This Week in Yankees History November 10th-16th

This Week in Yankees History November 10th-16th Nov 9, 2024 16:04:56 GMT -5 kaybli likes this

Quote

Post by fwclipper51 on Nov 9, 2024 16:04:56 GMT -5

This Week in Yankees History November 10th-16th

November 10th

1895-Former Yankees INF/OF Wilson “Chick” Fewster (1917-1922) was born. (1895-1945)
On August 14,1917, INF/OF Chick Fewster was purchased along with OF Bill Lamar and Pitcher Hank Thormahlen by the Yankees from the AA Baltimore Orioles (IL) for $20,000 Cash. Chick was Reserve INF/OF for the Yankees, appearing in 228 games, while hitting .271 with 3 HRs and 45 RBIs. In a 1920 spring training game with the Yankees on March 25,1920, Fewster was hit in the head by a pitch from the Brooklyn Robins' Big Jeff Pfeffer. He went down in a heap; he was unconscious for 10 minutes. The next day, he was unable to speak, and had in fact suffered a fractured skull and a concussion, not just a heavy bruise as first thought. He hung between life and death for 3 days. On March 31st, he underwent an operation to remove a piece of his skull in order to relieve a blood clot in his brain; the bone was replaced by a silver plate, and it seemed like his MLB playing career was over. However, he made a full recovery by July 5th, he was back playing for the Yankees. He played only 21 games that season. In 1921, he bounced back by hitting .280 with 1 HR and 19 RBIs appearing in 66 games for the team. On July 23,1922, he was traded by the Yankees along with OF Elmer Miller, OF Johnny Mitchell, P Lefty O'Doul and $50,000 Cash to the Red Sox for veteran INF Joe Dugan and OF Elmer Smith. As a member of the 1923 Red Sox, Chick was the 1st MLB player to have an MLB official at bat in the April 18,1923 Home Opener at new Yankee Stadium. He would play in 644 MLB games, while hitting .258 with 6 HRs and 67 RBIs in 11 MLB seasons.

1923-Former Yankee Minor League Manager Cal Ermer (1961) was born.
Cal Ermer was originally signed and played briefly with the Senators. He was a longtime Minor League Manager for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins organization. In 1961, he had managed the Yankees AAA team in the International League, the Richmond Virginians to a 6th place finished with a 71-83 record. Also, Cal had managed in the Pirates and Tigers Minor League systems. In 1967-1968, Cal did manage the Twins. He would return to Minor League Managing for the Twins organization in 1974 and held the job until 1985.

1926-Former Yankees Minor League OF Carmen Mauro was born.
On December 16,1953, OF Carmen Mauro was traded by the Philadelphia A’s along with INF Loren Babe, Starter Harry Byrd, OF Tom Hamilton and 1B Eddie Robinson to the Yankees for 1B Don Bollweg, INF Jim Finigan, Pitcher Johnny Gray, Minor League 1B/OF Vic Power, OF Bill Renna and Catcher Jim Robertson. Carmen never played for the Yankees at the MLB level. He did play several seasons with the Yankees top AAA team, the Denver Bears (AA), before retiring as an active player

1948-The Phillies had drafted Catcher Ken Silvestri out of the Yankees Minor League organization in the 1948 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. Ken had played for the Yankees AA club, the Newark Bears (IL) hitting just .218, but with 17 HRs and 44 RBIs in 129 games. He had appeared in 33 games, hitting .254 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs for the Yankees as a Reserve Catcher during the 1941, 1946-1947 AL seasons.

1951-In Tokyo, Japan, 50,000 fans are on hand as an American All-Star MLB team battles a Central League All-Star team. Yankees Clipper Joe DiMaggio hits a 400 ft. HR in the 8th inning to tie the game at 1-1, then his brother Dom laces an RBI-triple in the 9th inning and later scores to give the Americans, a 3-2 victory. The Americans have won 12 games and tied 1 on their 1951 Japan Baseball tour.

1955-Former Yankees DH/OF Jack Clark (1988) was born.
On January 6,1988, NL Slugger Jack Clark was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees. For the 1988 Yankees, Jack would only hit .242 while hitting 27 HRs with 93 RBIs in 150 games. On October 24,1988, Jack was traded by the Yankees along with hurler Pat Clements to the Padres for 2 Pitchers: Lance McCullers and Jimmy Jones along with Reserve OF Stanley Jefferson.

1964-Former Yankees Pitcher Kenny “Gambler” Rodgers (1996-1997) was born.
On December 29,1995, Starter Kenney Rogers was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees. Kenny Rogers had posted a 18-15 record with an ERA in 61 games in 2 seasons with the Yankees before being traded to the Oakland for a Player to be Named Later (INF/OF Scott Brosius) on November 7,1997. His best Yankees season was in 1996, when he posted a 12-8 record with a 4.68 ERA in 30 games. He made 2 postseason appearances for the 1996 Yankees with no record. In 1997, he had slipped to a 6-7 mark with a 5.65 ERA in 31 games.

1974-Former Yankees Reserve OF Ben Paschal (1924-1929) had passed away. (1895-1974)
On September 9,1924, OF Ben Paschal was purchased by the Yankees from the AA Atlanta Crackers (SA) for $20,000 Cash. He had previously played in the MLB with the 1915 Indians and the 1920 Red Sox. Ben would play in 346 games for the Yankees, while hitting .309 with 24 HRs and 131 RBIs. He would play in 8 World Series games (1926 and 1928) hitting .214 for the Yankees. On April 12,1927, the Opening Day Game of the 1927 AL season, Ben Paschal became the last player to ever pinch-hit for Yankees Slugger Babe Ruth. The replacement came in the 6th inning, after Babe Ruth had gone 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts; Ben Paschal would hit a single. Ben’s best season with the Yankees was in 1925, when he hit .360 with 12 HRs and 55 RBIs in 89 games. On November 21,1929, Ben 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.

1978-In a major MLB trade, the Yankees would send former Cy Young Award Winner Closer Sparky Lyle along with Pitchers Dave Rajsich and Larry McCall, Reserve Catcher Mike Heath and Reserve INF Domingo Ramos to the Rangers. In return, the Rangers had packed up MLB OF Juan Beniquez, OF Greg Jemison, 3- Pitchers: Dave Righetti, Paul Mirabella and Mike Griffin to the Yankees. Dave Righetti was considered the top left-handed pitching prospect in the Minor Leagues; he will win AL Rookie of the Year honors in 1981. The trade will come to haunt the Yankees during the 1979 AL season, when Closer Rich Gossage is injured his pitching hand in a shower fight with his Bronx teammate Cliff Johnson and the tragic jet crash death of All-Star Catcher Thurman Munson. Mike Heath was being groomed to be Munson’s replacement behind the plate. Lyle could have replaced Goose as the Yankees Closer during the time missed with his pitching hand injury.

1978-Former Yankees Pitcher Jorge DePaula (2003-2005) was born.
For the 2003-2005 Yankees, Pitcher Jorge DePaula went 0-1 in 10 games, before having arm injuries that ended his MLB Pitching career with the team.

1982-Concerned over potential delays in repairs to cracks in the concrete at Yankee Stadium, which is owned by the city of New York, Yankees Team Owner George Steinbrenner announces that the team will play its 1983 home opener, scheduled for April 12th, in Denver, CO's Mile High Stadium. However, this plan will come to naught when the city obtains an injunction by demonstrating that repairs are proceeding apace and that this cannot serve as a pretext to break a lease tying the Yankees to their ballpark in exclusivity.

1988-Former Yankees Minor League OF Rob Segedin was born
Rob Segedin got into 53 games in his 2-year MLB playing career, which was ended due to an injury. During both seasons in the MLB, he hit at least .200, showing that he had potential. Also, he would play in 9 seasons in the Minors. His 2016 season, when he posted a line of .319/.392/.598 in AAA ball, got him his shot at the MLB. Segedin began his pro baseball career in 2010. He was selected by the Yankees in the 3rd round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He would reached double-digit HRs for the 1st time in 2012, hitting 10 HRs, while batting .257 with 27 doubles and 54 RBIs in 121 games between the Class A Tampa Yankees (FSL) and the AA Trenton Thunder (EL). He made the Florida State League Mid-Season All-Star team that season. He reached Triple-A for the 1st time in 2014, hitting .143 in a brief, 21-game trial with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (IL) after hitting .283 in 92 games with AA Trenton Thunder (EL). His 2015 season was marred by injuries, as he played only 71 games between AA Trenton and AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, for a combined batting line of .287 with 7 HRs and 34 RBIs. He would split his time between 1st and 3rd base that season and later stated that he was ready to call it quits after being demoted to AA Trenton (EL) partway through the season, but his family talked him out of it. On January 12, 2016, he was traded by the Yankees to the Dodgers in return for 2 players with MLB experience, Pitcher Tyler Olson and INF Ronald Torreyes. He was assigned by the Dodgers to their AAA club, the Oklahoma City Dodgers (PCL), where he hit .319 in 103 games, with 21 HRs, 23 doubles, and 9 triples. He had an excellent MLB Player debut with the Dodgers on August 7th, when he collected 4 RBIs while starting in left field in an 8-5 win over the Red Sox. His 1st MLB hit was a 2-run double off of Red Sox Starter David Price in the 4th inning, then he added a 2-run single in the 5th. After baseball, he had studied for a new career, and had accepted a job with the Phillies as an Analyst.

1992-Former Yankees Minor League 1B Chuck “The Rifleman” Connors” had passed away. (1910-1992)
In 1941, Yankees Super Scout Paul Krichell noted that Chuck was left unprotected by the Dodgers. He would sign him to a Minor League contract for the Yankees organization. Chuck had replaced Joe Collins at 1B with the Norfolk Tars (PL), Chuck would hit .264 and slugged .408. His Tars Teammate P Bill Wight would recall that Connors often would recite Casey at the Bat, Shakespeare or other poetry. In 1942, Chuck was drafted into the Army. Chuck related that he would write to Dodgers GM Branch Rickey in 1946, asking for the Dodgers to reacquire him. On April 23,1946, the Yankees would waive him to the Dodgers, they had claimed their old prospect back. Chuck would appear in 67 games for the 1949-1950 Dodgers and the 1951 Cubs, while hitting .238, before shoulder injuries would end his pro baseball career. He would start his acting career, while playing Minor League baseball with the AAA Hollywood Stars (PCL). After retiring from the game, he became a successful full-time actor in Hollywood.

