This Week in Yankees History October 13th-19th

This Week in Yankees History October 13th-19th Oct 12, 2024 10:59:34 GMT -5 kaybli, chiyankee, and 2 more like this

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Post by fwclipper51 on Oct 12, 2024 10:59:34 GMT -5

This Week in Yankees History October 13th-19th

October 12th

1876-Former Yankees Pitcher and MLB Manager William “Wild Bill’ Donvan (1915-1917) was born. (1876-1923)
Yankees Manager ‘Wild Bill” Donvan had posted a 220-239 record with the 1915-1917 Yankees, before being replaced by Miller Higgins in 1918. Donvan had replaced Player-Manager Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh. Yankee teams had suffered injuries to key players during the 1917 AL season, resulting in a 6th place finish. When former Cardinals Manager Miller Higgins became available, Yankees Co-Team Owner Jacob Rupert would release the popular Donvan. Then he would sign Higgins. As a Pitcher for the Yankees, Bill had appeared in only 13 games, while posting a 0-1 record. He had been a starter for the Dodgers before jumping to the AL to pitch for the Tigers. His MLB Pitching career record was 185-139 with a 2.69 ERA in 378 games. With the 1907-1909 Tigers, he had appeared in 3 World Series, while posting a 1-4 record with a 2.70 ERA in 6 games. He was on his way to the 1923 MLB Winter Baseball Meetings in Chicago, when he was a victim of one of the most famous American train wrecks of the 20th Century; the crash of the 20th Century Limited at Forsyth, NY, 25 miles east of Erie, PA. He was killed instantly, 1 of 9 victims, who had died in the train tragedy. At the 1923 MLB Winter Meetings, Bill had been expected to be named the new Manager of the 1924 Washington Senators.

1883-Former Yankees Reserve C/1B/OF Walter “Heavy” Blair (1907-1911) was born. (1883-1948)
On August 18,1907, Walter Blair was purchased by the Yankees from the Williamsport (TS). He would appear in 216 games with the team, while hitting just .196 with 1 HR and 153 RBIs. After the 1911 AL season, he would play in the Minor Leagues with the AA Rochester Hustlers (IL). In 1914-1915, Walt would play for the Buffalo Buffeds in the Federal League.

1895-Former Yankees Reserve OF Ben Paschal (1924-1929) was born. (1895-1974)
On September 9,1924, OF Ben Paschal purchased by the Yankees from the AA Atlanta Crackers (SA) for $20,000 Cash. He had previous played in the MLB with 1915 Indians and then with the 1920 Red Sox. On April 12,1927, the Opening Game of the 1927 AL season, Ben Paschal became the last MLB player to ever pinch-hit for Babe Ruth. The replacement came in the 6th inning, after Babe Ruth had gone 0 for 3 in the game with 2 strikeouts; Paschal hit a single. As a Reserve OF for the Yankees, Ben would hit .309 with 24 HRs and 131 RBIs in 346 games. He did play in 2 World Series with the 1926 and 1928 Yankees, while hitting .214 with No HRs with 1 RBI in 8 games. On November 21,1929, Ben Paschal was traded by the Yankees along with Reserve Catcher Johnny Grabowski and Reliever Wilcy Moore to the AA St. Paul Saints (AA) for veteran MLB Catcher "Bubbles" Hargrave.

1896-Former Yankees Reserve INF Mike Gazella (1923,1926-1928) was born. (1896-1978)
For the Yankees, as a Reserve INF Mike Gazella would hit .241 with No HRs and 32 RBIs in 160 games. He had appeared in 1 game of the 1926 World Series against the Cardinals with no hits. On December 20,1928, the Yankees would sell Mike to the AA Hollywood Stars (PCL). He would play in the Minor Leagues until 1935. From 1935 to 1940, he was a Minor League Manager. During the 1940’s, Mike was an MLB Scout for the Yankees organization. From 1947-1949, he would return to managing in the Minor Leagues. In 1947, he was the Manager for the Yankees Class C team; the Ventura Yankees (CAL). He would finish up his managing career with the 1948-1949 Class A Denver Bears (WL).

1921-In the 1st New York City "Subway Series" ever played as the Giants defeat the Yankees by a score of 1-0 to take the 1921 World Series, 5 games to 3 (a 9-game World Series format). The only run of the game scores on a 1st inning error by the Yankees Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh. The Yankees lose chance to win the game on poor base running by INF Aaron Ward. Giant’s Starter Art Nehf and Yankees Starter Waite Hoyt, both would pitch complete games. A crowd of 25,410 fans had attended the game played at the Polo Grounds.

1921-Former Yankees Baseball Executive Lou Saban was born. (1921-2009)
Lou Saban was a former College and Professional Football Coach. He was briefly the President of the Yankees in 1981-1982. Also, he had served as an MLB Scout for the team from 1984-1987.

1923-In Game #4 of the 1923 World Series is played at the Polo Grounds, before a crowd of 46,302 fans, who watched the Yankees beat the Giants by the score of 8-4. Bronx Bombers hitters Shortstop Everett “Deacon” Scott and OF Bob Meusel hit triples that drive in 6 runs that chase Giants Starter Scott in the 2nd inning of the game. Yankees Starter Bob Shawkey along with relief help from veteran Starter Herb Pennock hold off the Giants to the win the game.

1924-Former Yankees Reserve C/3B and Minor League Manager Charlie Silvera (1948-1956) was born. (1924-2019)
In 1942, the Yankees had signed Catcher Charlie Silvera as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. For the Yankees, Charlie had appeared in 221 games, while hitting .292 with 1 HR and 30 RBIs. His best Yankees player season was in 1949, when he played in 58 games, while hitting .315 with 13 RBIs. He would make 1 appearance with no hits in the 1949 World Series against the Dodgers. On December 11,1956, Charlie was traded by the Yankees along with Cash and another Player to be Named to the Cubs for a Player to be Named Later. The Cubs would send Catcher Harry Chiti on December 14,1956 to the Yankees to complete the trade. Chiti never appears with Bombers at the MLB level. He would be drafted by the Kansas City A's in the 1957 MLB Rule 5 Minor League Player Draft. After retiring as an active player, Charlie Silvera would manage and coached in the Minor Leagues (1958-1960,1970). He was an MLB Scout for the AL Expansion Senators (1961-1968). Then he was an MLB Coach for the 1969 Twins,1971-1972 Tigers and the 1973-1975 Rangers before retiring from baseball.

1937-Former Yankees OF Lou Clinton (1966-1967) was born. (1937-1997)
On January 14,1966, OF Lou Clinton was traded by the Indians to the Yankees for Reserve Catcher Doc Edwards. For the 1966-1967 Yankees, he would hit .220 with 5 HRs and 24 RBIs in 86 games. Lou Clinton had originally come up with the 1960 Red Sox. During his MLB playing career, he had played for the Red Sox, Angels, A’s, Indians before finishing up with the 1967 Yankees. On May 11,1967, Lou was purchased by the Phillies from the Yankees. The Phillies would assign him to their AAA team, the San Diego Padres (PCL), where he would hit .250 with 13 HRs and 35 RBIs in 110 games. In the fall of 1967, he would retire from baseball. Overall, as an MLB Player, he would hit .247 with 65 HRs and 269 RBIs in 691 games. On October 1,1961, Lou was the Red Sox RF in the Roger Maris HR #61 game played at Yankee Stadium.

1954-Former Yankees Minor League Manager Tommy Jones was born. (1954-2009)
Before joining the Yankees organization, Tommy Jones had managed in the Royals organization. He would manage the 1987-1988 AA Albany Colonie Yankees (EL). He would leave the Yankees organization to join the new NL Expansion Team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. From 1998 to 2004, Tommy Jones was the Director of Player Development for the Diamondbacks. Also, Jones was an MLB 1B Coach for the 2004 Diamondbacks. In 2005, he was an MLB Scout for the Mariners. In 2009, Jones had passed away, after losing a more than year-long battle with Brain Cancer.

1954-Former Yankees Reliever George Frazier (1981-1983) was born. (1954-2023)
On June 7,1981, Pitcher George Frazier was sent by the Cardinals to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal made on February 16,1981. The Cardinals had sent a Player to be Named Later to the Yankees for Shortstop Rafael Santana. For the 1981-1983 Yankees, George had appeared in 140 games, while posting an 8-9 record with a 3.25 ERA and 12 saves. He had lost 3 games to the Dodgers in the 1981 World Series. On February 5,1984, George was traded by the Yankees along with a Player to be Named Later and Reserve OF Otis Nixon to the Indians for a Player to be Named Later and MLB INF Toby Harrah. On February 8,1984, the Indians would send Minor League P Rick Browne to the Yankees, who in return will send Minor League P Guy Elston to the Indians to complete the trade.

1960-The Pirates 2B Bill Mazeroski hits one of the most dramatic HRs in World Series history. Maz's leadoff HR in the bottom of the 9th inning off of Yankees Reliever Ralph Terry gives Pirates a stunning 10-9 win in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. It is the last game of Manager Casey Stengel’s Yankees Manager career and his last World Series appearance as an MLB Manager. He will be let go by the Yankees front office later in the month being replaced by Yankees MLB Coach Ralph Houk. Long-time Yankees General Manager George Weiss will be retired by Yankees Co-Owners Del Webb and Dan Topping.

1971-The Yankees had obtained Pitcher Rich Hinton from the Indians for Reserve OF Jim Lyttle. For the Yankees, Rich would go 1-0 with a 4.86 ERA in 7 games before being sent to the Rangers during the 1972 AL season. Jim Lyttle had hit .310 for the Yankees in 1970, but he missed most of the 1971 AL season, after being stricken with mono, hitting only .189. For the 1971 White Sox, Hinton had posted a 3-4 record in 18 games.

1978-Yankees All-Star 3B Graig Nettles put on a fielding clinic and prevented 7 runs as the Yankees beat the Dodgers by the score of 5-1 in Game 3 of the 1978 World Series. Nettles made 4 spectacular stops and gave the Yankees the 1st victory of the World Series. Yankees Starter Ron Guidry gets the win, beating Dodgers veteran Starter Don Sutton, meanwhile veteran Yankees OF Roy White hits a HR for the Bombers.

1996-Powered by 3 HRs in the 3rd inning and 8 strong innings of pitching from lefty Starter Andy Pettitte, as the Yankees won their 34th AL pennant with a 6-4 victory over the Orioles. The Yankees took the 1996 ALCS by 4-games to 1. The team went to the 1996 World Series for the 1st time since 1981 AL season. They will face the NL Champs, the Braves.

1998-After beating the Indians 9-5 to win the 1998 ALCS in 6 games. The Yankees will advance to the 1998 World Series for a record 35th time. They will face the NL Champion San Deigo Padres.

1999-In the Opener of the 1999 ALCS, the Yankees would defeat the Red Sox in the by the score of 4-3 in 10 innings. The Red Sox would blow a 3-0 lead, as Yankees CF Bernie Williams would hit a HR off of Boston Reliever Rod Beck.

2000-The Yankees would batter the Mariners by the score of 8-2 to take a 2-games-to-1 lead in the ALCS. Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez hit back-to-back HRs in the 2nd inning for the Yankees, while David Justice has 3 RBIs. Mariano Rivera breaks Whitey Ford's record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched in postseason play with 33 1/3 scoreless frames. Clippers Note: I disagree with this record, because all of Whitey Ford’s work was done in the World Series, not in the AL Playoffs. There should be a distinctive division between the World Series and MLB League Play-Offs and Championship Series records; I hope that the next MLB Commissioner will make this happen, because it will not happen on Clueless Bud Selig’s watch.

2001-Bronx Catcher Jorge Posada 's 5th-inning solo HR accounts for all the scoring as the Yankees would defeat the Oakland A’s by the score of 1-0 to stay alive in their ALDS. Yankees Starter Mike Mussina gives up just 4 A’s hits in 7 innings of work to get the win. Yankees Shortstop Derek Jeter makes his famous "Flip Play" on a relay throw to the plate to Catcher Jorge Posada to nab A’s base-runner Jeremy Giambi, who neglects to slide on the play and Jeter’s flip play saves the game for Mussina.

2004-Former Yankees Minor League P Mike Blyzka had passed away. (1928-2004)
After the 1954 AL season had ended, hurler Mike Blyzka was part of the 18-player trade between the Orioles and the Yankees, that saw 2 Baltimore hurlers Bob Turley and Don Larsen go to the Bronx, meanwhile the Orioles would receive MLB OF Gene Woodling, C/1B Gus Triandos and other players. Mike was to send by the Yankees to their AAA club, the Denver Bears (AA). Blyzka never quite made it to Yankee Stadium, pitching for the Bears again in 1956. After the 1957 Minor League season had ended, he would retire from baseball. In 1946, the White Sox had originally signed him as an MLB Amateur Free Agent, who would later trade him to the St. Louis Browns. While in MLB, Mike did pitch for the St. Louis Browns and later the Orioles, while posting a 3-11 record with a 5.58 ERA and 1 save in 70 games.

2012-In Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS, Yankees hitter Raul Ibanez hits a HR to cap a game-tying 4-run outburst against Tigers Closer Jose Valverde in the 9th inning, but Detroit manages to overcome the psychological blow to win the game by the score of 6-4 in 12 innings. The Yankees' Derek Jeter collects the 200th postseason hit of his MLB playing career in the game - 2nd place on the all-time list is held by his long-time teammate Bernie Williams with 128 - but he then suffers a broken ankle while fielding a ground ball in the 12th inning, putting him out for the rest of the 2012 MLB Postseason. Delmon Young drives in 3 runs for the Tigers, including a HR in the 8th inning and the game-winner with a double off of Yankees Reliever David Phelps, the 8th Yankees pitcher used in the game.

2017-In Game 1 of the 2017 ALCS, Houston Starter Dallas Keuchel leads the Astros to a 2-1 win over the Yankees by pitching 7 shutout innings in which he strikes out 10 Yankee batters. The Astros would score a pair of runs against Yankees Starter Masahiro Tanaka in the 4th inning on singles by Astro batters Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel, while the Yankees lone run comes on a solo HR by 1B Greg Bird with 2 outs in the 9th inning.

