth's HR record be beaten after 154 games, the new HR record will carry an asterisk. When asked about the ruling, Yankees All-Star Slugger Roger Maris replies, "A season is a season." New York Sportswriter Dick Young suggests an asterisk, which is later claimed to be Frick's idea. No such designation is ever used in the MLB Record books, though but the incident leads to a myth that an "official record book" lists Roger Maris HR record with an asterisk. The myth is still popularly believed over 45 years later.
1961-The Yankees would drop a doubleheader to the new expansion Senators by scores of 8-4 and 12-2. In the Opener, the Nats down the Yankees by the score of 8-4 with Bud Daley taking the loss for the Yankees. Washington Starter Bernie Daniels is the winner, bringing his 1961 pitching record to the 5-5 mark. In the 2nd game, Nats veteran AL hurler Richard Donovan is the winner, while Yankees Rookie hurler Al Downing takes the loss lasting only 1 inning, while giving up 5 Senators runs. Yankees Slugger Mickey Mantle belts a 500 FT HR in the 4th inning over the RF wall.
1962-John W. Cox, the current owner of Yankee Stadium property, donates the sports facility to Rice Univ.
1964-At Yankee Stadium, Tribe Rookie Starter Luis Tiant in his MLB Pitching debut allowing only a 4-Yankee hits, while 11- Bronx batters strikeout, giving him a 3-0 victory for the Indians. The losing pitcher is Yankees Ace Whitey Ford. Luis Tiant was brought up yesterday by the Tribe, after posting a 15-1 record with the Indians AAA Portland team (PCL).
1975-Yankees Thurman Munson's 1st-inning single and RBI against the Twins are nullified because the tar on his bat handle exceeds the 18-inch limit. Twins Catcher Glenn Borgmann gets the credit for the putout. The Yankees lose the game by a score of 2-1.
1977-At the remodeled Yankee Stadium, the NL team scores 4 times in the opening inning off of Orioles Starter Jim Palmer en route to a 7-5 MLB All-Star Game victory. The Dodgers Starter Don Sutton, throwing 3 scoreless innings, is named the game's 1977 MVP. A crowd of 56,683 fans had attended the 1977 MLB All-Star game. Yankees Catcher Thurman Munson, OF Reggie Jackson, 3B Graig Nettles, 2B Willie Randolph and Reliever Sparky Lyle were on the 1977 AL All-Star squad managed by Billy Martin.
1978-Yankees Starter Ed Figueroa would limit the Twins to just 6-hits, as the Yankees open a 5-game winning streak. This winning streak starts the remarkable comeback of the 1978 Yankees to catch the Red Sox in the AL East (14 1/2 game lead) and win the 1978 AL Championship.
1982-Former Yankees Reliever Phil Coke (2008-2009, 2016) was born.
Phil Coke was drafted by the Yankees in the 26th round (786th overall) of 2002 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He began his pro baseball career with the GCL Yankees in 2003. By 2007, Coke had also pitched for the short season Class A Staten Island Yankees (NYPL), Class-A Charleston RiverDogs (SAL) and Class-A Advanced Tampa Yankees (FSL). He made his AA pitching debut with the 2008 Trenton Thunder (EL), by going 9–4 with a 2.54 ERA in 23 games (20 starts). Later that season in AAA with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (IL), he would pitch in 13 games (starting 1), while posting a 2–2 record with a 4.67 ERA. He would make his MLB Pitching debut on September 1, 2008 for the Yankees against the Tigers with a scoreless inning with strikeouts of Tigers Sluggers Curtis Granderson and Miguel Cabrera. He would finish the 2008 AL season with a 1-0 record in 12 games for the Yankees. In 2009, Phil went 4-3 with 2 saves in 72 games. On December 8, 2009, Phil was traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Yankees with Minor League OF Prospect Austin Jackson to the Tigers. Detroit would send MLB OF Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. The Tigers had sent P Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks. The Yankees would send Starter Ian Kennedy to the DBacks. Then the D-Backs would send Pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth to the Tigers. In 2016, Phil Cooke would return to the Yankees, pitching in 3 games in relief with no record. The Yankees would grant him MLB Free Agency in the fall, so he could sign to pitch for 2017 Orix Buffalos (JPL), where he was used as a Starter and Reliever. For the 2018 baseball season, Phil would pitch in the Mexican Leagues for 6 games, before retiring from the game.
1983-Former Yankees Reliever Joe Beggs (1938) had passed away. (1910-1983)
Before coming to the Bronx, Pitcher Joe Beggs had pitched for the 1937 AA Newark Bears team (IL) that won 109 games. He came close to pitching a No-hitter, with the only hit being a smash that caromed off his leg. Beggs would post a 21-4 record that 1937 IL season with the Bears team. In 1938, Beggs would pitch 12 more games for the AA Bears, going 6-3, but when he pitched at the MLB level with the 1938 Yankees; where he went 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 14 games. Joe did not appear in the 1938-1939 World Series for the team. On January 4,1940, Joe was traded by the Yankees to the Reds for veteran hurler Lee Grissom.