2021-The Yankees have signed MLB Free Agent Reliever Joely Rodriguez to a 2-million dollar, 1-year MLB player contract. The Yankees had acquired him in July as part of the Joey Gallo trade with the Rangers. He had posted an 2-3 record with a 4.66 ERA and 1 saves in 52 games with the Rangers and Yankees. With Zack Britton out for the 2022 AL season due to arm surgery, the lefty hurler will get a bigger role in the Yankees 2022 bullpen. On April 3, 2022, Joely was traded to the Mets for veteran MLB Reliever Miguel Castro.

2022-The Yankees have announced that they have made Qualifying Offers to RF Aaron Judge and 1B Anthony Rizzo. They did not make Qualifying Offer to Starter Jameson Taillon; he would become an MLB Free Agent. Also, they have allowed OF Andrew Benintendi to go into MLB Free Agency, since he wasn’t allowed to a QO from the Yankees, because of a previous QO with the Royals, plus he had been traded mid-season by the team to the Yankees.

2022-Former Yankees Reserve OF (1961-1963) and Minor League Manager (1965-1967) Jack Reed had passed away. (1933-2022)
In 1953, the Yankees had signed OF Jack Reed as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He was a 3-Sports Star at Old Miss Univ., playing in the 1953 Sugar Bowl. Jack would play for the Yankees low-level Minor League teams in 1954-1955. He would miss the 1956-1957 baseball seasons, while serving in the military. In 1958, he would play for AA New Orleans Pelicans (SA). Then in 1959, Jack would move up to the Yankees AAA club, the Richmond Virginians (IL), staying with the team until 1961. At the age of 28, Jack Reed would join the Yankees at the MLB level in 1961, as a Reserve Outfielder, often filling in for All-Star CF Mickey Mantle. He had appeared in 3 games of the 1961 World Series against the Reds as a defensive replacement. His lone MLB Career HR was a big one at Tiger Stadium on June 24,1962. He would snap a 7-7 tie in the 22nd inning game with a 2-run HR blast off of veteran Tiger Reliever Phil Regan to give the Yankees a 9-7 win in the longest game played in the history of the venerable Detroit ballpark. His best season as a Yankees Reserve player was in 1962 by hitting .302 with 1 HR and 6 RBIs in 88 games. Overall, as a Yankees player, Jack would appear in 222 games, while hitting .233 with 1 HR and 6 RBIs. In 1964, he had played for the AAA Richmond Virginians (IL). After retiring as an active player in the fall of 1964, Jack Reed would manage in the Yankees Minor League system for 3 seasons. He would manage the 1965 Class A Fort Lauderdale Yankees (FSL), 1966 Columbus Confederate Yankees (SL) and the AA Binghamton Triplets (EL) his overall Yankees Minor League Manager record was 223-185 with a .556 PCT.

2022-Yankees RF Aaron Judge wins his 3rd AL Silver Slugger Award. He had set an AL record by hitting 62 HRs this season, breaking Roger Maris AL 61 HR record. Judge not only led the MLB in HRs, but he also paced all players in runs (133), RBIs (131), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS (1.111), OPS+ (211) and total bases (391).

2022-Jose Trevino’s 1st Platinum Glove caps a year of firsts for the 29-year-old backstop, as also he had won his 1st Gold Glove Award and made his 1st AL All-Star team. Trevino is also the 1st Yankees player and the 1st AL catcher to win this Award since it debuted in 2011.Trevino led all MLB catchers with 21 defensive runs saved in 2022, which was tied for 3rd among all position players.

2022-The Yankees have announced they’ve selected 2 pitchers: Jhony Brito and Matt Krook onto their 40-man MLB roster. Also, Bombers have outrighted Reserve OF Tim Locastro off the roster and the speedster has elected Minor League Free agency, upon clearing waivers. Both Brito and Krook have pitched 7-seasons in the Minor Leagues. That’d have given the right to elect Free Agency this evening if the Yankees didn’t place them on the 40-man roster. New York clearly values both enough to keep them from hitting the open market, with each player cracking a 40-man for the 1st time. Brito, 25 in February, is a former MLB Amateur Player signee out of the Dominican Republic. He’s a quality strike-thrower, that Baseball America wrote this summer that he could develop into a back-of-the-rotation starter. The righty had split the 2022 season in the Minors, while pitching for AA Somerset and AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, working to a 2.96 ERA through 112 2/3 combined innings. He only struck out 20% of opponents, but he had a tiny 7.7% walk rate. Matt Krook would spend the whole season at AAA Scranton, while starting 22 of 29 appearances. The Univ. of Oregon product was a 4th-round draftee back in 2016, he would pitch to a 4.09 ERA over 138 2/3 frames. He had a solid 25.7% strikeout percentage but he walked an elevated 12.1% of batters that he had faced. The left-hander is generally regarded by evaluators as a likely future reliever. Tim Locastro, a 30-year-old outfielder, has seen sporadic action for the Yankees in each of the last 2 seasons. He had appeared in 38 games this season, but he would work mostly as a late-game entrant based on his speed and defense. Locastro had hit .186 in 46 plate appearances for 2022 AL season. Tim is an MLB career .227 hitter. He would spend most of the 2022 season, playing at AAA Scranton (IL), while hitting .240 over 47 games

2022-The Yankees announced that they have added Pitcher Jimmy Cordero to their 40-man MLB roster. Cordero, 31, who had logged 83 innings of MLB action across the 2018-2020 time-frame, putting up a 4.55 ERA in that period. Unfortunately, he had required Tommy John surgery in March of 2021, wiping out that entire season. The White Sox had outrighted him at the end of that campaign. He had signed a Minor League deal with the Yankees for 2022, Cordero was able to return to the mound by June. He eventually would make 32 appearances for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (IL). In 38 2/3 innings of work, he had posted a 2.09 ERA, along with an incredible 31.8% strikeout rate and 51.7% ground ball rate. Based on that strong showing, he’s earned his way back onto a 40-man MLB roster. He has 1 option year remaining, which will allow the Yankees to use him as an optionable depth arm in 2023. He has between 2 and 3 years of MLB service time, meaning they can keep him around for years to come if he continues to hang onto that roster spot. For the 2023 Yankees, he would post a 3-2 record with a 3.86 ERA in 31 games before being suspended by the MLB for violating their Joint Domestic Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. On November 2, 2023, he was placed on an outright waivers by the Yankees.

November 11th Veteran’s Day

1902-Former Yankees Pitcher Owen Carroll (1930) was born. (1902-1975)
On May 30,1930, Pitcher Owen Carroll was traded by the Tigers along with veteran OF Harry Rice and Reserve INF Yats Wuestling to the Yankees for veteran Starter Waite Hoyt and INF Mark Koenig. Owen had posted an 0-1 record with a 6.54 ERA in 10 games, 9 of them in relief with the Yankees. On September 13,1930, Owen Carroll was purchased by the Reds from the Yankees.

1915-Former MLB Player and Yankees Minor League Manager George Case (1969-1972) was born. (1915-1989)
Outfielder George Case spent most of his MLB playing career with the Senators. He had led the AL in stolen bases 6 times during his MLB career. George would play for the Senators (1937-1945,1947) and the 1946 Indians. He also had batting averages in the top 10 during the wartime MLB seasons. He would finish his MLB playing career in 1946 with a .288 BA with 21 HRs and 377 RBIs and 785 runs in 1,226 MLB games played. In 1946, his speed was matched up against that of Jesse Owens in a race. Both were perhaps a bit past their prime at the time. Owens beat Case by a small margin. After his MLB playing days had ended, he would coach College Baseball at Rutgers Univ. from 1950-1960. He was a Senators MLB Coach from 1961 to 1963. From 1965 to 1967, George had managed in the Senators organization. He was a member of the 1968 Twins MLB Coaching Staff, as their MLB 1B coach. From 1969-1972, George Case would manage in the Yankees Minor League organization with the Class A Oneonta Yankees (NYPL). He would finish 1st twice in 1969 and 1971 winning the League Championship. In 1970 and 1972 seasons, he would finish in 2nd place.

1943-The 1943 MLB MVP Award winners for both Major Leagues are named. Yankees Pitcher Spud Chandler wins it in the AL, while Cardinals OF Stan Musial wins it in the NL. Yankees Starter Spud Chandler went 20-4 in 30 games with 20 complete games along with an AL leading ERA of 1.64.

1948-Yankees All-Star CF Joe DiMaggio undergoes surgery for bone spurs on his right heel. DiMaggio will miss 65 games during the 1949 AL season because of continuing problems with his right heel. He will play in 133 games for the team, while hitting .346 with 14 HRs and 66 RBIs.

1982-Former Yankees 3B MLB Coach Joe Altobelli succeeds the retired Earl Weaver as the Orioles Manager. Altobelli is the 2nd Yankees MLB Coach to take a managing job this month. He will be the Orioles 1st new pilot since 1968, when Earl Weaver replaced former Yankees star Hank Bauer as the team manager during the 1968 AL season. Earlier in the month, Yankees MLB Coach Mike Ferraro accepted the job becoming the new 1983 Indians Manager.

1987-The Yankees had signed MLB Free Agent Pitcher Steve Shields. He would post a 5-5 record with a 4.37 ERA in 39 games in his only season as a Yankee hurler. On March 20,1989, Steve was traded by the Yankees to the Twins for Minor League hurler Balvino Galvez, who never appears with the Yankees at the MLB level.

1997-The Yankees would trade 3B Charlie Hayes to the Giants for 2 Minor League players: Pitcher Alberto Castillo and OF Chris Singleton. Hayes had hit .258 with 11 HRs and 53 RBIs in 100 games for the 1997 Yankees. He was unhappy with the 3B platoon situation with veteran All-Star 3B Wade Boggs. Neither player obtained from the Giants ever appeared at the MLB level with the Yankees. With the Hayes trade and Wade Boggs seeking MLB Free Agency, the Yankees would be looking at recently obtained INF Scott Brosius from the Oakland A’s and Yankees top Minor League Prospect 3B Mike Lowell to become the Yankees regular 3B for the 1998 AL season.