2019-In Houston’s Minute Maid Park, Astros hitter Carlos Correa hits a walk-off HR off of Yankees Reliever J.A. Happ's 1st pitch in the 11th inning to send Houston to a 3-2 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2019 ALCS. Yankees Slugger Aaron Judge puts the Yankees ahead with a 2-run HR shot off of Astros Starter Justin Verlander in the 4th, then George Springer ties it with a solo HR of off Yankees Reliever Adam Ottavino in the 5th inning before both team’s Relievers take over the game.

2019-Former Yankees Reserve OF Bobby Del Greco (1957-1958) had passed away. (1933-2019)
After being purchased from the Cubs in September of 1957, Reserve OF Bobby Del Greco would hit .459 for his month with the Yankees. Bobby did not appear in the 1957 World Series against the Braves. He would only appear in 6 games for the 1958 Yankees, while hitting just .200 before being sent down in a roster move on May 15,1958 to AAA Richmond Virginians (IL), where he would hit .267 with 9 HRs and 45 RBIs in 100 games. On April 13,1959, Bobby was sold by the Yankees to the Phillies, as the team was making MLB 25-player roster moves before the 1959 AL season would start.

2022-The 2nd game of 2022 ALDS between the Yankees and Guardians was postponed due to bad weather, the game will be rescheduled for Friday afternoon at 1PM at Yankee Stadium.

October 14th

1913-Former Yankees Pitcher Hugh Casey (1949) was born. (1913-1951)
On September 4,1949, veteran Reliever Hugh Casey was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees. Casey had previously pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the early 1940’s. He would record a 1-0 record with an 8.22 ERA in 4 games in his last MLB season as a player. He would finish his MLB Pitching career with a 75-42 record with a 3.45 ERA and 54 Saves in 343 games. In August of 1951, Hugh Casey had committed suicide in his hotel room, he had been pitching for the AA Atlanta Crackers (SA).

1923-At Yankee Stadium, a crowd of 62,817 fans watched Veteran Yankees Starter Joe Bush spin a 3-hitter as the Bronx Bombers beat the Giants by the score of 8-1 in Game 5 of the 1923 World Series. It’s is the team’s 1st World Series victory at their new stadium. Yankees veteran 3B Joe Dugan hits a 3-run HR as part of a 14-hit attack by the Bronx Bombers line-up. The Yankees, now lead the Giants in the 1923 World Series by 3 to 2 games.

1924-Former Yankees Reserve OF William “Bill” Renna (1953) was born. (1924-2014)
Before the start of the 1949 AL season, the Yankees had signed OF Bill Renna as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. For the 1953 Yankees, Bill would hit .314 with 2 HRs and 13 RBIs in 61 games, before being traded to Philadelphia Athletics on December 16,1953, along with INF Don Bollweg, OF Jim Finigan, P Johnny Gray, 1B Vic Power and C Jim Robertson for Starter Harry Byrd, 1B/PH Eddie Robinson, OF Tom Hamilton, OF Carmen Mauro and INF Loren Babe. He would play for Athletics until 1956, when he was traded back to the Yankees along with P Moe Burtschy for veteran 1B/PH Eddie Robinson and INF Lou Skizas. Bill would never appear with the Yankees at the MLB level, instead he was sent back to the Minor Leagues to play for their AAA club, the Denver Bears (AA). The Yankees would trade him to the Red Sox in 1959, where he would finish his MLB playing career.

1939-In the MLB Minor League Player Draft, the Yankees would lose future MLB OF Hank Sauer to the Cubs. In 1939, he had played for the Butler Yanks in Mid-Atlantic League. As a MLB player, Hank will hit .266, with 288 HRs and 876 RBIs in 1,399 games.

1948-Former Yankees Pitcher Ed Figueroa (1976-1980) was born.
On December 11,1975, Pitcher Ed Figueroa was traded by the Angels along with OF Mickey Rivers to the Yankees for AL All-Star OF Bobby Bonds. While pitching for the Yankees, Ed would post a 62-29 record with a 3.53 ERA and 42 compete games in 132 games. His best Bronx season was in 1978, when he recorded a 20-9 mark with a 2.99 ERA and 12 complete games in 35 games. In 2 World Series with the team, Ed had a 1-1 record. In AL Postseason games, he was 3-1 for the Yankees. After 1978 AL season, he had suffered from elbow problems, just going 7-9 in his last 2 seasons with the team. On July 28,1980, Ed was purchased by the Rangers from the Yankees.

1964-In Game 6 of the 1964 World Series at St. Louis, Yankees Sluggers Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle hit HRs on back-to-back pitches off of Cardinals veteran Starter Curt Simmons. Bronx 1B Joe Pepitone belts a Grand Slam HR. The Bombers would win Game 6 by the score of 8-3. The Yankees victory evens the 1964 World Series at 3 games apiece. It would be the last Yankees victory in a World Series game until the 1977 World Series against the Dodgers.

1964-Former Yankees Catcher (1996-1999), MLB Coach, MLB Manager (Marlins, Phillies) and Former Yankees Manager Joe Girardi (2008-2017) was born.
On November 20,1995, Catcher Joe Girardi was traded by the Rockies to the Yankees for Minor League P Mike DeJean. Yankees Manager Joe Torre wanted a more defensive minded catcher behind the plate. He would replace the 1995 starting Catcher Mike Stanley, who was granted MLB Free Agency by the team. Joe had originally come up to the MLB with 1989 Cubs. He was drafted from the Cubs in the MLB Expansion Team Player Draft by the Rockies. Joe’s best Yankees season as a player was in 1996, when he hit .296. Overall, as a Yankees player, he had played in 379 games, while hitting .272 with 8 HRs and 153 RBIs. He had appeared in 3 World Series with the team. He would leave the Yankees for MLB Free Agency, signing with the Cubs. After retiring as an MLB player in 2003, he would return to the Yankees as an MLB Coach. He had helped former Yankees Catcher Jorge Posada in his development as an MLB Catcher. In the fall of 2005, he was named as the new Manager for the 2006 Marlins. Joe would last 1 season with the Marlins being fired by the Team Owner, before returning to the Yankees as an MLB Coach. In October of 2007, he was named Manager of the Yankees, replacing long-time Manager Joe Torre. In 2009, Joe had won a World Championship for the Yankees as they defeated the Phillies in the World Series. After the 2017 MLB season had ended, the Yankees would fire Joe despite the fact that he led the team to the AL playoffs losing to the Astros. In 2018, he would join the MLB Network as a TV Studio Analyst, working on their “Baseball Tonight” telecasts. In the fall of 2019, Joe was named as the new Manager of the 2020 Phillies, replacing the recently fired Phillies Manager Gabe Kaplan. During the 2022 NL season, Joe was fired by the Phillies, being replaced by Phillies MLB Coach Rob Thompson.

1967-Former Yankees INF Pat Kelly (1991-1997) was born.
In 1988, the Yankees in the 9th round of the MLB Amateur Player Draft had selected INF Pat Kelly. From 1992-1995, Pat had hit over .300 for the Yankees, before various injuries would slow down his MLB playing career. In 1994, he would lead the AL in sac flies with 14. In 1997, the Yankees would grant Pat Kelly, his MLB Free Agency; the Cardinals would sign him. He would finish his MLB playing career with the 1999 Blue Jays. As Yankees player, Pat had appeared in 591 games, while hitting .251 with 26 HRs and 153 RBIs. Overall, Pat had played in 681 MLB games, while hitting .249 with 36 HRs and 217 RBIs.

1976-At Yankee Stadium, Yankees 1B Chris Chambliss hits a 9th-inning HR off of Royals Closer Mark Littell to give the Bronx Bombers, a 7-6 victory over Kansas City in the 1976 ALCS and their 1st AL pennant since the 1964 AL season.

1977-Yankees Starter Mike Torrez scatters 7-Dodger hits, in a complete game as the Yankees beat the Dodgers by the score of 5-3 in Game 3 of the 1977 World Series. Dodgers’ veteran Starter Tommy John takes the lost. Yankees CF Mickey Rivers leads the Yankees 10 hits batting attack against the Dodgers. A crowd of 55,992 fans watched the game played at Dodger Stadium.

1988-Former Yankees Pitcher Vic “The Springfield Rifle” Raschi (1946-1953) had passed away. (1919-1988)
Before the start of 1941 AL season, Pitcher Vic Raschi was signed by the Yankees as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He would debut in the Minor Leagues in 1941. He would miss the 1943-1945 AL seasons due to military service for WWII. In 1946, Vic would pitch for Class A Binghamton Triplets (EL) and the AA Newark Bears (IL) by going 11-12 with a 3.118 ERA in 28 games. He would start in the MLB in 1946 with the Yankees by going 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA in 2 games. In 1947, he would split the season between the AA Portland Beavers (PCL) and the Yankees; he had appeared in 15 games for the team. Vic had posted a 7-2 record with a 3.87 ERA in 15 games; making 2 relief appearances in the 1947 World Series against the Dodgers with no decisions. Vic Raschi was one of main Yankee Starters along with Allie Reynolds and Eddie Lopat, later Whitey Ford during the Yankees 5 straight World Championship run of 1949-1953. During his Yankee pitching career, Vic was named to the AL All-Star team 4 times. He would post a 120-50 record with a 3.47 ERA and 3 saves in 218 games as a Yankees Starter, along with 24 shutouts, 99 complete games. He would win 21 games each season for the 1949-1951 Yankees. In 6 World Series for the team, he had a 5-3 record with a 2.24 ERA in 11 games, along with 3 complete games. In 1953, Vic had slipped to a 13-6 record with a 3.33 ERA in 28 games. Yankees GM Weiss 1954 player contract offer to Vic was a pay-cut of less than his $40,00 salary of 1953. On February 24, 1954, Yankees GM would sell Vic Raschi to the Cardinals for $85,000 as a signal to stop other Yankee stars from staging player salary contract holdouts. Vic would last 2 years with the Cardinals and then finishing up with the 1955 A’s, pitching under .500 (12-16 record in 41 games) before retiring from the game.

2000-At Yankee Stadium giving the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the 2000 ALCS, Yankees Starter Roger Clemens strikes out a series record-setting 15 Mariner batters, while allowing only 1- Seattle hit, winning the game by the score of 5-0.

2008-Former Yankees INF/OF Tom Tresh (1961-1969) had passed away. (1937-2008)
In 1958, the Yankees had signed INF Tommy Tresh as an MLB Free Agent. He was the son of former White Sox Catcher and Yankees MLB Scout Mike Tresh. Tom was the only rookie player called up in September of 1961 to the Yankees. He was the starting shortstop for the AAA Richmond Virginians (IL). In 1962, he would win the AL Rookie of Year Award. Tom took over the Yankees starting shortstop position, while Tony Kubek was serving on active duty for the Army Reserves. Tom had beaten out his Yankees teammate Phil Linz for the starting position in the 1962 Yankees MLB Spring Training camp. He was an AL All-Star team member in 1962-1963. In Game 5 of the 1962 World Series, he broke a 2-2 tie with a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 8th inning off of Giants Starter Jack Sanford (who won 24 games that NL season) leading to a 5-3 Yankees win and a 3-2 lead in Series games. He had won an AL OF Golden Glove Award in 1965. After the 1965 AL season, the Red Sox had offered Yaz for Tresh in a trade, but then the Boston Front Office had changed their minds about the trade. During the 1967 AL season, Tom injured both of his knees, when newly acquired Yankees Shortstop Ruben Amaro Sr. ran into him on a fly ball play in the outfield. The knee’s injury would ruin Tom’s MLB playing career. On June 14,1969, Tresh was traded away to the Tigers for OF Ron Woods. As a Yankees player, he had appeared in 1,098 games, while hitting .247 with 140 HRs and 493 RBIs. Tommy had played in 3 World Series for the Yankees, hitting .277 with 4 HRs and 13 RBIs in 18 games. Overall, as an MLB player, Tom would hit .245 with 153 HRs and 530 RBIs. Tom’s son Mickey Tresh would play in the Yankees and Tigers Minor League systems. His son was named after Tom’s Yankees teammate Mickey Mantle.

2012-At New Yankee Stadium, the Tigers would take a 2 games to none lead in the 2012 ALCS with a 3-0 shutout of the Yankees at New Yankee Stadium. Detroit Starter Anibal Sanchez pitches 7 innings in another strong outing by a Tigers starter. Yankees Starter Hiroki Kuroda retires the 1st 15 Tigers batters, but he allows a run in the 6th inning on a botched potential double play grounder. A blown call by 2B Umpire Jeff Nelson in the 8th inning, leads to 2 Tiger more runs and results in Yankees Manager Joe Girardi's ejection.

2017-The Astros take a 2 games to none lead in the ALCS with a 2-1 defeat of the Yankees in Game 2. Veteran AL Starter Justin Verlander pitches a masterful complete game. His Yankees opponent, Luis Severino, was also very good, but after he allowed a solo HR to Carlos Correa in the 4th, Bronx Manager Joe Girardi asked for a medical visit and after he took a ball off his knee to record the last out of that inning, he did not return. His 2 successors on the mound, Relievers Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson, were just as outstanding, hardly giving up anything over the next 4 innings, before the Astros put together the winning rally in the 9th. The Astros score the winning run in the bottom of the 9th as Astros baserunner Jose Altuve runs all the way from 1st base on a double to right by Carlos Correa off of Yankees Closer Aroldis Chapman. Yankees RF Aaron Judge had to run to get it, threw to 2nd base too late to get Correa, but meanwhile Altuve was running home. Yankees Shortstop Didi Gregorius turned around and fired the ball to Catcher Gary Sanchez, the ball arriving well ahead of Altuve. However, Sanchez was unable to handle the short hop throw, as Altuve slid in safely for the winning run. Bronx Closer Chapman takes the loss for the Yankees.

2021-The Yankees have announced that 2 of their 2021 MLB Batting Coaches will not have their contracts renewed; MLB Batting Coach Marcus Thames and his Assistant Batting Coach P. J. Pilittere. A former MLB OF/DH, Thames served as the Bombers’ hitting coach the past 4 seasons. Starting in 2002, he played parts of 10-seasons for 4 MLB clubs, including 2 stays with the Yankees. In 2012, he would rejoin the Yankees organization as a Minor League Hitting Coach. Marcus would work in that capacity at 3 different levels. In 2016, he would arrive in the Bronx, as the Assistant Hitting Coach. He was promoted to MLB Hitting Coach 2 years later. P. J. Pilittere was a former Yankee Minor League player, who a was Minor League Coach for the Yankees. He had held his Assistant MLB Batting Coach position for 4 years.