1987-The Rangers would win a 20-3 laugher over the Yankees. Rangers’ hitter Steve Buechele has 2-HRs to pace the Rangers 20 runs offense out-burst. In the 9th inning, Yankees Catcher Rick Cerone takes the mound and walks 1 Ranger batter, but he allows no Texas runs.
1989-Former Yankees Reliever Luis Avilan (2020) was born.
Veteran Reliever Luis Avilan was signed by the Yankees as an MLB Free Agent. He would appear in just 10 games, while posting a 0-0 record with 3.32 ERA. After the 2020 AL season had ended, he was granted MLB Free Agency by the team. He would end his MLB pitching career in 2021, after pitching for the Nationals. On October 23, 2023, he would announce his MLB retirement. He would finish his MLB pitching career with a 23-11 record along with a 3.43 ERA and 2 saves in 458 games.
1998-Former Yankees Reserve OF Elmer Valo (1960) had passed away. (1921-1998)
On December 11,1959, the Yankees had signed veteran AL OF Elmer Valo as an MLB Free Agent. He had hit .292 with No HRs and 4 RBIs in 34 games for the 1959 Indians. Elmer will appear in only 8 games for the 1960 Yankees with no hits before being waived to the Senators on May 23,1960. With the arrival of veteran Reserve OF Bob Cerv from the A’s, made him expendable to the team. He had spent 20 seasons playing in MLB, starting out with the Philadelphia A’s and finishing up with the Phillies in 1961. Later, he would become an MLB Coach for the Phillies.
2002-Former Yankees All-Star Pitcher Frank “Spec” Shea (1947-1951) had passed away (1920-2002).
In 1940, the Yankees had signed Pitcher Frank “Spec” Shea as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. Spec was in the Yankees farm system from 1940-1942, he might have made his MLB Pitching debut earlier; but he missed playing time due to military service duty for World War II. In 1941, he went 16-10 for Class B Norfolk Tars (PL). After the war, Frank Shea would come back to pitch for the 1946 AAA Oakland Oaks (PCL), going 15-5 under future Yankees Manager Casey Stengel. With the 1947-1951 Yankees, he would post a 29-21 record with a 3.68 ERA and 3 saves in 100 games. His best Yankees season was in 1947, when he went 14-5 for the team. He was named to the 1947 AL All-Star team. In the 1947 World Series against the Dodgers, he would win 2 games (Game # 1 and #5), also Spec would hit .400. He had started the decisive 7th game against the Dodgers, but he was taken out after only an inning and a third: Bill Bevens would replace him; the Yankees eventually won the game and the 1947 World Series. In 1950, he had suffered from pitching arm issues, spending time pitching in the Minor Leagues. On May 3,1952, “Spec” was traded by the Yankees along with Reserve OF Jackie Jensen, Minor League INF Jerry Snyder and OF Archie Wilson to the Senators for Outfielders Irv Noren and Tom Upton.
2007-Yankees Minor League OF Shelley Duncan hits his 25th HR for the AAA Scranton Yankees (IL) to break Wendell Magee's Scranton franchise record for HRs. When Duncan will be called up to the Yankees, he will hit 3 HRs in his 1st 3 days as an MLB Player.
2008-Confusion erupts in a NY-Penn League game between the Class A Staten Island Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones. Switch-hitting Brooklyn DH Ralph Henriquez Jr. steps to the plate from the right side against Pat Venditte, the Minor Leagues' 1st ambidextrous Pitcher of the century. Henriquez then decided he would hit left-handed and Venditte promptly switched his glove to the right hand. Henriquez again called time and switched sides. The shuffle continued several times before the Umpires and Managers decided that the batter must declare first from which side he will bat and that players can only switch once per at-bat. Venditte, throwing from the right side, winds up whiffing Henriquez on 4 pitches.