2010-Yankees 2B Robbie Cano wins a AL Silver Slugger Award by hitting .302 with 28 HRs and 118 RBIs.

2015-The Yankees had traded Reserve Catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Twins in return for athletic CF Aaron Hicks. For the 2015 Yankees, Murphy had appeared in 67 games, while hitting .277 with 3 HRs and 14 RBIs. Murphy will be a bust with the bat for the 2016 Twins and he will be traded away by the team during the 2017 AL season. Aaron Hicks will reach his potential with the 2017 Yankees, with a break-out season hitting .266 with 15 HRs and 52 RBIs in 88 games.

2016-Yankees Catcher Gary Sanchez wins a AL Silver Slugger Award by hitting .278 with 33 HRs and 90 RBIs.

2019-On November 11, 2019, Josh Bard would leave his Yankees MLB Bench Coach position in order to find an MLB job closer to his Colorado home. He was replaced by INF Coach Carlos Mendoza. On December 9, 2019, Josh Bard will be hired by the Dodgers to become their 2020 MLB Bullpen Coach.

2021-The 2021 AL Silver Slugger Awards are announced, Yankees RF Aaron Judge wins his 2nd Award. In 2021, he had appeared in 120 games for the Yankees, while hitting .287 with 39 HRs and 98 RBIs.

2021-Former Yankees MLB Scout (1953-1968), Royals Scout and Baseball Executive Art Stewart had passed away. (1927-2021)
In 1953, the Yankees had hired Art Stewart as an MLB Scout. He previous had worked for the St. Louis Browns as an MLB Scout. He was trained by legendary Yankees MLB Scout Lou Maguolo. He scouted, suggested and signed many players for the Yankees. From 1958-1969 Art was the Yankees Midwest Scouting Supervisor. He was working mainly in the Midwest, the 1st player that Stewart discovered and steered to the Yankees was a young Pitcher named Jim Bouton, who had not attracted any interest from MLB teams, while he was in pitching high school. In November of 1958, Art had signed Jim Bouton for the Yankees for $30,000. Bouton became a starting pitcher for the Yankees in the early 1960s. Since joining the AL expansion franchise Kansas City Royals in 1969. Stewart has served in multiple roles for the team. In 1985, Stewart was the Royals Director of Scouting. In 1986, he was both Scouting Director and Player Development. From 1987 to 1997, he served as only the Scouting Director. From 1998 to 1999, Art became the Senior Special Assistant to General Manager. From 2001 to 2005, he became the Senior Advisor to the General Manager, and continues in that position in 2020. Art is the longest tenured Kansas City Royals Associate. He was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Baseball Hall of Fame during 2008 season, on June 28th. Stewart represented the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame class of 2008, becoming the 23rd member of the elite Royals group. Stewart is the Royals' Senior Advisor to General Manager (GM) Dayton Moore. Seventy players that Stewart drafted have played in the MLB. They include Bo Jackson, Kevin Appier, Brian McRae, Mike Sweeney, Johnny Damon, Joe Randa and Carlos Beltrán. In 2014, he co-authored a baseball book, The Art of Scouting, with Kansas City Newspaper Writer Sam Mellinger. In an interview with Dick Kaegel of MLB.com on October 17, 2014, as the Royals advanced to their 1st World Series appearance since 1985, Stewart told a story from his Chicago childhood: "When I was 8 or 9 years old, playing ball as a kid, my mother said, 'You know, you're going to be in professional baseball someday.' I said, 'What do you mean, Mom?' She said, 'Because you were born on Feb. 6, Babe Ruth's birthday, in 1927, the same season that he hit 60 home runs.' She was right. Talk about scouting!" Stewart has been an associate in baseball now for 67 baseball seasons. Art was then longest-tenured member of the Royals organization at the time of his death in 2021.

November 12th

1891-Former Yankees Pitcher Carl “Submarine” Mays (1919-1923) was born. (1891-1971)
During the 1919 AL season, Starter Carl Mays and the Red Sox had a dispute, which resulted in him wanting to be traded from the team. On July 29,1919, he was traded by the Boston to the Yankees for P Bob McGraw, Shortstop Allen Russell and $40,000 Cash. For the 1919 Yankees. Mays would finish the season with a 9-3 record with a 1.65 ERA in 13 games. During the 1920 AL season, Carl Mays was the Yankee Pitcher, who had hit Tribe batter Ray Chapman with a pitch, which later resulted in his death during the 1920 AL season game at the Polo Grounds. Carl’s best Yankee seasons were in 1920-1921, when he went 26-11 with a 3.06 ERA and 3 saves in 45 games in 1920. Then in 1921, Mays had a 27-9 record with 3.05 ERA and 7 saves in 49 games. Overall, as a Yankees Starter for the team from 1919-1923, he had posted an 80-39 career record with a 3.25 ERA with 11 saves in 164 games. He never did get along with Yankees Manager Miller Huggins; there several serious incidents between the 2 men; which included a fistfight on the sidewalks of New York City. He had appeared in 2 World Series for the Yankees, while posting a 1-3 mark with an ERA in games against the 1921-1922 Giants. After his disappointing 1921 World Series pitching performance in Game 4 against the Giants, he would fall out of favor with Manager Huggins, who would reduce his role as a Yankees Starter. In 1922, he had dropped to a 13-14 mark with a 3.60 ERA in 34 games. In 1923, he had a 5-2 record with a 6.20 ERA in 23 games as a reliever. His 1924 winter trade to the Reds was considered to be one of the worst in early Yankees franchise history. On December 11,1923, after being sold by the Yankees to the Reds for $85,000 Cash; Mays would post a 20-9 record with a 3.15 ERA in 27 games for the 1924 Reds. In pitching for 4 seasons for the 1924-1928 Reds, Carl would post a 49-34 record with a 3.26 ERA and 4 saves in 116 games. Carl would finish his 1915-1929 MLB Pitching career with a 207-126 record with a 2.92 ERA and 31 saves in 490 games, while pitching for the Red Sox, Yankees and the Reds and finishing up with the 1929 Giants. Later, Carl would become an MLB Scout for the Indians. He later would write a book about his long MLB Pitching career, including the 1920 Ray Chapman incident.

1926-Former Yankees Pitcher Don Johnson (1947, 1950) was born. (1926-2015)
Before the start of 1944 AL Season, the Yankees had signed Pitcher Don Johnson as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. For the Yankees, Don had posted a 5-3 record with a 5.23 ERA in 23 games. On June 15,1950, Don was traded by the Yankees along with OF Jim Delsing, P Duane Pillette, veteran INF George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss and $50,000 Cash to the St. Louis Browns for 2 Pitchers: Relievers Tom Ferrick, Joe Ostrowski and 3B Leo Thomas.

1956-Having won the AL Triple Crown (.353 BA, 52 HRs, 130 RBIs), New York Yankees CF Mickey Mantle is named the 1956 AL MVP in an unanimous vote.

1958-Yankees Starter Bob Turley, who had 21 wins with 19 complete games during the 1958 AL season is named the 1958 Cy Young Award winner. With only 1 Cy Young Award given for the 2 Major Leagues, Yankees Bob Turley gathers 5 votes to 4 for last year's winner, the Braves veteran All-Star Starter Warren Spahn.

1961-Former Yankees Minor League INF Greg Gagne was born.
On June 5,1979, INF Greg Gagne was drafted by the Yankees in the 5th round of the 1979 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He had played in the Yankees Minor League system from 1979 to April 10, 1982. Gagne would never play for the Yankees at the MLB Level. On April 10,1982, Greg was traded by the Yankees along with Pitcher Paul Boris and MLB Reliever Ron Davis to the Twins for Shortstop Roy Smalley. Yankees Team Owner George Steinbrenner wanted Smalley because the Orioles had Cal Ripken, who was a HR hitting Shortstop. By the trading away of Reliever Ron Davis breaks up the Yankees Bullpen duo of Rich Gossage and Ron Davis, who were the best 1-2 closer-holder combo in AL. Clippers note: The Yankees would have been better off not making this trade and letting Gagne developed in the Minor Leagues.

1965-The Yankees had obtained former NL Golden Glove winner INF Ruben Amaro Sr. from the Phillies for INF Phil Linz. Amaro would never hit more than .233 in a Yankees uniform. Although his infamous collision with Yankees star OF Tom Tresh, while chasing a pop fly may have accounted for his failure to live up to the Yankees expectations. The incident would leave Tom Tresh with 2 bad knees, robbing him of a promising MLB playing career. Ruben would struggle with the bat, making this trade look even worst. Clippers Note: The Yankees should have held on to Phil Linz, making him a OF, while moving Tom Tresh back to Shortstop. In November of 1968, Ruben would be sold to the California Angels for Cash.

1972-Former Yankees Reserve INF Homer Bush (1997-1998, 2004) was born.
On April 22,1997, INF Homer Bush was traded by the Padres along with Players to be Named Later and Minor League Player Gordon Amerson to the Yankees for Rafael Medina, OF Ruben Rivera and $3. On June 9,1997, the Padres would send P Hideki Irabu on May 29,1997 and Minor League Player Vernon Maxwell to the Yankees to complete the trade. During the 1997-1998 AL seasons, he had appeared in 55 games for the Yankees, while hitting .372. On February 18,1999, Homer was traded by the Yankees along with Pitchers Graeme Lloyd and David Wells to the Blue Jays for AL All-Star Starter Roger Clemens. In 2004, he would play in 9 games for the Yankees before retiring from MLB. He really never fully recovered from his previous leg and hip injuries. In 2014, he was a Minor League Coach. In 2022, he would managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (MLB Draft League). In 2023, Homer was appointed Manager of the Staten Island FerryHawks (Atlantic league).

1978-Former Yankees Minor League Manager Ralph “Buzz” Boyle (1941-1942) had passed away. (1908-1978)
Buzz Boyle had hit .316 on the great 1939 AA team, the Kansas City Blues (AA), which won 107 games, and which featured Vince DiMaggio, Jerry Priddy, Phil Rizzuto, Sandy Vance, Tommy Holmes and others. He had managed 2 Yankees farm teams: the 1941 Akron Yankees and the 1942 Norfolk Tars (PL). From 1929-1934, he had played in the MLB with the Braves and Dodgers.