2022-The Guardians would tie the 2022 ALDS with the Yankees by winning Game 2 in 10 innings by the score of 4-2 at Yankee Stadium before a crowd of 47,535 fans. Giancarlo Stanton’s 2-run HR in 1st inning was the only Yankees extra base hit in the game. Though Yankees fan-favorite Starter Nestor Cortes had held Cleveland to 2 runs over 5 innings in his MLB playoff debut, the Yankees would manage only 6 hits in the game, 5 off of Bieber, who had lasted 5 2/3 innings.

October 15th

1875-Former Yankees MLB Coach (1920-1930) and MLB Player Charley O’Leary was born. (1875-1941)
Charley O'Leary began his MLB playing career with the 1901 White Sox (American League) which was then a Minor League. Then he would spend several years playing for Western League teams in Des Moines, Iowa before being purchased by the Tigers in 1904. He was the Tigers' regular shortstop for 4 years before spending 5 more seasons as a Reserve INF with the club. He would spend part of the 1912 season in the Minors as Manager of the AA Indianapolis Indians (AA) and then the 1913 season as the regular shortstop for the Cardinals, while also serving as a MLB Coach for the club. O'Leary would manage the 1917 San Antonio Bronchos. O'Leary later was a Yankees MLB Coach from 1920 to 1930, under Managers Miller Huggins and Bob Shawkey. When Joe McCarthy took over at the helm of the club in 1931, he would replace O'Leary with Jimmy Burke, a former Cubs MLB Coach. O'Leary was then hired by Cubs Manager Rogers Hornsby to replace Burke on the team's MLB Coaching staff. After 3 seasons with the Cubs, O'Leary would join the St. Louis Browns in 1934, as an MLB Coach. Late in that season, he would play in a single game, becoming 1 of 6 players in MLB history to play a game after age 50 (the others are Satchel Paige, Minnie Minoso, Nick Altrock, Jim O'Rourke and Jack Quinn). Appearing 21 years after his last game, he singled and became the oldest player in baseball history collect a hit or to score a run. What is even more remarkable is that he was 7 years older than his listed baseball age at the time: he was actually 58. The only MLB player older than O'Leary to participate in a game was the 59-year-old Pitcher Satchel Paige. Following his brief return as a player, O'Leary would spend 3 more seasons on the Browns MLB Coaching staff. After his baseball career, O'Leary was a sanitation worker in Chicago. In 1941, He would pass away following a brief illness.

1906-Former Yankees Reserve OF Sammy “Babe Ruth’s Legs” Byrd (1929-1934) was born. (1906-1981)
Reserve OF Sam Byrd’s best player season for the Yankees was in 1932, when he would hit .297 with 8 HRs and 11 RBIs. He was Babe Ruth’s late inning outfield defensive replacement. He had appeared in 1 game of the 1932 Word Series against the Cubs with no hits. As a Yankees Reserve OF, Sammy had played in 565 games, while hitting .281 with 27 HRs and 155 RBIs. On December 19,1934, he was sold by the Yankees to the Reds for Cash. Sammy would play for 2 seasons with the Reds before retiring as an active MLB player. He would finish his MLB playing career by hitting .274 with 38 HRs and 220 RBIs; while appearing in 745 games. After retiring as an active MLB player, Sammy would become a successful PGA Golf player. He would play on the PGA Tour between 1942-1946 with 6 PGA Tour wins.

1923-At the Polo Grounds, the Yankees would score 5 runs in the 8th inning to post a comeback victory in the 6th and final game of the 1923 World Series. The win gives the Yankees their 1st World Championship in their franchise history. A crowd of 34,172 fans would watch the Giants lose a 4-1 lead in the 8th inning of game. Yankees Slugger Babe Ruth hit a 1st-inning HR in the Yankees 6-4 victory over their NL inner-city rivals the Giants. Yankees Starter Herb Pennock picks-up the victory with relief help from veteran hurler Sam Jones, meanwhile Giants veteran Starter Art Nehf is the loser.

1964-At Sportsman Park in St. Louis, a crowd of 30,340 fans would watch Cardinals Ace starter Bob Gibson, who allows 3 Yankees HRs, but he still manages to win Game 7 of the 1964 World Series against the Yankees. Bronx Sluggers Mickey Mantle, Phil Linz and Clete Boyer would hit HRs for the Yankees, who drop a 10-5 decision. The Redbirds would take an early lead in the game, after a 5th-inning HR by Lou Brock that triggers a 2nd 3-run frame and a 6-0 lead for Gibson, who will be named the 1964 World Series MVP. Yankees Rookie Starter Mel Stottlemyre takes the loss, he went 1-2 against the Cardinals Ace in the 1964 World Series. It will be the only World Series appearance of his Yankees MLB Pitching career. Yankee Slugger Mickey Mantle’s HR will be his last HR hit in a World Series game; he will finish up with a total of 18 MLB career HRs in World Series play for the Yankees.

1965-Former Yankees Reserve INF Fritz Brickell (1958-1959) had passed away at the age of 30 from Cancer. (1935-1965)
Infielder Fritz Brickell was the son of former Pirates OF Fritz Brickell. Before the 1953 AL season, the Yankees had signed Fritz as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. Fritz, who stood just 5' 5½", was optioned out to the Class C Joplin Miners (WA). The 18-yearold got into only 37 games his 1st year, while hitting just .221. Fritz was in the same league in 1954, but with the St. Joseph Saints, where he played 121 games at Shortstop, hitting .306. He would spend the next few years in the high Minor Leagues, until he had a look-see in a couple games, with no record for the Yankees during the 1958 AL season. They gave him another look during the 1959 AL season. He appeared in 18 games at Shortstop, hitting .256 before being sent back to AAA Richmond (IL), where he finished out the season by hitting .247 in 88 games. Fritz Brickell would stay in the Yankees organization until April 4,1961, when they traded him to the new AL Angels expansion team for former Yankees Pitcher Duke Maas. Fritz would become the 1st starting Shortstop for the Angels, but he was troubled by injuries appearing in only 21 games for the team in 1961. He was sent down to Angels AAA team, the Toronto Maple Leafs (IL), where after he healed a bit, had probably his best season yet, by hitting .307 in 108 games along with a fielding percentage of .985, while holding down the 2B position. In 1962, he was with 2 AAA teams, hitting a combined .234 in 68 games. It was apparent he wasn't his old self, so he called it a career after the 1962 season had ended. He had spent 10 years in pro baseball from 1952-1962. Fritz's Minor League records show, that he had appeared in 982 games with 3,549 at bats, 979 base hits, including 82 HRs and had a .275 career BA. When he was diagnosed with cancer, “Fritz Brickell Night” was held in August of 1965 at the National Semi-Pro Tournament in Wichita, Kansas with his former Yankees teammate Mickey Mantle on hand to stage a hitting exhibition as part of the evening activities. Fritz would pass away just a few months later on October 15,1965 at age 30 in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas.

1968-The 1968 AL Expansion Team Player Draft is held for the 2 new AL teams; the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots. The Yankees would lose the following players to the Royals: Pitcher Jim Rooker, Reserve Catcher Ellie Rodriguez and OF Steve Whitaker. The Pilots had selected the following players: veteran Starter Steve Barber, Pitcher Gary Timberlake (Minors) and 3B Mike Ferraro from the Yankees. On October 21,1968, the Yankees would sell the contract of veteran Pitcher Jim Bouton to Seattle. On November 13,1968, Veteran INF John Kennedy’s player contract will be sold to the Pilots.

1968-Former Yankees Minor League P Matt Dunbar was born.
Pitcher Matt Dunbar was selected by the Yankees in the 25th round of the 1990 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He would never appear with the team at the MLB level. On December 5,1994, Matt was drafted by the Marlins from the Yankees organization in the 1994 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. On May 25,1995, Matt was returned by the Marlins to the Yankees.

1977-Former Yankees Minor League OF/1B Mitch Jones (2006) was born.
On June 5, 2000, OF/1B Mitch Jones was selected by the Yankees in the 7th round of the 2000 MLB Amateur Player Draft. On May 19, 2006, he was called up to the Bronx. He spent 1 game on the Yankees bench before being returned to AAA Columbus Clippers (IL) without seeing any MLB action. Mitch Jones had smashed 213 doubles and 184 HRs in a 7-year period in the Minor Leagues, averaging over 30 doubles and 26 HRs per season, but did not make the MLB at the time due to concerns about his batting average and defense. A Minor League Free Agent that off-season, he would be signed by would the Dodgers. The team later release him. Then he would play 2 seasons in Japan. In 2009, he would return to the Dodgers, appearing in 8 games, while hitting .308.

1977-At Dodger Stadium, a crowd of 55,995 fans watched the Yankees win Game 4 of the 1977 World Series by a score of 4-2 to take a 3-1 World Series advantage over the Dodgers. Yankees Slugger Reggie Jackson doubles and HRs, while Bronx Starter Ron Guidry notches a 4-hitter. Dodger Pitcher Rick Rhoden takes the loss.

1978-In Game 5 of the 1978 World Series played at Yankee Stadium, a crowd of 56,448 fans watched the Yankees pummel the Dodgers with 18 hits to win the game by a score of 12-2. Bucky Dent, Mickey Rivers and Brian Doyle have 3 hits each for the Bombers. Bronx Starter Jim Beattie gives up 9 Dodger hits, but he only allows 2 Dodger runs. The Dodgers would commit 3 errors in the game. Dodger Starter Burt Hooton, lasting only 3 innings in his start, takes the loss.

1981-Three Yankee hurlers Dave Righetti, Ron Davis and Goose Gossage combined on a 4-0 shutout of Oakland A's to give the Yankees their 33rd AL pennant.

1992-Former Yankees Minor League P Cody Carroll was born.
Pitcher Cody Carroll was a 22nd round selection by the Yankees in the 2015 MLB Amateur Player Draft. Belying his relatively low draft rank, he moved quickly up the Yankees organizational ladder after putting up an ERA of 1.75 for the Class A Pulaski Yankees (APL)) in his 1st pro season. By the end of 2017, he was pitching for the AA Trenton Thunder (EL) after starting the year with the Class A Tampa Yankees (FSL), where he had been a mid-season All-Star in the Florida State League. He had a combined mark of 3-5, 2.54 with 7 saves in 39 games as a reliever. He also struck out 89 batters in 67 1/3 innings. Now on the prospect radar, he was 3-0, with a 2.81 ERA in 32 games for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at the start of 2018 season before being traded to the Orioles on July 24th, along with Minor League Pitchers Dillon Tate and Josh Rogers in return for Orioles Closer Zach Britton.

1996-Former Yankees Reliever Tom Ferrick (1950-1951) had passed away. (1915-1996)
On June 15,1950, hurler Tom Ferrick was traded by the St. Louis Browns along with Pitcher Joe Ostrowski and 3B Leo Thomas to the Yankees for OF Jim Delsing, Pitchers Don Johnson and Duane Pillette, veteran MLB INF George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss and $50,000 Cash. For the 1950 Yankees, he would post an 8-4 record with a 3.65 ERA and 9 saves in 30 games, to lead the Yankees bullpen staff. He had appeared in Game 3 of the 1950 World Series against the Phillies, picking up a win in relief of Starter Eddie Lopat. On June 15,1951, Tom was traded by the Yankees along with Pitchers Bob Porterfield and Fred Sanford to the Senators for veteran hurler Bob “Sarge” Kuzava. Overall, as a Yankees Reliever, Tom had posted a 9-5 record with a 4.33 ERA and 10 saves in 39 games. He would pitch for the Nats for 2 seasons, before retiring. Tom would later, become an MLB Pitching Coach for the Reds, Phillies and the Tigers. Also, he was an MLB Scout for 20 years with the Royals organization.

1999-Current Yankees Pitcher Yoendrys Gomez (2023-2024) was born.
Pitcher Yoendrys Gomez is ranked the organization’s 26th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, but he was a surprise call-up from AA Somerset. The 6-foot-3, 212 pounder had signed with the Yankees in July 2016 for $50,000, then he would pitch only 275 innings in the minors, after debuting as a pro in 2017 due to arm injuries and COVID-19 killing the 2020 minor league season. Gomez, who is 23, missed the 1st 2 months of the 2023 season with a shoulder issue, then he went to AA Somerset, where he was 0-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 19 starts. In 65.1 innings, he had struck out 78 batters, but he had walked 37 batters. Mopping up in a 6-0 Yankees loss to the Blue Jays, Gomez would entered in the 7th, he would retired 6 of 8 hitters, while working 2 scoreless innings, 4 by strikeouts. On September 30th, the team would send him back to AAA Scranton. In 2024, he was with AAA Scranton. He would appear in relief in 1 game with no record before being sent back down to AAA Scranton by the team. For the 2024 Yankees, he would appear in 5 games with no record with a 3.97 ERA.

2001-The Yankees would beat Oakland A’s by the score of 5-3 to win the 2001 ALDS. The Bronx Bombers become the 1st team ever to win a best-of-5 series after losing the 1st 2 games at home.

2012-The Tigers would take a 3 games to none lead in the 2012 ALCS behind another strong pitching performance by their Ace Justin Verlander. He gives up no runs through the 1st 8 innings before allowing a lead-off HR to INF Eduardo Nunez in the 9th inning, but he needs relief help from Phil Coke, who gets the last 2 outs in a 2-1 win. Delmon Young homers off of Yankees Starter Philip Hughes for the Bengals' 1st run in the 4th inning, then Quintin Berry scores the 2nd run on a double by Miguel Cabrera in the 5th inning.

2019-The Astros would win Game 3 of the 2019 ALCS played at Yankee Stadium by the score of 4-1, as Houston hitters Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick homer against Bronx Starter Luis Severino in the 1st 2 innings of the game, meanwhile the Yankees fail to take advantage of a less-than-dominant Astros Starter Gerrit Cole, stranding a ton of baserunners over the 1st 5 innings of the game. The Astros add a couple of insurance runs against Yankees veteran Relievers Adam Ottavino and Zack Britton in the 7th inning and cruise to victory.