2015-Former Yankees Pitcher Rugger Ardizoia (1947) had passed away. (1919-2015)
At the time of his death in 2015, 96-yearold former Pitcher Rinaldo "Rugger" Ardizoia was the oldest living ex-Yankees player. He had pitched 1 game in the MLB. He would spend 12 years in the Minor Leagues, mostly with various teams in the Pacific Coast League. He was born in Italy, but he grew up in San Francisco. After graduating from high school, Rugger began playing for the AA San Francisco Missions (PCL). When the Missions moved from San Francisco to Hollywood, the next season to become the Hollywood Stars. He would pitch 2 seasons for the Stars until being signed for the Yankees by West Coast MLB Scout Joe Devine. The Yankees sent him to their AA Newark Bears (IL) in 1941. When World War II started, he was considered an enemy alien, since he was Italian-born. Rugger was not allowed to travel to the league’s 2 Canadian cities (Montreal and Toronto) with the team. So in 1942, he was assigned by the Yankees to the AA Kansas City Blues in the American Association, which had no Canadian City based teams. In 1943, he was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force. In December of 1945, Ardizoia was discharged from the Army Air Force. He would go to MLB Spring Training with the 1946 Yankees, but Rugger would spend that season with the AA Oakland Oaks (PCL), where he would win 15 games. Ardizoia’s MLB Pitching career consisted of just 2 innings of relief pitching on April 30,1947. Yankees Manager Bucky Harris had tab him to relieve P Karl Drews in the 7th inning of the Yankees' game against the Browns at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. The Browns already held a 13-4 lead over the Yankees, so his MLB Pitching debut amounted to nothing more than mop-up duty. Ardizoia had started out well, pitching an uneventful 7th inning. In the top of the 8th inning, Yankees 1B George McQuinn's RBI double chipped away at the Browns' lead, but in the bottom of the 8th, Ardizoia gave up 2 runs on Browns 1B Wally Judnich's 2nd HR of the game. In the top of the 9th inning, Johnny Lindell would pinch-hit for him and his MLB Pitching career with the Yankees came to an end. Ardizoia would spend the 1948 season back with AA Hollywood Stars (PCL), later he would pitch with the 1949 AA Seattle Rainiers (PCL) and in the 1951 season with the AA Dallas Eagles (TXL) before retiring from baseball.
2022-The 2022 All-Star Game, the 92nd edition of the mid-summer classic was played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA on July 19, 2022, with the American League winning for the 9th straight time by the score of 3-2. A crowd of 52,518 fans watched the night game. Yankees OF Giancarlo Stanton, who hit a key 2-run HR, as named the recipient of the Ted Williams Award as the game's most valuable player. Stanton and Aaron Judge were in the AL starting line-up. The Yankees had Starter Nestor Cortes, Closer Clay Homes and Catcher Jose Trevino on the AL squad.
July 20th
1877-Former Yankees Catcher Red Kleinow (1905-1910) was born. (1877-1929)
Catcher Red Kleinow had spent most of his MLB playing career with the New York Highlanders at a time when the team's performance fluctuated wildly. In the period from 1904-1910, the team was 2nd in the AL 3 times, but was also under .500 4 times, with a losing a record 103 games in 1908. On January 5, 1904, Catcher Red Kleinow was traded by AA Toledo (AA) to the Highlanders for 2 Rookies: P Eddie Quick and C/1B Jack Zalusky. Red became the Yankees starting Catcher from 1905 to 1909. Red would play in 522 games for the team, while hitting just .219 with 2 HRs and 127 RBIs. On May 26,1910, Red was purchased by the Red Sox from the Yankees. Red was dealing with a sore throwing arm problems, he had lost his starting Catcher job to Catcher Jeff Sweeney. For the 1910 Red Sox, he would become a Reserve Catcher.
1904-The Yankees had traded 2 Pitchers: Long Tom Hughes (7-11) and Barney Wolfe (0-3) to the Senators for veteran Starter Al Orth (3-4). Orth will regain his pitching form in the Bronx, by going 11-6 in 20 games of 1904 AL season, followed by an 18-16 mark with a 2.86 ERA in 1905. He will go 27-17 with a 2.34 ERA in 45 games, while completing a league leading 36 games for the 1906 Yankees. Overall, for the 1904-1909 Yankees, Al Orth would post a 72-61 record with a 2.72 ERA in 172 games with 11 shutouts and 102 complete games.
1912-In the 1st game of a doubleheader against the Indians, Yankees Pitcher Ray Caldwell is inserted as a pinch-runner, then he steals home for the tying run in an eventual 4-3 win over the Tribe. Ray then pitches a 4-0 shutout victory in the 2nd game.
1923-The Yankees would hit into a triple play, but they still beat the Philadelphia Athletics by the score of 9-2 behind veteran MLB Starter Carl Mays, who threw a 4-hitter.
1936-In an exhibition game played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, former Yankees Starter Waite Hoyt stops his old Yankee teammates by a score of 7-2. Lou Gehrig's 6th inning HR is the 1st score for the Yankees. Ted Kleinhaus is cuffed in his 8-innings. While Hoyt wins, another old pitcher loses as the Pirates hand veteran hurler Guy Bush his player release. The NL Bees (aka the Boston Braves) will sign him.
1941-The Yankees would end a 17-inning game with the Tigers by scoring 6 runs in the last inning to win the game by a score of 12-6.
1956-Yankees Starter Whitey Ford ties an AL record for consecutive strikeouts by fanning 6 straight Kansas City A’s batters. Ford will finish the game with 8 strikeouts in a 6-3 win over the A’s.