1978-Former Yankees Pitcher George Shears (1912) had passed away. (1890-1978)
For the 1912 Yankees, hurler George Shears had appeared in only 4 games with no record.

1992-Arbitrator George Nicolau overturns the suspension of Yankees veteran Reliever Steve Howe for being too severe. The Yankees will resign veteran Reliever Steve Howe.

1993-Yankees Hall of Fame AL All-Star Catcher, MLB Coach and Manager Bill Dickey (1928-1946) had passed away. (1907-1993)
Before the start of 1928 AL Season, Catcher Bill Dickey was purchased by the Yankees from Jackson (CS) for $12,500 Cash. Dickey was the 1st the great Yankee catchers. Bill was a tough as nails player. He had a lifetime BA of .313 for the team. He would hit .300 or better 10 times during his 13 seasons as an MLB player. His best Yankees season was in 1936, when he hit .362 with 22 HRs and 107 RBIs. Bill would top the 100 RBI’s mark for 4 seasons (1936-1939). He was AL All-Star Catcher in 1933-1943 and 1946. During WWII (1944-1946), he had served in the Navy. He would lead the AL in fielding as a Catcher in the following AL seasons: 1931,1935,1937,1939 and 1941. Bill would play in 8 World Series with the team, while playing in 38 games, he would hit .255 with 5 HRs and 24 RBIs. During the 1946 AL season, Bill would manage the Yankees to a 57-48 record, after long time Yankee Manager Joe McCarthy had resigned for health issues. In 1947, he would manage a team in the Boston Braves organization. He would return to the Bronx, to serve as an MLB Coach for Yankees Managers Bucky Harris (1947-1948) and Casey Stengel (1949-1957 and 1960). In 1954, Bill was elected to the Hall of Fame. All-Star Catcher Yogi Berra credits Bill with teaching him the fundamentals of catching. He would also would teach Elston Howard and Johnny Blanchard, how to become catchers during the 1950’s as well. Later, he would come to the Yankees MLB Spring Training Camp as a Special Advisor and work with the team’s organizational catchers. During the 1960’s, he would work with young Yankee Catchers Jake Gibbs, Truman Munson and Johnny Ellis.

1996-Blue Jays Starter Pat Hentgen edges Yankees Starter Andy Pettitte for the 1996 Cy Young Award in the closest AL voting since the 1972 voting; when Gaylord Perry topped Wilbur Wood by 6 points. Hentgen with a 20-10 record, the MLB leader in complete games, outpoints Yankees Starter Andy Pettitte (21-8) by the narrow margin of 110-104. Yankees Closer Mariano Rivera finishes 3rd in the ballot, he receives 1 1st-place vote.

2007-The Yankees would re-sign AL All-Star Catcher Jorge Posada to a $52.4 million contract for 4 years. This new player contract makes Jorge Posada the highest-paid Catcher in MLB history, edging out Mike Piazza’s $13 million average from 1999-2005 with the Mets.

2014-The Yankees would trade Catcher Francisco Cervelli to the Pirates for Reliever Justin Wilson. Cervelli had played for the Yankees from 2008-2014, while appearing in 250 games, hitting .278 with 10 HRs and 92 RBIs. For the 2015 Yankees, Justin Wilson will post a 5-0 record with a 3.10 ERA in 74 games. On December 9, 2015, Justin was traded by the Yankees to the Tigers for 2 Minor League Pitchers: Luis Cessa and Chad Green.

2017-The teams required to pay the luxury tax are announced, with the Dodgers leading the way, as their total salary outlay this year amounted to $244 million. They are joined by the Yankees for the 15th straight year, as their salary mass was the 2nd-highest in the MLB and the only other to top $200 million. Red Sox, the Cubs, Tigers and the Giants are also assessed the tax, the latter 2 teams in spite of finishing last in their respective divisions.

2018-Angels Shohei Ohtani, the 1st 2-way player in the MLB since Babe Ruth, wins the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year Award, beating out 2 Yankee Rookie teammates 3B Miguel Andujar and 2B Gleyber Torres.

November 13th

1882-Former Yankees INF Ezra “Salt Rock” Midkiff (1912-1913) was born. (1882-1957)
In 1902, INF Ezra Midkiff had appeared in 2 games for the Reds. For the 1912-1913 Yankees, he had would hit .207 with No HRs and 23 RBIs in 104 games. In 1912, he was the Yankees regular 3B. On August 8,1913, he was traded by the team along with OF Bert Daniels along with $12,000 Cash to the AA Baltimore Orioles (IL) for INF Fritz Maisel. Midkiff was nicknamed "Salt Rock" because he was born in a town of that name. He and Dick Midkiff are the 2 MLB Players with the last name Midkiff. Later, Ezra would manage in the Minor Leagues for 5 seasons.

1884-Former Yankees OF Tom Daley (1914-1915) was born. (1884-1934)
On June 13,1914, veteran OF Tom Daley was traded by the Philadelphia Athletics to the Yankees for OF/INF Jimmy Walsh. For the 1914-1915 Yankees, Pete would hit .250 with No HRs and 10 RBIs in 79 games.

1912-Former Yankees Minor League INF Alex Kampouris was born. (1912-1993)
On December 27, 1939, the Giants had sent INF Alex Kampouris and Catcher Tom Padden to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal made on September 1,1939. On that day, the Giants would send Players to be Named Later and Cash to the Yankees for Minor League INF Mickey Witek. He never would appear with the Yankees at the MLB level. The team would send him to their AA Club, the Newark Bears (IL), where he would play in 147 games, while hitting .273 with 36 HRs. On September 10,1940, Alex was purchased by the Dodgers from the Yankees.

1925-Former Yankees OF Jim Delsing (1949-1951) was born. (1925-2006)
On December 14,1948, OF Jim Delsing was traded by the White Sox to the Yankees for OF Steve Souchock. He had appeared in 21 games with the Yankees as a Reserve Outfielder, while hitting .367 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. On June 15,1950, Jim was traded by the Yankees along with Pitchers Don Johnson, Duane Pillette, INF George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss and $50,000 Cash to the St. Louis Browns for 2 Pitchers: Relievers Tom Ferrick, Joe Ostrowski and 3B Leo Thomas.

1931-Yankees Team Owner Jacob Ruppert buys the AA Newark Bears (IL) franchise, as the team starts to build a Minor League farm system. The Newark Bears will be very successful AA club, they will send many players to the Yankees. The 1938-1939 Newark Bears were considered to the best Yankee farm teams in the team’s Minor League system history and in Minor League Baseball team’s history as well. In 1950, the Yankees would sell the team to the Cubs, who then would move to the franchise to Springfield, MA.

1934-The Yankees would sell veteran hurler Dan MacFayden (1932-1934) to the Reds on a conditional basis, the purchase price of this transaction to be finalized, if the Reds decide to keep him (which they did not). In May of 1935, the Braves would purchase him from the Yankees. Overall, for the 1932-1934 Yankees, Dan had posted a 14-10 record with a 4.68 ERA in 64 games. On June 5,1932, the Yankees had acquired Dan from the Red Sox in a trade for 2 veteran Pitchers: Ivy Andrews and Hank Johnson.

1941-Former Yankees All-Star Pitcher (1964-1974) and Long-Time MLB Pitching Coach Mel Stottlemyre Sr. was born. (1941-2019)
Before the start of the 1961 AL season, the Yankees had signed Pitcher Mel Stottlemyre, as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. Mel was called up from AAA Richmond Virginians (IL) during the 1964 AL season. He would post a 9-3 record as a starter to help the Yankees win the 1964 AL pennant. Mel went 1-1 in 3 games in the 1964 World Series against the Cardinals, facing St. Louis Ace Bob Gibson in each start. Mel was a 20-game winner 3-times during his Yankees pitching career. He would finish with a 164-139 mark with 40 shutouts and a career ERA of 2.97 in 360 games. He had a string of 287 consecutive starts before his pitching arm injury. Mel was a member of the AL All-Star teams in 1965-1966 and 1968-1970. Mel was hurt during the 1974 AL season, appearing in only 16 games. while posting a 6-7 record with a 3.58 ERA. On March 29,1975, he was unable to recover from his arm injury from 1974 AL season, Mel was released by the Yankees. Former Yankees Manager Ralph Houk, now with the Tigers, gave him a tryout, but which proved to be unsuccessful; so, he retired as active MLB player. Mel had 2 sons, Mel Jr. and Todd, who both would pitch in the MLB. He was an MLB Pitching Coach for several teams; including the Yankees, before retiring from baseball.

1951-Lefty O'Doul's All-Stars, including MLB stars Joe DiMaggio, Ferris Fain and Billy Martin would lose 3-1 to a Pacific League All-Star team. This is only the 2nd time since 1922 that an American pro team has lost to Japan team; the 1st time to pro players.

1963-Former Yankees Catcher, MLB Manager and Baseball Executive Herold “Muddy” Ruel (1917-1920) had passed away. (1896-1963)
On August 21,1917, Catcher Muddy Ruel was purchased by the Yankees from the St. Louis Browns. He had appeared in 170 games for the Yankees, while hitting .251 with 1 HR and 46 RBIs. On December 15,1920, he was traded by the Yankees along with INF Del Pratt, Pitcher Hank Thormahlen and OF Sammy Vick to the Red Sox for Pitchers Harry Harper and Waite Hoyt, INF Mike McNally and Catcher Wally Schang. From 1915 to 1934, he was active MLB player, appearing with the Browns, Yankees, Red Sox, Senators, Tigers and the White Sox. He had played in 2 World Series with the 1924-1925 Senators. In 1947, Muddy was the MLB Manager of the St. Louis Browns. In 1951, he was the Farm Director of the Indians. Ruel would hold the same position with the 1952-1954 Tigers. Later, Ruel was the General Manager of the 1954-1956 Tigers.