2021-The Yankees had announced that OF Ryan LaMarre had opted for MLB Free Agency. The former 5 season MLB OF with the Reds, Red Sox, A’s, Twins and the White Sox had signed a Minor League deal with the team along with an invitation to the Yankees 2021 MLB Spring Training Camp. During Yankees MLB Spring Training camp, he was assigned to AAA Scranton roster. During the 2021 AL season, his Minor League player contract was purchased by the Yankees, when the outfield was hit with various injuries. Ryan would appear in just 9 games for the Yankees, while hitting just .190 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs before he had an injury himself, later returning to AAA Scranton to finish out the 2021 season.

2022-The Guardians would come back to beat the Yankees in the 9th inning with 2-outs with a 6-5 walk-off win. The Yankees had hit 2 HRs in the game by RF Aaron Judge (2-runs) and Oswald Cabrera (2-runs). Reliever Clarke Schmidt had been unable to close the game for the Yankees. The Guardians, now leads to 2022 ALDS by 2 to 1.

October 16th

1895-Former Yankees Reserve Catcher Bill Skiff (1926) was born. (1895-1976)
As a Reserve Catcher for the 1926 Yankees, Bill Skiff had appeared in 6 games with .091 BA. Bill would later work for the Yankees organization as an MLB Scout and long-time Minor League Manager (1933-1937,1948-1949 and 1951). Also, Bill would work for the Brewers organization before retiring from baseball in the early 1970’s.

1900-Former Yankees Pitcher/PH Henry “Tomato Face” Cullop (1926) was born. (1900-1978)
For the 1926 Yankees, Henry Cullop had only appeared in 2 games for the as a pinch-hitter, before being sent on October 19,1926 to the Senators to complete an earlier deal made on August 27,1926. The Yankees would send Players to be Named Later to the Senators for veteran Starter Dutch Ruether. On October 19,1926, the Yankees would send hurlers Garland Braxton and Nick Cullop to Washington to complete the trade. Later, Nick would become a long-time Minor League Manager for several MLB teams.

1921-In defiance of MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ban on World Series participants playing in post-season exhibitions, Yankee Outfielders Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel and Pitcher Bill Piercy launch a barnstorming tour in Buffalo, NY. Five days later, they cut it short in Scranton, Pa. In the meantime, Babe Ruth openly challenges MLB Commissioner Judge Landis to act. The Judge does, fining the players their World Series shares ($3,362.26) and suspending them until May 20th of the 1922 AL season. The 2 Yankee players will miss 33 games of the 1922 AL season. On December 20,1921, Bill Piercy was traded by the Yankees along with P Rip Collins, INF Roger Peckinpaugh, P Jack Quinn and $100,000 Cash to the Red Sox for 2 hurlers: Bullet Joe Bush, Sad Sam Jones and Shortstop Everett “Deacon” Scott. In the 110 games that Babe Ruth played for the 1922 Yankees, he would hit .315 with 35 HRs and 99 RBIs. He was suspended 2 more times during the 1922 AL season. Meanwhile OF Bob Meusel would appear in 121 games for the 1922 Yankees, while hitting .319 with 16 HRs and 88 RBIs. Now with the 1922 Red Sox, hurler Bill Piercy would post a 3-9 record with a 4.67 ERA in 29 games.

1923-Soon after Yankees Slugger Babe Ruth receives his 1923 World Series winner's share of $6,160.46, MLB player (Tigers) and Insurance Agent Harry Heilmann, who beat Babe Ruth for the AL batting title by 10 points, sells him a $50,000 life insurance policy. Beneficiaries are Mrs. Ruth and adopted their daughter, Dorothy.

1936-Yankees AL All-Star 1B Lou Gehrig, who hit .354 with 49 HRs, 167 runs, and 152 RBIs is voted the 1936 AL Most Valuable Player. He had previously won the AL MVP Award in 1927. Until the AL rule change in the early 1930’s, a player could win the AL MVP Award, only 1 time.

1941-Former MLB Player and Announcer Tim McCarver was born. (1941-2023)
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Tim McCarver was signed by the Cardinals as a 17-year-old catcher in 1959. He got brief stints in the MLB over the next few seasons before cementing himself as an MLB player in 1963. He had played 127 games that year, while hitting .289 with 4 HRs and 51 RBIs. The next season, he held that BA fairly steady at .288, helping the Cardinals win the NL pennant before defeating the Yankees in the 1964 World Series. McCarver caught every inning of the 7-game series, while hitting .478 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs along the way. Tim would be a mainstay of the Cardinals starting line-up for the next 5 seasons as well, winning another World Series in 1967. He made the NL All-Star teams in 1966 and 1967. Prior to the 1970 campaign, Tim was traded to the Phillies and would stay with them until a trade to the Expos midway through the 1972 NL campaign. He would return to the Cardinals in 1973 and part of 1974, then he went to the Red Sox for a time before going back to the Phillies. He would stick in Philadelphia for the later part of his career, from midway through the 1975 season through the 1980 campaign. While he served as Steve Carlton’s “personal catcher,” the Phillies won the NL East division in 3 straight years starting in 1976. He had technically retired after 1979, but he would return to the club late in 1980, so he could become the 11th player in history to play in 4 different decades. For many baseball fans, McCarver is more recognizable as a broadcaster than as a player. In 1980, he would join the Phillies’ broadcast team and stayed with that club through 1982. During that time, he got his 1st experience of nationally-televised games with NBC’s Game of the Week. Next, he started calling Mets’ games, a gig that he held from 1983 through 1998. During that period of time, also saw him work with ABC on Monday Night Baseball and work on the World Series for the 1st time in 1985. McCarver would also have stints working on the broadcast teams for the Yankees and Giants, as well as national gigs for CBS and The Baseball Network. But arguably the most significant development of this part of his career when was Fox-TV had acquired the rights for the World Series in 1996. They would install McCarver on the team with Joe Buck. He would stay there through 2013, eventually working the World Series in 23 different seasons. His last season with Fox was in 2013, later he would call Cardinal games on a part-time basis in the years after that. McCarver had played in 1,909 MLB games, hitting .271, racking up 1,501 hits, 97 HRs, 590 runs scored with 645 runs batted in. He won a pair of World Series titles, made a pair of All-Star teams and caught a pair of no-hitters. He would spend close to 4 decades as a broadcaster, including a lengthy stint as one of the most recognizable voices of the game

1949-Former Yankees Pitcher Don Hood (1979) was born. (1949-2023)
On June 15,1979, Pitcher Don Hood was traded by the Indians to the Yankees for DH/C/1B Cliff Johnson. For the 1979 Yankees, Don would post at 3-1 record with a 3.07 ERA and 1 save in 27 games before leaving the team for MLB Free Agency during the 1979 off-season.

1956-The Yankees would sell Reserve OF Bob Cerv to Kansas City for Cash. Bob would get a chance to play full-time in the Outfield with Kansas City, including having a great 1958 AL season by hitting .305 with 38 HRs and 104 RBIs; plus making the 1958 AL All-Star team as the starting LF. On May 19,1960, he would return to Yankees in trade for veteran 3B Andy Carey. There are several reports that the 1956 Bob Cerv deal was the 2nd part of the Enos Slaughter wavier claim by the Yankees made during the 1956 AL season. Originally the Yankees were going to send Pitcher Don Larsen as the player, but his 1956 World Series Perfect Game performance against the Dodgers had changed Yankees GM George Weiss trade plans.

1961-The Yankees had purchased veteran All-Star Pitcher Robin Roberts from the Phillies for $100,000 Cash. The Yankees made a major mistake when they wrote him off as a washed up in their 1962 MLB Spring Training Camp. Clippers Note: They should have kept him and dumped veteran hurler Bob Turley instead. Robin Roberts would be signed by the rival AL Orioles, going 10-9 in 1962, then he would win 14 games in 1963. If the Yankees had kept him, he would have a better chance to win 300 games during his great Hall of Fame pitching career.

1962-At Candlestick Park in San Francisco, a crowd of 43,9848 fans watched as the tying and winning runs are in scoring position, Giants Slugger Willie McCovey hit a hard-liner drive at 2B Bobby Richardson for the final Series out as the Yankees won Game 7 of the 1962 World Series by a score of 1-0 for their 20th World Series Championship. The game winning pitcher for the Yankees is Starter Ralph Terry, who after being the goat in 1960 and losing a game in 1961 World Series is finally becomes a Yankees World Series hero. Ralph Terry had posted a 2-1 record for the Yankees in the Series. Meanwhile Giants veteran Starter Jack Sanford is the loser, he would finish the 1962 World Series with a 1-2 record. The 1962 World Series had been delayed by 3-days of rain, which gave the Yankees Pitching staff a much-needed rest. Also, the World Series had 2 of the lowest batting averages in Series History; Yankees hitting just .199, while the Giants hitting .226.

1962-Former MLB Player and Yankees Minor League Manager Ray Powell had passed away. (1888-1962)
Former MLB Player Ray Powell had managed in the Yankees organization from 1939 to 1942. He was the Manager of the 1939-1940 Easton Yankees (ESL), 1941 Norfolk Yankees (NSL) and the 1942 Fond Duc Panthers (WSL). In the MLB, he had played the Outfield for the Tigers and the Braves (1913-1924).

1964-Despite guiding the Yankees to a 99-63 record; winning the 1964 AL pennant, the Yankees would fire Manager Yogi Berra, after losing the 1964 World Series to the Cardinals in 7 games. Yankees GM Ralph Houk feels that Yogi Berra didn’t have enough control over the veteran Yankee players; since many of them were his former teammates. The truth is that Yogi Berra was selected by the Yankees Co-Owners Dan Topping and Del Webb to manage the 1964 team. Yankees GM Ralph Houk wanted his own choice to manage the team. Meanwhile in St. Louis, Manager Johnny Keane of the World Championship Cardinals resigns unexpectedly. He will take Yankees Manager job, which opens as the result of the firing of Yogi Berra. Johnny Keane will be very unpopular Manager with several of the Yankees veteran players, as the team falls from a 1964 1st place finish of 99-63 with Manager Yogi Berra to a 6th place finish under Keane with a 77-85 record in 1965. He will be let go by the team in early May of 1966 with Ralph Houk returning to the Yankees dugout as the team’s manager. The 1966 Yankees will fall to last place in the AL with a 70-89 record. Yogi Berra will be signed by the Mets as an MLB Coach.

1965-Former Yankees Minor League OF Darren Reed was born.
On June 4,1984, OF Darren Reed was selected by the Yankees in the 3rd round of the 1984 MLB Amateur Player Draft (Secondary Phase). Darren never appeared at the MLB level with the Yankees. In 1987, he would split time playing with the AA Albany-Colonie (EL) and the AAA Columbus Clippers (IL). On December 11,1987, he was traded by the Yankees along with Minor League hurler Steve Frey and Catcher Phil Lombardi to the Mets for MLB Shortstop Rafael Santana and Minor League Player Victor Garcia. He would play in 82 MLB games with the Mets, Expos and the Twins.

1976-At Riverfront Stadium, a crowd of 54,826 fans watched Reds Starter Don Gullett and Reliever Pedro Borbon combine for a 5-hitter as the Reds win the Opening Game of the 1976 World Series over the Yankees by the score of 5-1. Three hits by Reds Slugger Tony Perez, who is the 1st DH in World Series history and 2B Joe Morgan with a HR supply the Reds offense. Yankees Starter Doyle Alexander took the loss.

1977-At Dodger Stadium, a crowd of 55,955 fans watched the Dodgers stay alive with a 10-4 victory in Game 5 of the 1977 World Series against the Yankees. Dodgers hitters Steve Yeager and Reggie Smith would hit HRs, while veteran Dodgers Starter Don Sutton pitches a complete game. Yankees Starter Don Gullet only goes 4 innings, while allowing 4-Dodger runs. Late inning HRs by Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson provide the Yankees offense.

1993-Former Yankees Pitcher Jimmie DeShong (1934-1935) had passed away. (1909-1993).
On September 15,1933, Pitcher Jimmie DeShong was purchased by the Yankees from the AA Sacramento Senators (PCL). He had previously pitched in 6 games for the 1932 A’s. In 1933, Philadelphia Manager Connie Mack had sent him to the AA Sacramental Senators (PCL). As a Yankees hurler, he would post a 10-8 record with a 3.82 ERA and 6 saves in 60 games. On January 17,1936, Jimmie was traded by the Yankees along with OF Jesse Hill to the Senators for hurler Bump Hadley and OF Roy Johnson. With the Nats, he would win 18 and 14 games in a season, before fading in 1939. The Yankees would re-obtained Jimmie from the Senators in June of 1939, but he did not appear with them at the MLB level, instead he would be pitching for their AA club, the Newark Bears (IL).

1995-The Yankees had signed veteran MLB Pitcher Dwight Gooden was an MLB Free Agent. He would post a 11-7 record with a 5.01 ERA in 29 games for the 1996 World Champion Yankees. He would throw his 1st MLB Pitching career No-Hitter. After a 9-5 season with a 4.91 ERA in 20 games in 1997, he would leave the team for MLB Free Agency. He would be signed by the Indians. He will return to the Yankees in 2000 finishing his MLB Pitching career.

1999-The Red Sox would roll over the Yankees by the score of 13-1 behind a strong pitching of Starter Pedro Martinez. Boston Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra gets 4 hits, while John Valentin gets 5 RBIs. Red Sox hitters Garciaparra, Valentin and Brian Daubach, all would hit HRs. The Yankees now lead the 1999 ALCS 2-games-to-1.

2003-The Yankees would capture their 39th AL pennant beating the Red Sox by the score of 6-5, thanks to Aaron Boone's 11th inning HR off of veteran hurler Tim Wakefield at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Boone becomes the 5th player to end an MLB Post-Season series with a HR joining Pirates Bill Mazeroski (1960 WS), Yankees Chris Chambliss (1976 ALCS), Blue Jays Joe Carter (1993 WS) and the Mets Todd Pratt (1999 NLDS 2).

2009-At New Yankee Stadium, the Yankees take Game 1 of the 2009 ALCS with a 4-1 win over the Angels. The Yankees would take advantage of 3 Angel fielding errors to score their runs, but the critical play is a 2-out pop-up that falls untouched between Angels 3B Chone Figgins and Shortstop Erick Aybar in the 1st inning, allowing Yankees base-runner Johnny Damon to score the Yankees' 2nd run. Bronx Starter CC Sabathia pitches 8 innings for the victory, while Yankees Closer Mariano Rivera gets the save.