1960-Former Yankees Pitcher Mike Witt (1991-1993) was born.
On May 11,1990, veteran MLB Starter Mike Witt was traded by the Angels to the Yankees for MLB All-Star OF Dave Winfield. For the 1991-1993 Yankees, Mike would post an 8-9 record with a 4.91 ERA in 27 games.
1960-At Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium with the Indians in the lead by the score of 8-2, Yankees Slugger Mickey Mantle hits a Gary Bell pitch over the auxiliary scoreboard into the distant upper deck in RF, matching Luke Easter as the only MLB players to reach that spot. The Indians will hold on for an 8-6 win over the Bronx Bombers.
1962-Yankees CF Mickey Mantle hits a HR in the 1st inning off of Senators Starter Steve Hamilton to propel the Yankees to a 3-2 victory. Mantle goes 3-for-4 at the plate and his 1962 AL season on-base percentage is now at .516 mark.
1965-Yankees Starter Mel Stottlemyre becomes the 1st pitcher to hit an Inside-the-Park Grand Slam HR since Deacon Phillippe did it for the 1910 Pirates. Stottlemyre's bases-loaded drive in the 5th inning off of Boston Starter Bill Monbouquette that assures him a 6-3 victory over the Red Sox.
1970-The Yankees had obtained veteran NL All-Star Starter Mike McCormick from the Giants for Pitcher John Cumberland. For the 1970 Yankees, Mike will post a 2-0 mark with a 6.10 ERA in 9 games before being released by the team during their MLB Spring Training Camp in March of 1971. He would be signed by the Royals. For the 1968-1970 Yankees, John Cumberland had appeared in 18 games, while posting a 3-4 record with a 4.11 ERA.
1973-White Sox Starter Wilbur Wood starts and loses both games of a doubleheader against the Yankees by scores of 12-2 and 7-0.
1985-Scattering just 7-Twins hits, Yankees starter Ron Guidry wins his 12th straight game of the 1985 AL season beating the Twins by the score of 8-3. Bronx 1B Don Mattingly has a 2-run HR and a 2-run double for the team.
1987-Yankees 1B Don Mattingly ties another MLB record, this time in the field with his glove, as he makes 22 putouts in the Yankees 7-1 win over the Twins. Highlanders 1B Hal Chase last accomplished this fielding feat by a 1B in the AL in 1906.
1990-Former Yankees Reliever Tyler Webb (2017) was born.
Tyler Webb began his pro career in 2013, after being selected by the Yankees in the 10th round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Player Draft. In 2012, the Reds had previously selected Webb, but he did not sign with the team The relief pitcher averaged more than 12 strikeouts per 9 innings in each of his 1st 2 pro baseball seasons. In 2014, he had reached AA A Scranton for the 1st time. With the 2014 AA Trenton Thunder (EL), Tyler was an Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star. He had earned a spot in the Arizona Fall League in 2015. The Pirates had drafted him in the 2016 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft, but they returned him to the Yankees on April 1st. Three months later, Tyler would make his MLB Pitching debut with the Yankees on June 24th, when he pitched an inning and a third of scoreless relief in a loss to the Rangers. Less than a month later, on July 13, 2017, Webb was traded to the Brewers in return for Minor League 1B Garrett Cooper. His final 2017 Yankee pitching totals was a 0-0 record with a 4.50 ERA in 7 games for the team. In 5 Minor League seasons in the Yankees organization, Webb had a 15-14 record with a 3.45 ERA in 150 appearances ,along with 5 starts.
1998-The Tigers take the 1st game of a doubleheader against the Yankees by a 4-3 score in 17 innings. The Yankees will bounce back to take the 2nd game from the Tigers by the identical score. This doubleheader of 26 innings takes nearly 9 hours to play.
2021-On July 30, 2021, Pitcher Andrew Heaney was traded by the Angels along with Cash to the Yankees for 2 Minor League Pitchers: Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero. The Yankees had hoped that Heaney would help out the injury riddle Yankee Pitching staff. He will not be very effective for the team, just posting a 2-2 record along with a very high 7.32 ERA in 12 games. On October 7, 2021, the Yankees will grant him his MLB Free Agency. He will sign an MLB Free Agent deal with the Dodgers.
2022-Former Yankees Pitcher William “Bill” Burbach (1969-1971) had passed away. (1947-2022)
On June 8,1965, Pitcher Bill Burbach was selected by the Yankees in the 1st round (19th pick) of the 1965 MLB Amateur Player Draft. For the 1969-1971 Yankees, Bill would post a 6-11 record with a 4.48 ERA in 37 games, never showing the promise that the Yankees had hoped for when they drafted him as a #1 pick in 1965. On May 28,1971, Bill was traded by the Yankees to the Orioles for veteran Starter Jim Hardin. Bill would never pitch for the Orioles at the MLB level.