1968-The Yankees would sell veteran MLB INF John Kennedy to the new AL Expansion Team, the Seattle Pilots for Cash. After being obtained from the Dodgers on April 3,1967, for Reserve OF/1B John Miller, Minor League Pitcher Jack Cullen and temporary transfer of INF/OF Roy White to Dodgers AAA team in PCL. For the Yankees, John had only hit .196 in 78 games. The Yankees had hope that Roy White could learn to become a better 2B from the Dodgers organization, but it didn’t work out. Roy was later switched to the Outfield. Kennedy would later play for the Brewers and the Red Sox before finishing up his MLB playing career in 1974. Later, he would become an MLB Scout for the Yankees.

1978-The Yankees had signed MLB Free Agent Starter Luis Tiant to a 2-year $875,000 contract. Tiant, formerly of the Red Sox, becomes the 1st MLB Free Agent to sign with a new club following the 1978 MLB Re-Entry Draft. For the 1979-1980 Yankees, Luis Tiant would post a 21-17 record with a 4.31 ERA in 55 games. In 19 MLB seasons, he would finish with an MLB pitching record of 229-172 along with a 3.30 ERA in 484 games.

1987-The Yankees had traded OF Don Pasqua, Catcher Mark Salas and Minor League hurler Steve Rosenberg to the White Sox for 2 Pitchers: Richard Dobson and Scott Nielsen. In 1988, Dobson would post a 12-9 record along with a 5.00 ERA for the team. In 1989, he would post a 2-5 record with a 5.87 ERA before released by the team in June; he would be resigned by the White Sox. In 3 seasons with the Yankees, OF Dan Pasqua had hit .251 with 42 HRs and 112 RBIs. At the end of the 1987 AL season, he had asked the Yankees front office for trade. For 1987 Yankees, Salas had hit .200 in 50 games. Steve Rosenberg had posted an 8-5 record in the Yankees Minor League system, while pitching for AA Albany Yankees (EL) and the AAA Columbus Clippers (IL). Nielsen, who had previously pitched for the Yankees, he would post a 3-4 record for AAA Hawaii Islanders (PCL) and with the White Sox, he was 3-5.

1990-Former Yankees Minor League P Arodys Vizcaino was born.
In 2007, the Yankees had signed Pitcher Arodys Vizcaino as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He never pitch for the Yankees at the MLB level. On December 22, 2009, he was traded by the Yankees along with MLB OF Melky Cabrera, Pitcher Michael Dunn and Cash to the Braves for 2 pitchers: Reliever Boone Logan and veteran MLB Starter Javier Vazquez.

1990-Former Yankees Reliever Luke Bard (2022) was born.
The brother of MLB player Daniel Bard and the son of Minor Leaguer Paul Bard, Pitcher Luke Bard was selected by the 16th round of the 2009 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He did not sign, opting to attend Georgia Tech instead. He was then chosen by the Twins in the supplemental 1st round of the 2012 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He was soon signed by the team and made his pro debut that summer with the GCL Twins. On December 14, 2017, he was drafted by the Angels in the 2017 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. He would make his MLB pitching debut with the Angels on March 31, 2018, by pitching 1 scoreless inning in relief. He would make 40 appearances for the Halos in the 2 seasons, pitching to a 4.90 ERA in between being returned to the Twins and pitching in Triple A during the 2018 season. On August 5, 2022, Reliever Luke Bard was selected off waivers by the Yankees from the Rays. For Tampa in 2022, he had posted a 1-1 record with a 1.95 ERA in 8 games. With the 2022 Yankees, he would appear in 1 game with no record before being DFA several times and resigned by the team during the 2022 season. On October 24, 2022, he was granted MLB Free Agency by the Yankees.

1997-Former Yankees Minor League C Moe Thacker had passed away. (1934-1997)
Catcher Moe Thacker was another of the many young players, who began their playing careers in the Yankees Minor League organization, who reached the MLB with a different team. In 1952, the Yankees had signed Moe Thacker as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. The young catcher would make it as high as the with the AAA Denver Bears (AA) in 1956. The 1957 AA New Orleans Pelicans (SA) was his next team, where he hit .240, while catching 136 games. All that got him was being traded by the Yankees to the Cubs before the start of the 1958 MLB season. Moe would play as a Reserve Catcher for the Cubs and Cardinals (1958,1960-1963), while appearing in 158 games, hitting just .177.

1998-The ball thrown by Red Sox Pitcher Howard Ehmke and hit by Yankees Slugger Babe Ruth for 1st HR in Yankee Stadium history is sold at an auction for $126,500 (110,000 bid + 15% commission). Mark Scala had found the 1923 historic Home Run ball in the attic of his Grandmother's home several years ago.

2008-The Yankees look to upgrade their offense by trading for White Sox OF1B/DH Nick Swisher. Also, they would pick-up Minor League P Kaneoka Texeira in their deal with Chicago, while giving up Minor League Pitching Prospect Jeff Marquez, MLB INF Wilson Betemit and P Jhonny Nunez.

2009-Former Yankees Reliever Ron Klimkowski (1969-1970,1972) had passed away. (1945-2009)
On August 3,1967, Reliever Ron Klimkowski came to the Yankees in the Elston Howard trade with the Red Sox. He had appeared in 48 games for the Yankees by going 6-8 with 1 save before being traded for A’s veteran OF/DH Felipe Alou. On May 22,1972, Ron was released by the Oakland A’s. On May 22,1972, he was signed as an MLB Free Agent by the Yankees. He would post a 0-3 record with 1 save in 16 games in his last active MLB season.

2015-Yankees Catcher Brian McCann won his 6th MLB Silver Bat award. He had won 5 while playing for the Braves in the NL, before joining the Yankees in 2015.

2017-Yankees Rookie OF Aaron Judge, who had led the AL in HRs with 52, is the unanimous winner of the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year Award, meanwhile Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger is a unanimous winner in the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

2023-The Yankees announced that they’ve hired James Rowson as their new MLB Hitting Coach. He’d reportedly been offered the position last week. Rowson, 47, is no stranger to the Yankees organization, having spent 9-years as a Minor League Hitting Coach and Minor League Hitting Coordinator. He’s spent the past 9 seasons on MLB coaching staffs, most recently working with the 2023 Tigers as their Assistant Hitting Coach. Rowson has also served as a Bench Coach and “Offensive Coordinator” with the Marlins and the Hitting Coach with the Twins. The 2024 season will be Rowson’s 10th on an MLB staff. Perhaps most notable on his resume was his 3rd and final season in Minnesota, when he was the Hitting Coach for a Twins roster that set an MLB record with 307 HRs on the season. The year of the Twins’ “Bomba Squad,” as they were nicknamed, coincided with MLB’s juiced ball season, but it was nonetheless an impressive season for the lineup and one for which Rowson drew plenty of credit. The Marlins had offered him a promotion and hired him away from Minnesota that offseason. Rowson will replace outgoing Hitting Coach Sean Casey, who took the role midseason after the Yankees had fired Dillon Lawson. Casey seemed to make an immediate impression on Yankees hitters, but after spending half a year on the job, he came to the conclusion that the time away from his family over the course of a full season would simply be too much. Casey said on October 25th, that he planned to return home to spend more time with his 2 young daughters, stating that time for him simply isn’t “perfect” at this juncture. He did leave the door open for a possible return to coaching “in the next few years.” With this hire, the Yankees are trotting out their 4th Hitting Coach in as many seasons and surely hoping that Rowson will have some staying power. The Yankees opted not to retain Marcus Thames following the 2021 season, and they’ve since quickly moved on from Lawson and seen Casey cite family reasons for his own departure. There’s always the possibility, of course, that another club will pry Rowson away with for a more prominent role. In addition to his 3 seasons as a bench coach in Miami, he’s also previously interviewed for the Twins’ managerial vacancy that went to Rocco Baldelli and was reportedly 1 of 3 finalists in the Red Sox’ most recent managerial search. That only speaks to how well regarded Rowson is throughout the industry, however.

November 14th

1876-Former Yankees Pitcher Harry Howell (1903) was born. (1876-1956)
For the 1903 Yankees, veteran MLB hurler Harry Howell had posted a 9-6 record with a 3.53 ERA in 25 games. On March 6,1904, Harry was traded by the Yankees along with $8,000 Cash payment to the St. Louis Browns for veteran hurler Jack Powell.

1885-Former Yankees OF/1B Jack Lelivelt (1912-1913) was born. (1885-1941)
On August 23,1912, OF/1B Jack Lelivelt was traded by AA Rochester (IL) to the Highlanders for a Player to be Named Later and OF Guy Zinn. On August 28,1912, the Highlanders would send Minor League OF Klondike Smith to AA Rochester (IL) to complete the trade. For the 1912-1913 Yankees, Jack would hit .339 with 2 HRs and 27 RBIs in 54 games. On May 25,1913, Jack was traded by the Yankees along with INF Bill Stumpf to the Cleveland Naps (aka Indians) for Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh. Later, he would manage in the Minor Leagues from 1920 to 1940.

1930-Former Yankees Minor League Player and Manager Bob Bauer was born.(1930-2020)
Bob Bauer had a 10-year minor league playing career in the farm systems of the Cardinals and the Yankees, where he was used primarily at 3rd base, but he also would play some RF and LF. Late in his playing career, Bauer was a player-manager. From 1950-1952, Bauer had served in the military. He began his pro career with the Alexandria Aces (EVL) and the Odessa Oilers (LL) before being taken by the Cardinals from the Yankees organization in the minor league phase of the 1954 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. From 1955 to 1957, he was part of the Cardinals system, making stops with the Lynchburg Cardinals (PL), the Peoria Chiefs (3-IL), and the Winston-Salem Red Birds (Ca.L). From 1958 to 1962, Bauer would play and managed in the Yankees minor league system, making stops with the Greensboro Yankees (CL), the Auburn Yankees (NYPL) and the St. Petersburg Saints and Fort Lauderdale Yankees (FSL) as a player. His best player season in the Yankees' system was 1959, when he hit .332 and drove in 74 RBIs for Auburn. The 1959 season was also Bauer's 1st year as a player-manager. In 1960, he would manage in Auburn as well, leading the team to a 3rd-place finish and a NYPL playoff berth. In 1961, Bauer would be the skipper of the St. Petersburg Saints (FSL). The final campaign to see him serve as a player-manager was 1962, when he would lead the Class A Fort Lauderdale Yankees to a FSL championship. Bauer would leave baseball for the 1963 and 1964 seasons, but he would returned to manage the 1965-1966 Johnson City Yankees (APPL). The 1967 season would see Bauer managing the Greensboro Yankees (CL). When the Yankees moved their Carolina League affiliate from Greensboro to the Kinston Eagles in 1968, Bauer would move with them. Over the winter of 1969-1970, Bauer took the job of managing the Danville Warriors. But in April of 1970, he was forced to walk away from the assignment. Danville would hire Frank Calo, as his replacement.