2012-Detroit takes a 3 games to none lead in the 2012 ALCS behind another strong performance by Ace Starter Justin Verlander. He gives up no runs through the 1st 8 innings before allowing a lead-off HR to Eduardo Nunez in the 9th inning, but he needs relief help from Reliever Phil Coke, who gets the last 2 outs in a 2-1 win. Delmon Young homers off of Yankees Starter Philip Hughes for the Bengals' 1st run in the 4th inning, then Quintin Berry scores the 2nd run on a double by Miguel Cabrera in the 5th inning.

2017-In Game 3 played at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees would notch their 1st win in the 2017 ALCS by defeating the Astros by the score of 8-1. A crowd of 49,373 fans would watch 3-run HRs by Todd Frazier and Aaron Judge help New York build an 8-0 lead by the end of the 4th inning, as they cruise from there as veteran Yankees Starter CC Sabathia is the winner over Astros Starter Charlie Morton.

2019-At Yankee Stadium, Game #4 of the 2019 ALCS is rained out. This rainout will cost the Yankees and Astros a travel day back to Houston for Game# 5, if needed to be played.

2020-Former Yankees Minor League P Jack McMahan had passed away. (1932-2020)
Before the start of the 1952 AL Season, Pitcher Jack McMahan was signed by the Yankees as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He would never appear with the team at the MLB level. On November 27,1955, Jack was drafted by the Pirates from the Yankees in the 1955 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. The Pirates would trade Jack to the Kansas City during the 1956 MLB season. Between the 2 clubs, he had posted a 0-5 record with a 3.04 ERA in 34 games. On February 19,1957, he was traded by the Athletics along with Players to be Named Later, INF Wayne Belardi, Pitchers Art Ditmar and Bobby Shantz to the Yankees for a Player to be Named Later, MLB OF Irv Noren, INF Milt Graff, Shortstop Billy Hunter, 3 Pitchers: Mickey McDermott, Tom Morgan and Rip Coleman. On April 5,1957, the Yankees would send P Jack Urban to the Athletics to complete the trade. The Kansas City would send 2 Infielders Curt Roberts (April 4,1957) and rookie Clete Boyer (June 4,1957) to the Yankees to complete the trade. With the Yankees, Jack would pitch for 1957-1958 AAA Denver Bears (AA) and the 1959 AAA Richmond Virginians (IL) before finishing up his pro pitching career with a 1960 Braves AA team.

2022-The Yankees behind their Ace Starter Gerrit Cole defeated the Guardians by the score of 4-2 at Cleveland’s Progressive Field to force a Game 5 in the ALDS series. Yankees CF Harrison Bader, would hit a 2-run HR shot in 2nd inning off of Guardians starter Cal Quantrill, who had permitted 3 Yankee runs in over 5 innings of work. Bronx 1B Anthony Rizzo, also had a run-scoring single off of Quantrill and Giancarlo Stanton lifted a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, while facing Guardians Reliever Eli Morgan.

October 17th

1908-Former Yankees 3B, MLB Coach and MLB Manager (1949-1952) Robert “Red” Rolfe (1931,1934-1942) was born. (1908-1969).
Red Rolfe was a college baseball player, who had played at Dartmouth College from 1928 to 1931. On June 25,1931, Red signed with New York and attained his dream: “Ed Barrow outbid his rivals and landed Rolfe for a $6,000 dollar signing bonus, a fairly hefty amateur bonus at the time.” He came up to the 1931 Yankees for 1 game at shortstop. Then he played in the Minor Leagues from 1931-1933. In 1933, he won the International League MVP Award, while playing for the AA Newark Bears. Then in 1934, he played two-thirds of his games at shortstop, but from 1935, on he was chiefly a 3B for Manager Joe McCarthy’s starting infield. In 1935, he would hit .300 in 149 games. He would hold down the 3B position through the 1942 AL season. Red Rolfe would finish his 10-year Yankees playing career by hitting .289 along with 69 HRs and 497 RBIs in 1,175 games. He had led the AL 3B in fielding (1935-1936). He led the AL in hits (139) and runs (213) in 1939, posting his highest MLB season BA of .329. Red was named to AL All-Star team 4 times as a Yankees player. During his Bronx playing career, Red had suffered from Colitis health issues, which led to his MLB retirement in 1942. Rolfe had appeared in 6 World Series with the Yankees, playing in 28 games; while hitting .284 with No HRs and 6 RBIs. After his MLB playing career had ended, Rolfe had coached Baseball and Basketball at Yale Univ. from 1943 to 1946. In 1946, he was a Yankees MLB Coach. Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy thought that Red would become an MLB Manager, possibility replacing him, when he decided to retire as the team’s manager. New Yankees Team management in 1945, changed that idea with Joe McCarthy leaving the team in during the 1946 season. In August of 1947, Red would leave the Yankees organization in August of 1947 to join the Tigers organization to become their Chief MLB Scout. Then in 1948, he became the Farm Director of the Tigers, then he was the Tigers Manager from 1949 to 1952. Red would finish with an overall AL Manager record of 278-256 with a WP of .521 in 539 MLB games. His best season as an MLB Manager was in 1950, when he finished in 2nd place with the Tigers to the 1st place Yankees (with a 95-59 mark.) He was named the 1950 AL Manager of the Year. Also, he was a coached the Toronto Huskies Pro Basketball team in the NBL in 1946, a predecessor of the NBA. From 1954 to 1967, Rolfe was the Athletic Director at Dartmouth College. In 1967, Red retired due to his health issues. One of the divisions of the Ivy League Baseball League is named the Rolfe Division in his honor. The other is the Gehrig Division, named after Lou Gehrig, who went to Columbia; he was Red's teammate with the Yankees (1931-1939). As part of 100th MLB anniversary, the Yankees conducted a fan survey in 1969, to determine their “all-time” greatest team; Red Rolfe was voted the 3rd baseman.

1926-"Ruth, by Losing 36 Baseballs, Breaks Up Game in Montreal." The barnstorming Babe Ruth and his buddy Pitcher Urban Shocker are the Yankee ringers infiltrating this exhibition bout north of the border. The Associated Press reports: "Babe Ruth stopped a perfectly good ball game here today when, knocking 36 balls out of the grounds, he forced the game to be called shortly after the start of the 9th inning because the management had no more spheres. Ruth enjoyed a Roman holiday to the delight of 3,000 fans, who braved a chilling wind to see the home-run hero's mighty bat give Guybourg, a 4-3 victory over Beaurivage. Ruth's performance included 2 HRs. He also played shortstop, 1st base, pitched and umpired."

1929-Former Yankees General Manager (1990) and MLB Player Hardy Peterson was born. (1929-2019)
Hardy "Pete" Peterson was an All-American Catcher at Rutgers Univ., who had played in the 1950 College World Series. He was signed by the Pirates that year; he would make his 1st appearance in the MLB in 1955. He would play in 32 games in 1955, then 30 games in 1957 (when he hit .301) and a couple of games each in 1958 and 1959 NL seasons. His playing career was cut short due to a collision at home, when he suffered a severe arm fracture. He was never the same throwing afterwards and would retire as a active player after several unsuccessful attempts to make a comeback. Later, Peterson was the Farm Director for the 1968 Pirates and their Scouting Director from 1969 to 1976. He was Co-General Manager of the Pirates with Joseph O'Toole in 1977-1978 and the GM from 1979 to 1985. In 1990, Peterson was General Manager of the Yankees and a Special Assistant to the GM in 1991.

1929-The Yankees would sell veteran OF “Long Bob” Meusel to Reds for Cash. For the 2nd place 1929 Yankees, he had hit .261 with 10 HRs with 57 RBIs in 100 games. For the 1920-1929 Yankees, Bob had a .311 lifetime BA with 146 HRs with 1,005 RBIs. He had 7 seasons with the team hitting .300 or better. Meusel had appeared with the Yankees in 6 World Series. In 1925, he would lead the AL in HRs with 33 and in RBIs with 133. He led the team in stolen bases 5 times; finishing his Yankees playing career with 131 stolen bases. Besides being a good hitter, he had a strong throwing arm in the outfield. He would finish out his MLB playing career with the 1930 Reds, while hitting .289 with 10 HRs and 62 RBIs in 113 games. When the 1930 NL season had ended, Bob would retire from the MLB. His older brother, Irish Meusel had played the Outfield for the 1921-1926 Giants. They had faced each other in 3 World Series (1921-1923.)

1929-The Yankees had signed former long-time Starter and MLB Pitching Coach Bob Shawkey as their Manager for the 1930 AL season. Yankees Interim Manager Art Fletcher, who finished the 1929 AL season with 6-5 record after Manager Miller Huggins illness and his death on September 25,1929 returns to Yankees MLB Coaching Staff; where he will remain a Yankees MLB Coach until 1945; when he leaves the team due to serious heart problems. The Yankees GM Ed Barrow has already begun to reshape the 1930 Yankees by announcing the sale of veteran OF Bob Meusel to the Reds. He will continue his veteran player changes through the 1930 AL season, with many of the Yankee veterans being traded away, as the team began to bring in younger players.

1961-Former Yankees OF/1B/DH Dan Pasqua (1985-1987) was born.
On June 7,1982, OF/1B Dan Pasqua was selected by the Yankees in the 3rd round of the 1982 MLB Amateur Player Draft. Dan’s best season with the Yankees was in 1986, hitting .283 with 16 HRs and 45 RBIs. He never reached that mark again in the MLB. On November 12,1987, Dan was traded by the Yankees along with Pitcher Steve Rosenberg and Catcher Mark Salas to the White Sox for 2 hurlers: Richard Dotson and Scott Nielsen. As a Yankees player, Dan had appeared in 275 games, while hitting .251 with 42 HRs and 112 RBIs. He will play for the White Sox from 1988-1994. Overall, as an MLB player, he had played in 905 games, while hitting .244 with 117 HRs and 390 RBIs.

1976-On a cold Sunday night at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, a crowd of 54,816 fans watching the Reds gang up on Yankees veteran Starter Catfish Hunter for 3 runs, but the Yankees battle back to tie it up at 3-3. With 2 outs in the 9th inning, Yankees Shortstop Fred Stanley throws Ken Griffey's easy grounder into the dugout. A walk and a Tony Perez single follow and the Reds to win Game 2 of the 1976 World Series by the score of 4-3.

1978-At Dodger Stadium, a crowd of 55,985 fans watched the Yankees win their 4th straight game by the score of 7-2 to clinch their 2nd consecutive World Championship over the Dodgers. Yankees Infielders Brian Doyle and Shortstop Bucky Dent have 3 hits apiece. Yankees Shortstop Bucky Dent would be named 1978 World Series MVP. Bronx veteran Starter Catfish Hunter gets his final World Series career win with relief help from Closer Rich Gossage. Dodgers Starter Don Sutton takes the loss, finishing the 1978 World Series with a 0-2 record.

1985-Former Yankees Player and MLB Coach Lou Piniella is named the 1986 Manager of the Yankees replacing veteran Manager Billy Martin, who had piloted the 1985 Yankees to 2nd place finishing with a 91-54 record in the AL East. Lou will guide the 1986 Yankees to a 90-72 record for 2nd place finish in the AL East.

1993-Former Yankees Reliever Brody Koerner (2021) was born.
On June 10,2015, Pitcher Brody Koerner was drafted by the Yankees in the 17th round of the 2015 MLB Amateur Player Draft. On August 3, 2021, the Yankees would call him up to the Bronx, when the team was hit with pitching staff injuries. He would work out of the Yankees bullpen. In 2021, he was pitching at AAA Scranton for his 2nd season at that level. He had posted a 3-3 record with a 2.95 ERA in 16 games. Brody did not pitch in 2020 due to the COVIDS-19 shutting down the 2020 Minor League season. In 2019, he was with AAA Scranton (IL), while having a 4-6 record with a 5.63 ERA in 21 games. He had begun the season with AA Trenton Thunder (EL), posting a 0-2 record with a 2.36 ERA in 6 games. On August 3, 2021, Brody Koerner was 1 of 3 pitchers to make their MLB Pitching debuts for the Yankees against the Orioles. The Yankees had to make some emergency call-ups, when that day's scheduled starter, Gerrit Cole and a number of other hurlers were placed on the COVID-19 List. Luis Gil would make the start for Bronx Bombers; after 6 scoreless innings; then he was followed by Stephen Ridings, who added a scoreless frames. Brody, the oldest and most experienced of the trio, would pitch the final 2 innings; giving up 1 run on 2 hits and 1 walk as the Yankees registered an easy 13-1 win over the Birds. All 3 had been pitching for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, until that time. He would appear in 2 games for the 2021 Yankees, with no decisions with 3.00 ERA. On October 13, 2021, Brody was granted MLB Free agency by the Yankees.

2000-In a come-from-behind victory by the score of 9-7 over the Mariners, Bronx Slugger David Justice propels the Yankees with a 3-run HR to their record 37th AL Pennant setting up the for the 1st time in 44 years a Subway Series (Yankees vs. Mets) in New York City. The last NYC Subway Series that was played was in 1956, in a World Series featuring the Yankees facing the Dodgers.

2003-Early editions of the New York Post include an editorial claiming the Yankees lose to the Red Sox, that the team couldn't get the job done in Game 7 of the ALCS. Although the Yankees did trail the Red Sox, the team rallies to beat their arch rivals in 11 innings by the score of 6-5.

2009-The Yankees would take a 2-0 lead over the Angels in the 2009 ALCS by winning a 13-inning marathon by the score of 4-3 at New Yankee Stadium. Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez HRs off of Angels Reliever Brian Fuentes in the bottom of the 11th inning to tie the game and the winning run scores, when INF Maicer Izturis throws the ball away, while trying to start an inning-ending double play, allowing Yankees base runner Jerry Hairston to score the winning-run from 2nd base.