1938-Former Yankees Catcher Les Nunamaker (1914-1917) had passed away. (1898-1938)
On May 13,1914, Catcher Les Nunamaker was purchased by the Yankees from the Red Sox. On August 3,1914, as a member of the Yankees, Nunamaker threw out 3 Tiger baserunners trying to steal 2nd base in the same inning. He is the only catcher since the turn of the 20th century to accomplish the feat. Les would appear in 369 games for the Yankees, while hitting .262 with 2 HRs and 107 RBIs. On January 22,1918, he was traded by the Yankees along with 2 Pitchers: Urban Shocker and Nick Cullop, INF Joe Gedeon, 2B Fritz Maisel and $15,000 Cash to the St. Louis Browns for veteran Starter Eddie Plank and 2B Del Pratt.

1940-Former Yankees Pitcher George Clark (1913) had passed away. (1891-1940)
For the 1913 Yankees, Pitcher George Clark had appeared in 11 games, finishing the season with an 0-1 record with a 9.00 ERA.

1969-Former Yankees Minor League INF Curt Roberts had passed away. (1929-1969)
On April 4,1957, the A’s had sent Players to be Named Later and INF Curt Roberts to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal that was made on February 19,1957. On February 19, 1957, Kansas City would send Players to be Named Later, Infielders Wayne Belardi, Jack McMahan and Pitchers Art Ditmar and Bobby Shantz to the Yankees for a Player to be Named Later, MLB OF Irv Noren, 1B Milt Graff, INF Billy Hunter, 3 veteran MLB Pitchers: Mickey McDermott, Tom Morgan and Rip Coleman. He had originally come up to MLB as a 2B to the Pirates, being their 1st MLB Black player. Curt would never appear with the Yankees at the MLB level. He would play for their top AAA team: the AAA Denver Bears (AA). Curt would continue to play in the high Minor Leagues until his player retirement in 1963.

1973-Former Yankees Reserve OF Ruben Rivera (1995-1996) was born.
In 1990, OF Ruben Rivera was signed by the Yankees as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. He was the cousin of Yankees Closer Mario Rivera. Ruben had appeared in 54 games for the Yankees, hitting .281 with 2 HRs and 17 RBIs. He had injured his shoulder in 1996. On April 22,1997, Ruben was traded by the Yankees along with Minor League P Rafael Medina and $3 to the Padres for Players to be Named Later, 2B Homer Bush and Minor League OF Gordon Amerson. The Padres would send Pitcher Hideki Irabu to the Yankees on May 29,1997. On June 9,1997, Minor League Player Vernon Maxwell was sent to the Bronx to complete the trade. During the 2002 MLB Spring Training camp, Ruben was trying to make a comeback with the Yankees a reserve OF; when he was involved in an incident taking Derek Jeter’s glove from the Yankees clubhouse in Tampa. The club would give him his unconditional player release. In 2002, he would play for the Rangers, then in 2003 with his MLB final team, the Giants. From 2004 to 2015, he would play pro baseball in Mexico.

1978-Former Yankees OF/1B/DH Xavier Nady (2008-2009) was born.
On July 26, 2008, OF/1B Xavier Nady was traded by the Pirates along with Reliever Damaso Marte to the Yankees for Minor League players: P Daniel McCutchen, OF Prospect Jose Tabata, MLB hurlers: Jeff Karstens and Ross Ohlendorf. After just playing 7 games of the 2009 AL season, Nady went down with a season ending injury. He was hitting .286 at the time. His overall Yankees season batting record was .270, while hitting 12 HRs with 42 RBIs in 66 games. After the 2009 AL season was finished, he would leave the team for MLB Free Agency.

1979-The Yankees had obtained 3B/DH Eric Soderholm from the Rangers for a Player to be Named Later and Cash. On December 13,1979, the Yankees would send 2 Minor League Players: OF Amos Lewis and P Ricky Burdette to the Rangers to complete the trade. As a Reserve 3B/DH for the 1980 Yankees, Eric would hit .287 with 11 HRs and 35 RBIs in 95 games for the team. He was the back-up for Yankees All-Star 3B Craig Nettles. He was playing with bad knees as a result of accident in off-season job a construction worker. He would miss the 1981 AL season due to an illness. In October of 1981, Eric was released by the team ending his MLB playing career. Before being traded to the Yankees in 1979, he had played for the Twins, White Sox and the Rangers. He had appeared in 894 MLB games, while hitting .264 with 102 HRs and 383 RBIs.

1991-Former Yankees Reliever Joely Rodriguez (2021) was born.
On July 29, 2021, the Yankees had acquired OF Joey Gallo and Reliever Joely Rodriquez from the Rangers for 4 Minor League prospects. In 2021 with the Rangers, veteran MLB Reliever Rodríguez, 29, had posted a 1-3 record with a 5.93 ERA and 1 save in 31 relief appearances. The lefty pitcher had missed the 1st 13 games of the 2021 AL season, while being on the IL with a left ankle sprain (March 29th–April 16th). In 4 MLB seasons with the 2016-2017 Phillies and the 2020-2021 Rangers, he had posted an overall 2-5 record with a 5.05 ERA in 81 relief appearances. Also, he would spend 2 seasons with the 2018-2019 Chunichi Dragons (JPL), having a 3-7 record with a 1.85 ERA in over 90 relief appearances in that time span in Japan. On March 31, 2009, he was originally signed by the Pirates as a Non-Drafted Free Agent. On December 10, 2014, he was acquired by the Phillies from the Pirates in exchange for P Antonio Bastardo. In 2017, Rodríguez was acquired by the Rangers from the Phillies in exchange for a Player to be Named Later or Cash Considerations. For the 2021 AL season, that was split between with the Rangers and the Yankees, he had posted a 2-3 record with a 4.66 ERA and 1 save in 52 games. As a 2021 Yankees reliever, he went 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in 21 games. On November 7, 2021, the Yankees had turned down his 3-milliondollar club option, instead he would receive a $500,000 dollar buyout from the team. On November 9, 2021, he was then resigned by the Yankees for a new 2-Million Dollar player contract for 1-year. On April 3, 2022, Joely was traded by the Yankees to the Mets for veteran MLB Reliever Miguel Castro. Both players will be in their new team’s 2022 bullpens. For the 2022 Mets, he would post a 2-4 record with 4.47 ERA in 55 games.

1991-Former Yankees Minor League Catcher Wynston Sawyer (2020) was born.
Catcher/1B Wynston Sawyer was drafted by the Orioles in the 8th round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Player Draft from Scripps Ranch HS (San Diego, CA). In 10 minor league seasons, he has appeared in 641 games, while hitting .248 with 41 HRs and 288 RBIs. He never appeared at the MLB level with the Orioles. In the winter of 2019, he was signed by the Yankees, as a Minor League Free Agent. Sawyer would receive an invite to the Yankees 2020 MLB Spring Training Camp. In 2020, he was at the Yankees Alternate Training site in Scranton. When he was called up to the Bronx, but he did not appear in any games for the 2020 Yankees. On October 27, 2020, he was out-righted by the team to AAA Scranton (IL).

1996-Blue Jays Starter Pat Hentgen is named the 1996 AL Cy Young Award winner. Hentgen had posted a 20-10 record with a 3.22 ERA along with 177 strikeouts, while Yankees Starter Andy Pettitte, who had a 21-8 record with a 3.87 ERA with 162 strikeouts finishes 2nd place in the AL Cy Young Award voting.

2000-Former Yankees Minor League 1B Len Gabrielson Sr. had passed away. (1915-2000)
In 1934, 1B Len Gabrielson was signed by the Yankees as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. From 1934 to 1939, he would play in the Yankees Minor League system. He was blocked at 1B in the Bronx by the presence of slugger 1B Lou Gehrig and later Babe Dahlgren.He would never would appear with the Yankees at the MLB level. On April 8,1939, Len was traded by the Yankees to the Phillies for Pitcher Pete Sivess and Cash. During the 1939 NL season, he would play in just 5 games for the Phillies, while hitting .222 with No HRs and 1 RBI, before returning to the Minor Leagues. His son, Len Gabrielson Jr. would later play in the MLB during the 1960’s.

2004-Former Yankees Reserve Catcher Jesse Gonder (1960-1961) had passed away. (1936-2004).
In 1955, the Reds had originally signed Jesse Gonder as an Outfielder; later, he would be converted into a Catcher. He would never appear with the Reds at the MLB level. On April 1,1960, Jesse was traded by the Reds along with players to be named later to the Yankees for players to be named later. He was assigned to the Yankees AAA club, the Richmond Virginians (IL). On July 20,1960, the Reds would send veteran Reliever Luis Arroyo, who was at AAA Jersey City (IL). On October 20,1960, P Ted Wieand would be sent to the Yankees to complete the trade. On October 20,1960, the Yankees would send P Zach Monroe and Cash to the Reds to complete their part of the trade. On September 30,1960, Jesse would make his MLB Player Debut with the Yankees, he would hit a pinch-hit HR at Yankee Stadium off of Red Sox Starter Bill Monbouquette for his 1st MLB hit. Jesse would briefly play for the 1960-1961 Yankees, while appearing in only 22 games, hitting .309 with 1 HR and 6 RBIs. He was a member of the Yankees for the 1st weeks of the 1961 AL season as a Pinch-Hitter, before being sent back to AAA Richmond (IL) for the rest of the 1961 season. He did not make any World Series appearances with the 1960-1961 Yankees. He was the starting catcher for their 1960-1961 AAA club, the Richmond Virginians team (IL). On the 1960-1961 Yankees MLB 25-man roster, he blocked by the presence of veteran Catchers Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and Johnny Blanchard. On December 14,1961, Jesse was traded back to the Reds by the Yankees for veteran MLB Reliever Marshall Bridges. For the 1962-1963 Reds, Jesse was a Reserve Catcher. Also, Gonder would play for the 1963-1965 Mets, 1965 Braves and the 1966-1967 Pirates before finishing his MLB playing career with a lifetime BA of .251 with 26 HRs and 94 RBIs in 395 games. In 1963, as a member of the Mets, he was named to the Topps Rookie All-Star Team. After retiring as an MLB player in 1967, Jesse would write a book about the racism that he faced while being a pro black baseball player in the 1950-1960’s.

2005-Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez, whose 48 HRs set an AL record for that position, breaking a 68-year-old Yankees team mark for right-handed hitters, earned his 2nd AL MVP Award in the closest vote since 2001. Rodriguez had edged out Red Sox DH/1B David Ortiz, 331-307 in voting by the BBWAA. He had received 16 of 28 1st place votes, meanwhile Ortiz had earned 11 votes, with 2004 AL MVP Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels collecting the other to finish 3rd with 196 points. The margin of victory is the smallest since Mariner's Ichiro Suzuki edged out the A's Jason Giambi by a vote of 289-281, 4 years ago.

2006-Former Yankees Minor League Player and MLB INF Pete Suder had passed away. (1916-2006)
Before the start of the 1935 AL season, the Yankees had signed INF Pete Suder as an MLB Amateur Free Agent. The 19-yearold got his 1st taste of pro baseball with the Class D Washington Generals (PSA). Where he had played 3B and fielded at a .947 clip in 98 games, while hitting for a .294 BA. In 1936, Pete would hit .309 with 18 HRs for the Yankees Class C Akron Yankees (MAL), while playing shortstop position at a .951 percentage. In 1937, Pete would then play 3B for the Class B Norfolk Tars (PL) field at a .962 pace; he hit an even .300 with 22 HRs, while making the League’s All-Star team. The 1938 Binghamton Triplets (EL) would have Pete Suder on their team roster. He would help them win the 1938 EL pennant by hitting .278 along with 10 HRs. Pete would make the EL All-Star team at 3B by fielding at a .945 clip in 135 games. For the 1940 season, he would be with Triplets again, playing at the 3B, as he would field .945 in 138 games; while batting .301 with 16 HRs. Pete would help the 2nd place Triplets win the EL playoffs, while making the EL All-Star team. Also, Suder was named the 1940 Eastern League MVP. On October 1,1940, the Yankees would lose him to the Philadelphia Athletics in the MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. In 1941, he would play 3B for the A’s, while appearing in 139 games, hitting .245 with 4 HRs and 52 RBIs. He would miss the 1944-1945 seasons due to service time in the Army. Pete would remain with the A’s until he played his last MLB game on June 1,1955. Overall, he had played in 1,421 MLB games, while hitting .249 with 49 HRs with 541 RBIs.

2020-Former Yankees Reliever Lindy McDaniel had passed away from COVID-19 Virus at the age of 84. (1935-2020)
Pitcher Lindy McDaniel had been originally signed by the Cardinals in the 1950’s. In 1960, he was named to the NL All-Star team. McDaniel led the NL in saves in 1959-1960 and 1963. His best MLB season was in 1959, as a Cardinals Starter, when he posted a 15-9 record with a 3.41 ERA in 30 games. On July 12,1968, veteran NL hurler Lindy McDaniel was traded by the Giants to the Yankees for veteran AL Starter Bill Monbouquette. He had been infective for the 1968 Giants, having an ERA over 7.00. With the 1968-1973 Yankees, Lindy will post a 38-29 record with a 2.89 ERA along with 58 saves in 265 games. He would replace Reliever Dooley Womack as Manager Houk’s top right-hand Reliever. Lindy McDaniel, Jack Aker and Steve Hamilton gave the team a good bullpen trio for several seasons. As a rare Yankees Starter, Lindy had pitched 1 complete game for the team. McDaniel was the last Yankees Pitcher to hit a HR. On September 28, 1972, he had hit a HR at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. On December 7,1973, Lindy was traded by the Yankees to the Royals for OF Lou Piniella and Pitcher Ken Wright. He would post a 6-5 record along with 2 saves with the Royals, before retiring from the game in 1975. His Brother Von McDaniel, also had pitched in the MLB during the 1950’s with the Cardinals, when they were teammates. Lindy McDaniel had pitched in the MLB for 21 seasons, finishing with a 141-119 record with a 3.45 ERA and 174 saves in 987 games. He had pitched for the Cardinals, Cubs and the Giants in NL, meanwhile in the AL, he had hurled for the Yankees and the Royals. Lindy had never appeared in the MLB Postseason during his long MLB pitching career (1955-1975).

2023-The Yankees have added Pitcher Clayton Beeter and Catcher Agustin Ramírez to their 40-man MLB roster, protecting the 2 prospects from next month’s MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. Beeter was a lock to earn a spot on the 40-man roster this winter. The starter had finished the 2023 season at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, after a spectacular 1st half of the season with AA Somerset. With over 27 appearances across both affiliates, Beeter had posted a 3.62 ERA, while racking up 162 strikeouts in 131 2/3 innings. The right-hander is in position to make his MLB pitching debut at some point in 2024, one of several arms that will provide depth for the MLB staff beginning next spring. He could also be used as a trade chip this winter if the Yankees elect to utilize their surplus of young pitching talent as they look to acquire bats, specifically left-handed outfielders. Beeter, 25, was acquired by the Yankees from the Dodgers in the Joey Gallo trade 2 years ago. He’s graded as the Yankees’ No. 16 prospect by MLB Pipeline, the 6th-ranked right-hander in the organization. Adding Catcher Agustin Ramírez shouldn’t come as a surprise either. The power-hitting catcher climbed 3 levels in the Yankees’ farm system this year, the 21-year-old’s 1st full season of pro ball, swinging his way from Class-A Tampa to AA Somerset. In 114 games, Ramírez had swatted 18 HRs with an .819 OPS. He’s ranked as the Yankees’ No. 24 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Ramírez’s defense is a work in progress and his ability to hit the ball in the air consistently will be the key to unlocking steady offensive production, but the way he impacts the baseball is undeniable, a plus at his position. The Yankees now have 6 catchers on their 40-man roster with the addition of Ramírez, a sign of moves to come in the not-so-distant future.

November 15th

1916-Former Yankees Pitcher Joe “Professor” Ostrowski (1950-1952) was born. (1916-2003)
On June 15,1950, Pitcher Joe Ostrowski was traded by the St. Louis Browns along with fellow hurlers Tom Ferrick, Sid Schacht and 3B Leo Thomas to the Yankees for OF Jim Delsing, Pitchers Don Johnson, Duane Pillette, veteran INF George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss and $50,000 Cash. He would finish the 1950 AL season with a 1-1 record with a 5.15 ERA and 3 saves; while appearing in 21 games for the Yankees. In 1951, Joe, who would post a 6-4 record with a 3.49 ERA, plus 5 saves; he had appeared in 1 game in the 1951 World Series that season. He had pitched 2 innings with no decision against the Giants. Joe did not appear in the 1950 or 1952 World Series games for the Yankees. Ostrowski had a 2-2 record with a 5.62 ERA and 2 saves in 20 games for the 1952 Yankees. Overall, Joe had a 9-7 record with a 4.37 ERA and 11 saves in 75 games for the 1950-1952 Yankees. Joe would end his 5-year MLB Pitching career with a 23-25 record along with a 4.54 ERA and 16 saves in 150 games. He was called “Professor” because he wore glasses and had taught high school in the off-season in Pennsylvania. In 1941, he was originally signed by the Red Sox. He never would appear with them at the MLB Level.

1951-The BWAA had named Yankees INF Gil McDougald as 1951 AL Rookie of the Year. Gil would hit .306 for the Yankees in 1951, the leading the club with his .306 BA along with 14 HRs and 63 RBIs in 131 games. He had 23 team leading doubles. The White Sox had object to Gil McDougald's ROY award, offering the statistical accomplishments of their great Rookie OF Minnie Miñoso, who had hit .281 with 10 HRs and 76 RBIs in 146 games, leading the AL in triples with 14 and 31 stolen bases.

1955-Former Yankees Minor League P Randy Niemann was born.
On June 3,1975, Pitcher Randy Niemann was selected by the Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1975 MLB Amateur Player Draft (June Secondary). He never pitched for the Yankees at the MLB level. On June 15,1977, Randy was traded by the Yankees along with a Player to be Named Later and INF Mike Fischlin to the Astros for veteran C/1B Cliff Johnson. The Yankees would later send 1B/OF Dave Bergman on November 23, 1977 to the Astros to complete the deal. After his MLB playing career was over, Randy became a Minor League Pitching Coach for the Mets. He was the MLB Bullpen Coach for the 2009-2010 Mets, then in 2011, Randy was named the organization's Pitching Rehab Coordinator, working closely with Mets Ace Johan Santana. Randy would finish the 2012 season as the Red Sox MLB Pitching Coach for the Manager Bobby Valentine. In 2013, he would join the Cardinals Minor League system. Niemann was the Pitching Coach for the 2013-2014 Springfield (MO) Cardinals and the 2015 Class A Palm Beach Cardinals (FSL).

1959-Former Yankees Reserve OF Frederick “Klondike” Smith (1912) had passed away. (1887-1959).
In July of 1912, OF Frederick “Klondike” Smith was purchased by the Yankees from Brockton (NEL). He would only appear in 7 games for the 1912 Yankees, while hitting only.185, before being traded to AA Rochester (IL). Despite his western nickname of “Klondike”, he was actually born in London, England; he would continue to play in the high Minor Leagues until 1916.

1961-For the 2nd consecutive AL season, Yankees RF Roger Maris is named the AL MVP Player. The new single-season MLB HR record holder with 61 HRs, edges out his fellow Yankees teammate CF Mickey Mantle by 4 votes, 202-198. The Orioles All-Star 1B Jim Gentile would finish in 3rd place with 157 votes.