2017-At Yankee Stadium, a crowd of 48,804 fans watched the Yankees even the 2017 ALCS with a 6-4 win over the Astros in Game 4. The Astros head into the bottom of the 7th inning leading the Yankees by the score of 4-0, thanks in part to a bases-clearing double by Yuli Gurriel, but Bronx Slugger Aaron Judge gets the Yankees on the scoreboard with a huge HR, then adds a run-scoring double that ties the game in a 4-run 8th inning during which the Bronx Bombers bats around against 3 Houston relievers. Bronx Bomber Catcher Gary Sanchez drives in 3 runs for the Yankees. Yankees Starter Sonny Gray starts the game, but Reliever Chad Green picks-up the win, meanwhile Bronx Closer Chapman picks-up the save shutting out the Astros batters in the 9th.

2019-At Yankee Stadium in Game 4, the Astros will take a 3 games to 1 lead in the 2019 ALCS by defeating the Yankees by the score of 8-3, following a 1-day rain postponement. Astros hitters George Springer and Carlos Correa deliver the key blows, each hitting a 3-run HRs, meanwhile Yankees Catcher Gary Sanchez replies with a 2-run HR shot for the Bronx Bombers.

2022-Game 5 of the ALDS between the Guardians and Yankees at New Yankee Stadium is rained out. As a result, games in 2 different rounds of the postseason will be played tomorrow, a 1st, with the rescheduled Game 5 taking place just before Game 1 of the NLCS.

October 18th

1897-Former Yankees Reserve OF Tom Connelly (1920-1921) was born. (1897-1941)
In June, 1920, OF Tom Connelly was purchased by the Yankees from Tulsa (WL). Tom Connelly patrolled the outfield for the Yankees in 5 games divvied up between the 1920 and 1921 AL seasons. His MLB lone hit (1-for-6) was a single off Hall of Famer Red Faber. He later would manage the Amarillo Texans for part of the 1928 Western League season (the 2nd of 3 managers of the team that year).

1901-Former Yankees Minor League and MLB Executive Parke Carroll was born. (1901-1961)
Parke Carroll was a front-office baseball executive in Minor Leagues and MLB, who was perhaps best known, in baseball circles for his 2-year stint as the General Manager of the 1959-1960 Kansas City A’s. During those 2 years, he engineered a few trades that sent key players to the Yankees, but his most notable deal came on December 11,1959, in which Carroll sent OF Roger Maris to the Yankees along with 2 other players for P Don Larsen, Reserve1B/OF Marv Throneberry, MLB Outfielders: Hank Bauer and Norm Siebern. First, he had tried to trade RF Roger Maris to the Pirates for Shortstop Richard Goat, but the Bucs Manager Danny Murtaugh nixed the trade. With the aid of the short RF Porch in Yankee Stadium, Maris would set a single-season MLB HR record with 61 HRs in 1961 in just 2-seasons after leaving the A's. Only Norm Siebern would pay dividends for the A's however, as he was their regular 1B from 1960-1963. During the 1959 AL season, Pat Carroll did pickup 2 good young players from the Yankees, INF Jerry Lumpe and OF Russ Snyder, who did help the A’s before they were traded away by the team in the early 1960’s. Carroll's dealings with the Yankees were controversial because the A’s, under Team Owner Arnold Johnson, sent many top players to New York in apparently 1-sided trades during the mid-to late-1950s. Johnson and the Team's Director of Player Personnel, George Selkirk had previously traded quality players such as veteran hurler Bobby Shantz, Bonus Baby Rookie INF Clete Boyer, Veteran MLB OF/1B Harry "Suitcase" Simpson and Minor League Reliever Ryne Duren to the Yankees. Also, Johnson had business ties with Yankees Co-Team Owner Del Webb; he had owned Yankee Stadium in the Bronx prior to purchasing the A’s in the winter of 1954 from the Connie Mack family. All these factors led to charges from fans, Sportswriters and other MLB teams that Johnson and Carroll ran the team as a Yankees farm team at the MLB level. Actually, the A’s traded away many of the former Yankee good players that they had acquired like INF Billy Martin, Reliever Tom Morgan, 1B/OF Vic Power and INF/OF Woody Held to other AL teams; that the Yankees didn’t trade with especially the Indians and Tigers. Carroll had come to the A’s directly after working in the Yankees organization as Business Manager for the Bombers' 2 top AAA farm clubs: the Kansas City Blues (AA) and the Newark Bears (IL). A former Sportswriter who served as Sports Editor of the Kansas City Journal Post. Carroll had entered organized baseball; when that newspaper ceased publication during World War II. In 1955, he would join the team in their 1st season in Kansas City as Vice President and Business Manager. After the end of the 1958 AL season, Parke was promoted to GM by A’s Team Owner Arnold Johnson. The A’s Owner previously had not handed the GM title to a specific Baseball Executive, preferring to divide the GM’s job responsibilities among himself, George Selkirk and Carroll. However, during the A’s 1960 MLB Spring Training camp, Johnson had died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage. His unexpected death forced the sale of the team to a Chicago Insurance Executive named Charlie Finley, who would fire Carroll at the end of the 1960 AL season, replacing him with former veteran MLB GM Frank "Trader" Lane. Ironically, only months later, on February 4,1961, Parke Carroll, also died suddenly of a heart attack at age 56 in Kansas City.

1903-Former Yankees Reserve INF George “Yats” Wuestling (1930) was born. (1903-1970)
On May 30,1930, Reserve INF George Wuestling was traded by the Tigers along with Pitcher Ownie Carroll and veteran OF Harry Rice to the Yankees for veteran hurler Waite Hoyt and INF Mark Koenig. For the 1930 Yankees, George “Yats” Wuestling would hit only .190 in 25 games. He would play in the Minor Leagues from 1931 to 1934, before retiring from baseball.

1914-Former Yankees Reserve OF Roy Cullenbine (1942) was born. (1914-1991)
On August 31,1942, switch-hitting OF Roy Cullenbine was selected off waivers for $7,500 Cash by the Yankees from the Senators. The Yankees had just lost OF Tommy Henrich to the Coast Guard for wartime service. He had appeared in 21 games for the 1942 Yankees, while hitting .364 with 2 HRs and 17 RBIs. The pennant-winning Yankees thought enough of him to put him 3rd in the batting lineup in all 5 games of the 1942 World Series against the Cardinals, batting him ahead of AL All-Star Slugger Joe DiMaggio. He would hit .263 with 2 RBIs in the 1942 World Series. On December 17,1942, Roy was traded by the Yankees along with AL All-Star Catcher Buddy Rosar to the Indians for INF Oscar Grimes and OF Roy Weatherly.

1918-Former Yankees MLB Scout Rush Schon (1977-1979) was born. (1918-1988)
Second baseman Russ Schon had played in the Minor Leagues on-and-off from 1940 to 1949. Not much of a power hitter -- as records indicate, he hit only 1 HR in 1,773 career at-bats -- but he still wasn't completely anemic with his bat, hitting .289 in 540 at-bats for the 1940 Class D DeLand Red Hats and .300 in 490 at-bats for the same club in 1941. After missing 1942 to 1945 seasons to service time in the Navy during World War II; he would return to hit .306 in 112 games for the 1946 Jackson Senators. Also, he had played for the Evansville Braves that season. In 1947, he would hit .310 in 255 at-bats for the Selma Cloverleafs. After not playing in 1948 to serve as the Univ. of Kansas baseball team’s Head Coach, he would hit .328 with a .408 on-base percentage in 67 at-bats for the 1949 Hutchinson Elks. He was also the 1st of 3 managers for the Elks that season, being replaced by Howard McCormick on May 24th. Later, he would become a longtime MLB Scout, working for the Phillies (1950-1953), Braves (1954-1961), Angels (1961-1965), Mets (1966-1976) and the Yankees (1977-1979). He had signed, among others, for the Yankees Pitcher Clay Christiansen.

1931-Former Yankees 3B Andy Carey (1952-1960) was born. (1931-2011)
Before the start of the 1950 AL season, the Yankees had signed Andy Carey as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He had received a $60,000 Bonus from the team. Carey had played college baseball at St. Mary’s College in California. He would reach the Yankees in 1952. Andy was a Reserve INF on the 1953 team. He would become the Yankees regular 3B in 1954. Andy had appeared in 4 World Series with the Yankees, his best one was in 1957, when he hit .286 against the Braves. Overall, he would hit .175 with 1 HR and 2 RBIs in 16 Series games. His best Yankees regular season was in 1954, when he hit .302 with 8 HRs and 65 RBIs. In 1955, Andy had married Hollywood Actress Lucy Marlow. In 1956 World Series, Andy made 1 of 2 Yankees defensive plays (CF Mickey Mantle was the other) in Don Larsen’s perfect game against the Dodgers. Andy did clash with Manager’s Casey Stengel platoon system of playing different infield positions, saying” I rather be a good 3B than average 2B”, hence Stengel would never select him for a spot of the AL All-Star teams that he managed during the 1950’s. Later part of his Yankee playing career, Andy was bothered by back and hand problems. During the 1959 AL season, the Yankees started using Hector Lopez and Clete Boyer at 3B over the veteran Carey, who had been dealing with several injuries at the time. On May 19,1960, Andy was traded by the Yankees to Kansas City for veteran OF Bob Cerv. The Athletics would trade him to the White Sox during the 1961 AL season. The White Sox had tried to trade Andy to the Phillies during the 1962 MLB Spring training camp, but he refused to report to the team. Instead, he ended up going to the Dodgers. Andy would end his MLB playing career as a Reserve Infielder with the 1962 Dodgers, while appearing in 53 games, hitting .232 with 2 HRs and 13 RBIs. Andy would finish his MLB playing career with a lifetime .260 BA along with 64 HRs and 350 RBIs in 938 games. His favorite hobby was photography. After retiring from the MLB, he went into the brokerage business in California.

1942-Former AL All-Star OF and Yankees MLB Coach (1985) Willie Horton was born.
Long time AL All-Star Tigers OF Willie Horton would join the 1985 Yankees MLB Coaching staff. Later, he was an MLB Coach for the 1986 White Sox.

1944-Former Yankees Pitcher John “Jack” Powell (1905-1906) had passed away. (1874-1944)
On March 6,1904, Pitcher Jack Powell was traded by the St. Louis Browns to the Highlanders for INF/P Harry Howell and Cash. For the 1904 Yankees, Powell would post a 23-19 record with a 2.44 ERA in 47 games. Overall, for the Yankees, John would post a 31-32 record with a 2.81 ERA in 84 games before returning to the Browns in 1906. As an MLB Pitcher, Jack Powell would finish his MLB pitching career with a 245-254 record with a 2.97 ERA in 578 games in a 16-season Pitching career (1897-1912), starting with the Cleveland Spiders (NL), Cardinals, Browns (twice) and the Yankees.

1949-Former Yankees Reliever, MLB Player and Broadcaster Ed Farmer (1974) was born. (1949-2020)
On March 19,1974, Reliever Ed Farmer was traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Tigers to the Yankees. The Yankees sent C/DH/1B Jerry Moses to the Tigers. While Detroit sent veteran Starter Jim Perry to the Indians. Then the Tribe sent Pitcher Rick Sawyer and OF Walt Williams to the Bronx. Ed’s stay in Yankees pinstripes was very short, just 2 days, never appearing in a game with the team. He had been assigned to AAA Syracuse Chiefs (IL) by the team, but he had refused to report to the club. On March 21,1974, the Phillies would purchase Ed’s player contract from the Yankees. He had pitched in the MLB with the Indians, Tigers, Yankees, Phillies (twice), Orioles, Brewers, Rangers, White Sox and finished his MLB pitching career with the A’s. Ed had posted a 30-43 record with a 4.30 ERA and 75 saves in 370 games. He was on the 1980 AL All-Star team. Farmer was an MLB Scout in the Orioles organization between 1988-1990, also he briefly had a White Sox front office role. In 1991, Farmer took a part-time role on White Sox radio broadcasts, then he was a full-time color commentator from 1992 to 2005. He became well-known among fans by the nickname "Farmio". In 2006, he took over play-by-play from John Rooney, he served in that role through the 2019 AL season, with Broadcast partners; Chris Singleton (2006–2007), Steve Stone (2008) and Darrin Jackson (2009–2019). Farmer served a total of 29 seasons as a White Sox Broadcaster; 28 of them full-time and 14 giving play-by-play. On April 1, 2020, Ed Farmer would pass away from kidney disease at the age of 70. His final broadcast had been a Cactus League game during White Sox MLB Spring Training camp in February 2020.

1952-Former Yankees Reserve INF Jerry Royster (1987) was born.
On August 26,1987, INF Jerry Royster was traded by the White Sox along with INF Mike Soper (Minors) to the Yankees for a Player to be Named Later and P Ken Patterson. On September 19, 1987, the Yankees would send Minor League P Jeff Pries to the White Sox to complete the trade. The Yankees would release INF Juan Bonilla to clear an MLB roster spot for Royster. For the 1987 Yankees, Jerry would appear in 18 games as a Reserve INF, while hitting .357 with No HRs and 4 RBIs. On April 4,1988, Jerry was released by the Yankees. He would rejoin the Braves for his final MLB season. Jerry had originally come up to the MLB with the 1973 Dodgers, then he was traded to the Braves during the winter of 1975, where he became a full-time player. Later, Royster would play for the Padres before joining the White Sox.

1955-Former Yankees Pitcher George “Smiler” Murray (1922) had passed away. (1898-1955)
In 1920, Pitcher George Murray was signed out of No. Carolina St. College by the Yankees. He had pitched for the AA Rochester Colts (IL) before joining the team in May of 1922. As a 24-yearold Rookie with the 1922 Yankees, George had posted a 4-2 record with a 3.97 ERA in 22 games. On January 30,1923, he was traded to the Red Sox along with Outfielder’s Norm McMillian and Camp Skinner for veteran AL Starter Herb Pennock. The Yankees needed a veteran lefty for their Starting pitching staff for 1923 season, with several veteran righty starters already on the staff; young Murray would have been sitting on the bench according to Yankees Manager Miller Huggins. For the 1923-1925 Red Sox, he will post a 9-20 record with a 5.48 ERA in 67 games, then he had a 7-4 record with a 5.89 ERA in 15 games with the 1926-1927 Senators. After pitching in Minor Leagues from 1928-1933. He would appear in 2 games with no decisions for the 1933 White Sox.

1960-Former Yankees Reserve INF Steve Kiefer (1989) was born.
After leaving the Brewers organization as an MLB Free Agent, Reserve INF Steve Kiefer moved to the Yankees organization. He would hit .276 for the 1989 AAA Columbus Clippers (IL). For the 1989 Yankees, Steve was 1 for 8 with 5 strikeouts to conclude his MLB playing career.

1960-Instituting a mandatory retirement age of 65, the New York Yankees Team Co-Owners Dan Topping and Del Webb had relieved veteran Yankees Manager Casey Stengel of his duties. He had posted a 1,149-696 managerial record for the 1949-1960 Yankees, including winning 10 AL pennants and 7 World Championships. Casey turns the tables on the 2 Yankees Co-Team Owners at his retirement press conference, saying he was fired as their Manager because of his age. At the end of the 1959 AL season, the 2 team co-owners were going to let Casey go because of the team’s poor 3rd place finish, but they decided to let him finish out his manger’s contract. During that offseason, Stengel had turned down an offer to become the Tiger’s 1960 Manager position. The Yankees had a young MLB Coach named Ralph Houk waiting in the wings as Casey’s replacement.

1966-Former Yankees Pitcher Alan Mills (1990-1991) was born.
On June 22,1987, Pitcher Alan Mills was sent by the Angels to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal that was made on December 19,1986. The Angels had sent a Player to be Named Later and Pitcher Ron Romanick to the Yankees for Catcher Butch Wynegar. On June 22,1987, the Angels would send hurler Alan Mills to the Yankees to complete the trade. For the Yankees, Alan would post a 2-6 mark with a 4.19 ERA in 42 games. On February 29,1992, Alan was traded to the Orioles for Players to be Named Later. The Orioles would send the Yankees 2 Minor League Pitchers: Francisco De la Rosa (March 5,1992) and Mark Carper (June 8,1992) to complete the trade.

1977-At Yankee Stadium, a crowd of 56,407 fans watched Yankees Slugger Reggie Jackson became known as "Mr. October" when he hits 3 consecutive HRs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. His 3-HRs shots came on the 1st pitch off of Dodger Pitchers; Starter Burt Hooton, Relievers Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough. Jackson led the Yankees to an 8-4 victory and the 1977 World Championship over the Dodgers. He drove in 5 runs and earning 1977 World Series MVP honors for his performance. Yankees Starter Mike Torrez pick-up a complete game victory, his 2nd of the Series, while Dodgers Starter Burt Hooton takes the loss.

1990-Former Yankees 1B Nick Etten (1943-1946) had passed away. (1913-1990).
On January 22,1943, 1B Nick Etten was traded by the Phillies to the Yankees for 2 Players: 1B Ed Levy and Pitcher Al Gettel along with $10,000 Cash. On March 26,1943, both players were returned to the Yankees by the Phillies. The Yankees would then send Minor League Catcher Tom Padden and Pitcher Al Gerheauser on March 26,1943 to the Phillies to complete the trade. For the 1943-1945 Wartime Yankees,Nick would hit .271, .293 and .285 before fading in 1946 to a .232 mark. During the 1945 AL season, Nick was named to the AL All-Star team. Overall, as a Yankees player, Nick had appeared in 568 games, while hitting .275 with 63 HRs and 358 RBIs. He had appeared in 5 games for the 1943 Yankees in the World Series against the Cardinals, while hitting just .105 with only 2 RBIs. On April 14,1947, Nick was re-purchased by the Phillies from the Yankees. In May, the Phillies would return him to the Yankees, after he had appeared in only 14 games for the team. He would spend the rest of the 1947 season splitting time between the 2 Yankees AAA teams; the Newark Bears (IL) and the Oakland Oaks (PCL). He would continue to play in the Minor Leagues until 1950.

1997-Former Yankees Minor League 3B James Nelson was born.
On January 15, 2020, Yankees had traded Reliever Stephen Tarpley to the Marlins for Minor League 3B James Nelson and Cash. Nelson has appeared in 328 games; while playing at the 2019 Class A level Jupiter Hammerheads (FSL) in the Marlins Minor League system, hitting .259 with 14 HRs and 147 RBIs. He didn’t play in 2020 season since the Minor Leagues were shut down due to the COVIDS outbreak. In 2021, he would play for the Class A Hudson Valley Renegades hitting .246 with 6 HRs and 40 RBIs in 77 games. During the 2022 season, he was released by the Yankees, after hitting just .222. He would finish the season playing for the Lexington Legends (AL).

2004-Former Yankees and MLB Scout Rip Tutor had passed away. (1913-2004)
Rip Tutor was a long-time MLB Scout (1956-2004). Rip had scouted for the A’s, Yankees, Orioles (1968-1975), Mariners (1977-1989), Brewers (1990-1991), Angels (1993-?) and the Braves. His player signees included Greg Briley, Roy Clark, Wayne Garland, Erik Hanson, Pat Lennon, Ron Musselman, Donell Nixon and Jim Presley.

2004-After 5 hours, 49 minutes and 471 pitches, the Red Sox outlasts the Yankees, winning the game by a score of 5-4, in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Boston's DH David Ortiz, who is the 1st player history to hit 2 walk-off HRs in during the postseason, ends the longest game in ALCS series history at 1:22 a.m. with a 2-out single into center field scoring base runner Johnny Damon from 2nd base in the 14th inning at Fenway Park. The Red Sox, down 3 games to none at the start of the game, stage a remarkable 9th-inning comeback just to get to extra innings, when pinch-runner Dave Roberts steals 2nd base with Bronx Closer Mariano Rivera on the mound before scoring the tying run on Bill Mueller's single.

2007-Long-time Yankees Manager Joe Torre ends his 12-season Manager’s job with the team, when he turns down a new Manager contract offer with a pay cut made by Yankees front office. He would finish 2nd on the Yankees All-time Managers list with a 1,173-767 record with a WP .605 in 1,942 games (1996-2007). He had won World Championships with the Yankees in 1996,1998-2000. In 2008, he would join the Dodgers as their MLB Manager. In September 2010, Joe would retire as the Manager of the Dodgers. He would later work in the MLB Commissioner’s Office. In 2014, Joe was elected to the Hall of Fame as Manager.

2012-The Tigers complete a 4-game sweep of the Yankees in the 2012 ALCS with an 8-1 win at home. The Tigers would build a 6-0 lead after 4 innings, chasing Yankees Ace CC Sabathia, as Tigers Starter Max Scherzer cruises to an easy win. Delmon Young, who is named 2012 ALCS series MVP, drives in the winning run for the 4th straight game while the Tigers batters hit HR’s 4 times off of Bronx hurlers. The Yankees were thoroughly outplayed, never leading once in the 4 games, scoring only 6 runs, while hitting a mere .157.

2017-In the 2017 ALCS, the Yankees win their 3rd straight game at Yankee Stadium to take a 3 games to 2 lead over the Astros. A crowd of 49,647 fans watched Veteran Yankees Starter Masahiro Tanaka baffles the Astros' hitters over 7 innings, giving up just 3-Houston hits and a walk; while the Yankees take a lead in the 2nd on an RBI single by Greg Bird. The Yankees added a 5th and final run in the 7th inning, when Catcher Gary Sanchez connected for a HR against Astros Reliever Brad Peacock, while Yankees Reliever Tommy Kahnle pitched the final 2 innings of the game, allowing just 1 Astro hit.

2019-At Yankee Stadium, in Game 5, the Yankees would extend the 2019 ALCS with a 4-1 win over the Astros. All the scoring takes place in the 1st inning: Astro baserunner George Springer scores on a wild pitch by Bronx Starter James Paxton for the Astros. Meanwhile Yankees 1B D.J. LeMahieu hits a lead-off HR against Astros Starter Justin Verlander for the Yankees, followed by a 3-run HR shot by Yankees CF Aaron Hicks. The 2 starters then pitch deep into the game as they give up no more runs. Yankees Closer Aroldis Chapman gets credit for the save.

2022-At Yankee Stadium, he Yankees would win Game 5 of the ALDS over the Guardians by the score of 5-1, thanks to HRs by Bronx sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge in the 1st 2 innings, to back up 5 scoreless innings by starter Nestor Cortes. However, due to a pair of rainouts in the series, they have to immediately head off to Houston, TX where they will face the Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS tomorrow.

2022-Yankees LF Aaron Hicks was knocked out of the game in the top of the 3rd after colliding with Shortstop Oswaldo Cabrera in pursuit of a shallow fly ball off the bat of Guardians Steve Kwan. Hicks would leave the field with just slight assistance from Skipper Aaron Boone, but he had suffered a left knee injury that’ll end his 2022 AL playoffs. After the game, Hicks told reporters he’ll need around 6 weeks to recover. Specifics of the injury aren’t clear, but the Yankees announced he was headed for an MRI. It’s the conclusion of what has been a disappointing season altogether for Hicks. The 33-year-old had hit .216 across 453 regular season plate appearances, his 2nd straight below-average season.

October 19th

1943-Former Yankees Reserve INF Sandy Alomar Sr. (1974-1976) was born.
On July 8,1974, veteran MLB INF Sandy Alomar was purchased by the Yankees from the Angels for $50,000 Cash. Sandy provided excellent infield help at 2B for the Yankees during his 2-season stay with the team. He had replaced the weak hitting veteran Gene Michael at 2B. As a Yankees player, he had appeared in 294 games, while hitting .248 with 4 HRs and 76 RBIs. With the arrival of Rookie 2B Willie Randolph from the Pirates in 1976, Sandy would lose his starting job at 2B, he would become a Reserve INF hitting .239 in 38 games. On February 17,1977, Sandy was traded by the Yankees to the Rangers for 2 Minor League Infielders: Greg Pryor, Brian Doyle and Cash. He is the Father of 2 former MLB Players: Sandy Jr. and Roberto Alomar. After retiring as an active player, he became a Minor League Manager.

1961-Former Yankees Minor League P Tim Belcher was born.
Pitcher Tim Belcher was the 1st overall pick in the 1983 MLB Amateur Player Draft by Twins, but he did not sign with the club. He instead joined the USA National Team, playing in the 1983 Pan American Games. He was eligible for the MLB Amateur Player Draft again in January 1984, he was selected 1st overall by the Yankees; in what was considered a major coup. However, because of a Yankees front office mix-up, his name was left off the team's protected players' list for the Free Agent Signing Compensation Draft. Tim was selected by Oakland on February 8,1984. The Yankees Team Owner George Steinbrenner was livid over this development, blaming the Yankees young GM Murray Cook for this administrative mistake that he fired him shortly afterwards. Tim would pitch 14 seasons in the MLB for 6 teams, posting a 146-140 record. Ironically, Tim never pitched an MLB inning for the A’s; they had traded him to the Dodgers in 1987.

1965-Former Yankees Pitcher and MLB Scout Wade Taylor (1991) was born.
On December 22,1987, hurler Wade Taylor was traded by the Mariners along with Pitchers Lee Guetterman and Clay Parker to the Yankees for Starter Steve Trout and Reserve OF Henry Cotto. Wade was regarded as one of Yankees top prospects at that time and no one realized what was to be. In the next 4 seasons, Wade would spend time with the Class A Fort Lauderdale Yankees (FSL) going 4-11. Then he moved up to the Class A Prince Williams Cannons at 9-8; then on to the AA Albany-Colonie Yankees (EL) for a 6-4 record and then to AAA Columbus Clippers (IL), again at 6-4. In 1991, he got his 1st and only tryout at the MLB level, when the Yankees gave him a chance. Taylor would go 7-12, while appearing in 23 games, pitching 116 innings and with a 6.27 ERA. Also, Wade would spend time during that season with AAA Clippers again, posting a 4-1 record with a 3.54 ERA. During the 1992 season, he would spend time with 3 different clubs, but he appeared in only 5 games, pitching 13 innings, while posting a 0-1 record. In 1993, he was back with AAA Columbus, posting a 3-1 mark in 30 innings along with a 4.45 ERA. He would later work in the Yankees Scouting Department, as an Advance MLB Scout. After the 2006 AL playoffs loss to the Tigers, Wade was fired by the Yankees front office.

1966-The Yankees would release 2 veteran MLB Players: Pitcher Whitey Ford and OF Hector Lopez. The CBS, Inc. controlled Yankees front office starts cutting cost of the team payroll. Veteran All-Star Starter Whitey Ford had season ending arm surgery, he wasn’t expected to pitch again for the team. He did come back in the spring of 1967 for just 7 games for the team, while posting a 2-4 record with a 1.64 ERA before retiring from baseball. Veteran OF Hector Lopez’s hitting had faded to just .214 in 54 games; despite his ability to play both the INF/OF; the Yankees could not afford his weak bat in their daily line-up. Next 2 veteran Yankees stars to go; would be 3B Clete Boyer and RF Roger Maris in bad trades made by the Yankees front office during the winter, which were basically MLB player salary dumps.

1976-Before a Yankee Stadium night game crowd of 56,667 fans, the Reds took a commanding 3-0 lead over the Yankees in the 1976 World Series with a 6-2 victory. Cincinnati's DH Dan Driessen had a single, double, HR and a walk to lead the attack. Bronx Bombers Shortstop Jim Mason had a solo HR in the 7th inning for the only HR hit by the Yankees in the 1976 World Series. Yankees Starter Dock Ellis takes the loss, while lasting only 4 innings, while Reds Starter Pat Zachry gets the win. The game is the 1st World Series played at night in Yankee Stadium history.

1982-Former Yankees Starter J. A. Happ (2018-2020) was born.
Pitcher J. A. Happ was originally signed by the Phillies, who later traded him to the Astros in the 2010 Roy Oswald trade. The Astros would trade him to the Blue Jays, who in return later traded him to the Mariners in 2014. In 2015, he was traded by the Mariners to the Pirates. He later became an MLB Free Agent in the Fall of 2015, signing a 36-million-dollar contract with the Blue Jays for 3 years. He finished the 2016 AL season with a 20-4 record with a 3.18 ERA; then he won his only start against the Rangers in Game 2 of the ALDS, by the score of 5-3. He also started Game 2 of the ALCS against the Indians, but Happ was charged with a 2-1 loss as he gave up both runs in 5 innings. He started the 2017 AL season on the wrong foot as he was charged with a loss in his 1st 3 starts then he was placed on the DL on April 18th. He only returned on May 30th, getting a no-decision, then he lost another start before finally notching his 1st win of the 2017 AL campaign on June 11th; when he pitched 6 scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Mariners. He won more games in the second half, ending up at 10-11 record with a 3.53 ERA in 25 starts, although his ERA was constant all season. In 2018, he was selected to be the Jays' Opening Day Starter after Marcus Stroman was set back a few days by shoulder inflammation; Happ was the logical choice to take the young ace's place. He lost that Opening Day game on March 29th, by the score of 6-1 to the Yankees, but then he pitched very well, finishing April at 4-1, with a 3.50 ERA as the Jays got off to a good start. After losing his 1st 2 starts in May, he came back with a great performance on May 16th, when he limited the Mets to 2 baserunners in 7 inning while striking out 10 batters and himself reaching base 3 times with a pair of singles and a walk. He received credit for a 12-1 win. On June 8th, he defeated the Orioles 5-1 for his 100th MLB career win. He was at a 10-5 mark with a 4.44 ERA on July 8th, when he was selected as the Blue Jays' sole representative at the 2018 MLB All-Star Game; his 1st time going to the Mid-Summer Classic at the age of 35. On July 26th, the long-rumored trade materialized as Happ was sent to the Yankees in return for MLB INF Brandon Drury and Minor League OF Billy McKinney. He was excellent in his Yankees pitching debut for his new team on July 29th, allowing 1 run just 3 hits in 6 innings as the Yankees defeated the Royals by the score of 6-3. A couple of days later, however the Yankees announced that J.A. was temporarily sidelined because he had contracted hand, foot and mouth disease, a children's malady that does not often affect adults but that had also hit Mets P Noah Syndergaard a few days earlier. On August 19th, he defeated his former team, the Jays by the score of 10-2 to improve his pitching record to 14-6 on the year and 4-0 since the trade, giving the Yankees, everything they had been looking for. He would finish his 2018 Yankees season with a 7-0 record with a 2.69 ERA in 11 games. In the 2018 ALDS against the Red Sox, he lost his only start in the Opening Game lasting only 2 innings. Happ had resigned with the Yankees as an MLB Free Agent during the winter of 2018, signing a 2-year contract. In 2020, he went 2-2 with a 3.47 ERA with another disappointing AL Post season for the team, going 0-1. Overall, as a Yankees Starter, he had posted a 21-10 record with a 4.13 ERA in 51 games. In the AL Postseason, Happ had a disappointing 0-3 record for the team. He became an MLB Free Agent, signing with the Twins.

1986-Former Yankees Pitcher (1923-1933) and AL Umpire George Pipgras had passed away. (1889-1986)
In 1922, the Red Sox had acquired hurler George Pipgras from the Class B Charleston Pals (SAL), after he had posted a 19-9 record with a 2.94 ERA in 42 games. On January 3,1923, George was traded by the Red Sox along with Minor League OF Harvey Hendrick to the Yankees for Catcher Al DeVormer and Cash. His best Yankees season was in 1928, when he would post a 24-13 record with a 3.38 ERA in 46 games. He would appear in 3 World Series with the Yankees, by going 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA. George would finish out his Yankee Pitching career with a 93-64 record with a 4.04 ERA and 13 saves along with 84 complete games in 247 games. On May 12,1933, George was purchased by the Red Sox along with Reserve INF Billy Werber from the Yankees for $100,000 Cash. George was dealing with pitching elbow problems in 1933. For the 1933-1935 Red Sox, Pipgras would post a 9-9 record with a 4.54 ERA and 1 save in 29 games. He was released by the team on June 2,1935, ending his MLB pitching career. Pipgras would pitch in the Minor Leagues in 1935, ending with the Giants Class A team, the Nashville Volunteers (SA). He would finish MLB Pitching career with an overall record of 102-73 with 4.09 ERA and 14 saves in 276 games. After retiring from MLB as an active player, George would become an MLB Umpire. He was an Umpire in the Minor Leagues from 1936 to 1938. In 1938, George would join AL Umpire Staff working until the late 1940’s. Also, he was an MLB Scout for the Red Sox, before retiring from baseball.

1987-Controversial Billy Martin is named Manager of the Yankees for a 5th time, replacing Lou Piniella, who had previously replaced him. Lou Piniella is then moved up to the Yankees front office, as the team’s new General Manager. Piniella had led the 1987 Yankees to an 89-73 record, for a 4th place finish in the AL East.

1991-Former Yankees Pitcher Jimmy Cordero (2023) was born.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery, Cordero would then missed all of 2021 season, then he would signed with the Yankees before the 2022 season, but he would spend the entire season in the minors, posting a 1-1, record with a 2.09 ERA and 6 saves in 32 games for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. That helped him to find a job with the Yankees in 2023. He was doing pretty well, with a 3-2 record with a 3.86 ERA in 31 games, when his 2023 MLB season ended abruptly for off-field reasons: on July 5th, when he was suspended by the MLB for the remainder of the season for violating baseball's domestic violence policy. The Yankees probably will not be bringing him back for 2024 season.

1992-Former Yankees Pitcher Atley “Swampy” Donald (1938-1945) had passed away. (1910-1992)
For the 1938-1945 Yankees, hurler Atley “Swampy” Donald had posted a 65-33 record with a 3.52 ERA and 1 save in 153 games. He had 54 complete games along with 6 shut outs as a Yankees starter. He had led the AL in WP with .813 in 1939, while posting a 13-3 record. For the Yankees, Atley was 1-1 in 2 games in the 1941-1942 World Series. Donald was a key part of the Yankees starting rotation from 1938-1945. He was never the # 1 starter, but his lifetime winning percentage of .663 shows that he was an important winner for them practically every season. Also, he was a big winner on the great 1938-1939 Newark Bears teams, 2 of the Minor Leagues' greatest teams. In 1936, he had led Class A Binghamton Triplets (EL) in strikeouts. He was the leading pitcher for the 1937 AA Newark Bears (IL) with a record of 19-2. After getting into 2 games with the Yankees in 1938, he would come back to AA Newark to post a 16-7 record. In 1939, he had won 12 straight games, setting the AL record for most wins by a Rookie hurler. He would end the 1939 AL season with 13-3 record. Also, he had helped with his bat by hitting .250. The 1939 Yankees would win 106 games. He did not appear in the either the 1938 or 1939 World Series for the team. In 1939, the US Army Corps of Engineers using a speed gun measured Atley throwing a pitch at a then-record 94.7 mph clocked him. Except for 1944, he never got into more than 24 games in a season. In 1940, he had appeared in 24 games, while posting an 8-3 record with a 3.03 ERA. Unlike most of his seasons in 1940, he would appear in slightly more games as a Reliever than as a Starter. In 1941, he would have a 9-5 record as the team won the AL pennant. In 1942, he had a 13-3 record as the team won another AL pennant. He would pitch in both World Series against the Dodgers and Cardinals, but he was not particularly effective as he had a 0-1 record with a 7.71 ERA in 2 games. In 1943, He had a 6-5 record, then he would record a 13-10 mark in 1944, as he appeared in the most games of his MLB pitching career in 1 season with 30 appearances for that season. He did not pitch in the 1943 World Series against the Cardinals. In 1945, he would record a 5-4 mark with a 3.52 ERA, but his Yankee pitching career was over due to pitching arm injuries. After retiring from MLB as an active player, he was a long-time Yankees MLB Scout.

2004-Red Sox Starter Curt Schilling, pitching on a dislocated ankle tendon held down by 3 sutures put in the day before, gave up 1 run over 7 innings as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 4-2 to save their 2004 AL season for the 3rd day in a row and force a winner-take-all Game 7 in their ALCS and a trip to the 2004 World Series.

2009-The Angels would beat the Yankees at home by the score of 5-4 in 11 innings in Game 3 of the 2009 ALCS. Jeff Mathis drives in baserunner Howie Kendrick from 1st base with a double as the Angels over comes 4 solos HRs hit by Yankees batters.

2014-Former Yankees Minor League P Frank Barnes had passed away. (1926-2014)
On July 19,1950, Pitcher Frank Barnes and OF Elston Howard were purchased by the Yankees from the Kansas City Monarchs (Negro American League). They were assigned to Yankees Class A club, the Muskegon Clippers (CL). He would post an 8-4 record with a 2.23 ERA in 15 games for the team. In 1951, he would return to the Clippers, improving to a 15-6 record with a 3.22 ERA in 25 games. The Yankees would promote him to their AAA San Francisco Seals farm team in the PCL. He had appeared in only 2 games with no record for the Seals. In August of 1951, Frank was sent from the Yankees to the St. Louis Browns in an unknown transaction. He was transferred from the Seals to the Browns AAA team; the Toronto Maple Leafs (IL), appearing in just 2 games with a 0-1 record. Before the start of the 1953 AL season, the Browns returned him to the Maple Leafs after expiration of their Minor League team working agreement. After the 1956 season, he was traded by Toronto to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jim Pearce, Cash and a Player to be Named Later, which turned out to be 1B Rocky Nelson. In 1957, Barnes would lead the American Association with a 2.41 ERA for the Omaha Cardinals before being called up to the Cardinals in September. He also led the league with 6 shutouts and had pitched a record-setting 41⅓ consecutive scoreless innings. On August 4,1958, he would throw the 1st No-hitter in Omaha Cardinals American Association history. It was not the 1st No-hitter for Barnes, who had pitched 1 for the Oklahoma City (TXL) in 1955. He would pitch in the MLB for the 1957-1958,1960 Cardinals. On May 19,1960, the White Sox had purchased Barnes from Cardinals. After the 1961 AL season, he was traded by the White Sox along with veteran 3B Andy Carey to the Phillies for Catcher Bob Sadowski and hurler Taylor Phillips. However, veteran INF Andy Carey refused to report to his new team before the start of the 1962 NL season. Thus, to complete the trade the White Sox would send veteran hurler Cal McLish to Phillies. while they sent a Minor League player to the White Sox. Overall, as an MLB pitcher, Frank had posted a 1-3 record with a 5.89 ERA and 1 save in 57 games for the Cardinals. After his MLB Pitching career had ended, Barnes pitched in the Mexican Summer League, with the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol team. In 1965, where he would lead the circuit in both WP with a 13–5 record, WP of .722 and a league leading ERA of 1.58. Additionally, Barnes had pitched winter ball for the Licoreros de Pampero club (Venezuelan PBL) during the 1955–1956 seasons.

2019-In Houston, the Astros punch their ticket to the 2019 World Series with a 6-4 win over the Yankees in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS. With both teams using an Opener after losing a travel day due to a rainout before Game 4 in New York City, the Astros take an early lead on a 3-run HR by Yuli Gurriel off of Yankees Opener Chad Green in the 1st, but the Yankees claw their way back, tying the game on a 2-run HR shot by D.J. LeMahieu off of Astros Closer Roberto Osuna in the top of the 9th. With 2 outs in the bottom of the inning, Jose Altuve ends the game with a walk-off 2-run HR off of Yankees Closer Aroldis Chapman. Altuve is named the winner of the 2019 ALCS MVP Award.

2021-The New York Yankees have announced that they have re-signed Manager Aaron Boone to a 3-year contract through the 2024 season with a club option for 2025 season. Boone, 48, has compiled a career 328-218 managerial record. He has led the Yankees to a postseason berth in each of his 1st 4 seasons at the helm (2018-2021). Over his 1st 3 full seasons as manager (2018-2019, 2021), he has averaged 98 wins per season. The La Mesa, Calif., native is just the 2nd manager in baseball history to reach the postseason in each of his 1st 4 managerial seasons, joining Mike Matheny (2012-2015) with St. Louis, also 4 straight). He is the 3rd manager to make the playoffs in each of his 1st 4 seasons with the Yankees, joining Casey Stengel (1st 5 from 1949-1953) and Joe Torre (1st 12 from 1996-2007).

2022-The 2022 ALCS opens at Houston’s Minute Maid Park with the Astros beating the Yankees by the score of 4-2 behind Veteran Starter Justin Verlander, who had struck out 11 Yankee batters. Bronx Starter Jameson Taillon took the loss for the Bombers. After RF Aaron Judge contributed a tremendous diving catch in the 1st inning to rob Alex Bregman of an extra-base hit, possibly saving 2 runs. Yankees CF Harrison Bader would hit a 2nd-inning HR to become the 1st player in franchise history to slug 4 HRs in his 1st 6 postseason games with the team.

2023-Former Yankees AL All-Star Pitcher Fritz Peterson (1966-1974) had passed away. (1942-2023)
In 1963, the Yankees had signed hurler Fritz Peterson as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. His best Yankees season was in 1970, when he posted a 20-11 mark with a 2.90 ERA in 39 games and making the AL All Star team. During his pitching career with the 1966-1974 Yankees, Fritz would post a 109-106 record with 3.10 ERA in 288 games. After their public disclosure during the Yankees 1973 MLB Spring Training Camp, that Fritz and his Yankees teammate Pitcher Mike Kekich had traded their wives and families; Fritz’s days as a Yankees player were numbered. On April 26,1974, he was traded by the Yankees along with 3 Pitchers: Fred Beene, Tom Buskey and Steve Kline to the Indians for 1B Chris Chambliss, Pitchers Richard “Dirt” Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw. Fritz Peterson would end up with the best career ERA of any pitcher that ever pitched in historic Yankee Stadium (1923-2008), finishing with a 2.52 ERA. Whitey Ford came in 2nd with a 2.58 ERA. Peterson also had the lowest WHIP of any Yankee starting pitcher in the post-WWII era, 1.14. Overall, as an MLB Pitcher, Fritz had posted a 133-131 record with a 3.30 ERA in 355 games, starting with the 1966 Yankees, Indians and finishing up with the Rangers in 1976. In July of 2009, Fritz would publish a book called Mickey Mantle is “Going to Heaven.” He had run an excellent baseball web site. He had published more books on the Yankees. Other books published by Fritz include "The Art Of De-Conditioning: Eating Your Way To Heaven" and "When The Yankees Were On The Fritz: Revisiting The Horace Clarke Era." He is featured sporadically in Jim Bouton's classic book "Ball Four."

Bronx Bombers Board

This Week in Yankees History October 13th-19th

Post by fwclipper51 on Oct 12, 2024 10:59:34 GMT -5

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