1995-Former Yankees Manager Buck Showalter is signed by the new NL Expansion team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who will not begin play until the 1998 NL season. They had sign him to a 7-year contract as their 1st MLB team manager. Showalter had guided the Yankees to an ALWC berth in 1995, but he left the team because of disagreements with Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner, after the team lost its 1st 2005 AL playoff series to the Mariners. He would be replaced by former NL Manager Joe Torre.

2001-Yankees Starter Roger Clemens, who posted a 20-3 record with a 3.51 ERA and 213 strikeouts; wins the 2001 AL Cy Young Award for an unprecedented 6th time. Previously, Roger Clemens captured the Cy Young Award with the Red Sox in 1986,1987,1991 and then with the Blue Jays in 1997-1998. He becomes the 1st Yankees Pitcher to win the award since 1978, when Ron Guidry had won the honor.

2005-All-Star LF Hideki Matsui and the Yankees agreed on a new 4-year player contract worth $52 million to the Japanese Outfielder. Both sides had faced a November 15th deadline after which Matsui would go on waivers and be prevented from rejoining the Yankees until May 15, 2006.

2016-Former Yankees Minor League OF Bob Addis had passed away. (1925-2016)
Outfielder Bob Addis was signed by the Yankees from Barberton HS, when he graduated in 1943. He would play for the Class D Wellsville Yankees (PONYL) that season. After being drafted in March 1944, he would join the Marines before being sent to Guam for artillery training. He would serve in China with the Allied Occupation Forces. In 1946, Bob was discharged from the Marines. He would return to pro baseball, spending that season with Class D Wellsville and the Class A Binghamton Triplets (EL.) In 1947, Addis was with the Class A Augusta Tigers (SAL) and the Class B Norfolk Tars (PL). On November 17,1947, Bob was drafted by the Dodgers from the Yankees organization in the 1947 Minor League Player Draft. For the 1948 season, he would play for the AAA St. Paul Saints (AA). In 1949, Bob was with the AAA Saints and the AAA Montreal Royals (IL). In the winter of 1948, the Dodgers had traded him to the Boston Braves. In 1950, he would play with the AAA Milwaukee Brewers (AA) before being called up and making his MLB Player debut with Braves on September 1,1950. In 1951, he was traded by the Braves to the Cubs. In 1953, he was traded by the Cubs to the Pirates. He would remain in the MLB until the 1953 NL season, when he was sent by the Pirates to the AAA Toronto Maple Leafs (IL). He had played in 208 MLB games for the Braves, Cubs and the Pirates, while hitting .281 with 2 HRs and 47 RBIs.

2019-Former Yankees Pitcher Jim “Mummy” Coates (1956,1959-1962) had passed away. (1932-2019)
After dropping out of school at age 16, the Yankees had signed right-hander Jim Coates as an MLB Amateur Free Agent before the start of the1952 AL season. The 6' 4" pitcher was assigned to the Olean Yankees (PONYL) in his 1st pro season. Jim would respond with a 13-15 record with a 3.19 ERA. The slender pitcher was in the Minor Leagues for the next 5 seasons, sharpening his game for his 1956 MLB Pitching debut. His best season came in 1955, when he went 14-8 with a 2.95 ERA in a split season with the Binghamton Triplets (EL) and the Birmingham Barons (SAL). This performance had earned Jim his 1st stop at Yankee Stadium was in 1956; where he had appeared in 2 games, pitching 2 innings, after spending the season with the AAA Richmond Virginians (IL). He was in Richmond for the next 2 seasons, where he was 22- 23 over the 3-season run. In 1958, he had broken his right pitching arm, he had appeared in only 8 games that season before making the MLB for good in 1959. From 1959 to 1962, Jim worked as a Spot Starter and Reliever for the Bronx Bombers, going 37-15 record with a 3.84 ERA and 15 saves in 167 games. He had a 13-3 mark with a 4.28 ERA with 1 save in 35 game. In 1960, a year in which he was selected to the AL Team in the 1st of 2 MLB All-Star games. Jim Coates was especially tough at Yankee Stadium, of pitchers with at least 20 wins, Jim had the highest winning percentage (.794) at the "House That Ruth Built" by going 27-7 during his Yankees pitching career. He is also the last Yankee Pitcher to win both games of a doubleheader. In the 7th game of 1960 World Series against the Pirates, in the 8th inning Jim failed to cover at 1B, which allow the Pirates to extend the inning scoring more runs. Several of the veteran Yankees players blamed him for losing of the World Series Game 7 to the Pirates, not young Reliever Ralph Terry, who gave up Maz’s World Series winning HR in the 9th. During the 1961 Yankees MLB Spring Training Camp, he was confronted by Clete Boyer and other Yankee players about his 7th game World Series performance.

The lanky Virginian would enjoy his finest moment in Game 4 of the 1961 World Series, when the Yankees would beat the Reds by the score of 7-0. Coates had relieved Starter Whitey Ford in the 6th inning because of a foot injury. He would respond with 4 shutout innings by allowing only 1-Reds hit, getting credit for a save. During the 3 World Series (1960-1961 and 1962) that Coates was with the Yankees, he came up with a 0-1 record along with a 4.15 ERA and 1 save, while appearing in 6 games. On April 21,1963, the Yankees would trade Jim Coates to the Senators for Pitcher Steve Hamilton. He would finish his Yankees Pitching career with a 37-15 record along with a 3.84 ERA and 15 saves in 167 games, as a Yankees Starter/Reliever. The right-hander would also make MLB stops with the 1963 Senators, 1963 Reds and the 1965-1967 Angels during his MLB pitching career. He had the reputation of knocking down batters. He threw with a side-arm delivery and turned his head away from the batter at the last second. It was downright nasty. Jim said: "If you have to knock a batter down, you knock him down." Coates would finish his 9-season MLB run with an overall record of 43-22 along with an even 4.00 ERA in 247 games. After being cut loose from the Angels, Jim would dropped down to the PCL; he would finish up his 15-year Minor League run with the AAA Hawaii Islanders (PCL) at the age of 37 in 1970. His record in the Minor Leagues shows a 142-113 mark along with a 2.81 ERA.
Overall, he had spent 19 active seasons in pro baseball (1952-1970). Coates was an unforgettable character. Jim Bouton in his book Ball Four wrote of his skeletal former teammate. "Coates could pose as the illustration for an undertaker's sign. He has the personality to match..." Jim was also known as the only Yankees pitcher who could sleep with his eyes open and pitch with them closed. Jim's nickname, to his Yankee teammates was "The Mummy.”

2019-Former Yankees All-Star OF Irv Noren (1952-1956) had passed away. (1924-2019)
Outfielder Irv Noren was originally signed by the Dodgers, who later would trade him to the Senators. On May 3,1952, Irv was traded by the Nats along with OF Tom Upton to the Yankees for OF Jackie Jensen, P Frank “Spec” Shea, INF Jerry Snyder and OF Archie Wilson. Irv could play all 3 Outfield positions, which made him perfect match for Yankees Manager Casey Stengel’s platoon system. Outfielder Irv Noren had 3 good out of 4 seasons, while playing for the 1952-1956 Yankees; including hitting .319 in 1954, despite being troubled with 2-bad knees. He had appeared in 3 World Series with the Bombers with the 1952 World Series being his best, hitting .300 against the Dodgers. Irv was on the 1954 AL All-Star team. While playing for the Yankees, Irv had appeared in 488 games, while hitting .272 with 31 HRs and 198 RBIs. After hitting just .216 for 1956 team due to injuries, on February 12,1957, Irv was traded by the Yankees along with a Player to be Named Later, Minor League 1B Milt Graff, MLB INF Billy Hunter, MLB Pitchers Mickey McDermott, Rip Coleman and Tom Morgan to the Kansas City Athletics for Players to be Named Later, Pitchers Art Ditmar, Bobby Shantz, Infielders Jack McMahan and Wayne Belardi. Yankees would send Minor League P Jack Urban on April 5,1957 to KC to complete their part of the trade. Then Athletics would send Reserve INF Curt Roberts on April 4, 1957 to complete the trade. Also, Kansas City would send Rookie INF Clete Boyer on June 4,1957 to the Yankees to complete the trade. Irv had played in the MLB for the Senators, Yankees, A’s, Cardinals, Cubs before finishing up with the 1960 Dodgers. He would finish his MLB playing career with a lifetime .275 BA along with 65 HRs and 453 RBIs. Later, he was a Minor League Manager for the Dodgers. He would manage their AAA team, the 1962-1963 Hawaii Islanders (PCL). It being the Hawaiian Islands, Noren had a $50 fine for any player who showed up too sunburned to play. He said 1 player came to Hawaii and got off the plane carrying a snorkel and flippers. In 1964, Noren was an MLB Scout for the Senators. Then he was out of baseball from 1965 to 1969. In 1970, he would manage the Niagara Falls Pirates, then he would return to MLB Coaching. Also, he would serve as an MLB 3B Coach for the 1972-1974 Oakland A’s. In 1975, he was a member of the Cubs MLB Coaching staff. He was also a horse owner, who had participated in races at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and elsewhere in Southern California.

2022-The Yankees have announced today, that they have re-signed INF Anthony Rizzo to a 2-year MLB contract extending through the 2024 season with a club option for the 2025 season. For the 2022 Yankees, Rizzo, 33, had hit .224 with 77 Runs, 21 doubles, 1 triple, 32 HRs, 75 RBIs, 58 BB, 23 HP and 6 SB in 130 games. His 32 HRs matched his MLB player career high (also 2014, 2016 and 2017) and were tied for the 7th-most in the AL. Over parts of 2 seasons with the 2021-2022 Yankees, he has hit .230 BA with 109 runs, 28 doubles, 1 triple, 40 HRs, 96 RBIs, 74 BB, 32 HP and 8 SB in 179 total games.

2022-The Yankees have announced that Reliever Stephen Ridings was claimed off waivers by the Mets. In 2016, Ridings, who is 27, was originally drafted by the Cubs, but then he was traded to the Royals, later he was released by the team. Prior to the start of the 2021 season, he would sign a Minor League deal with the Yankees prior to the start of the 2021 season. He briefly got up the MLB as a COVID player replacement. He would only toss 5 innings in that stint, spending most of the season in the Minors, but he was putting up very impressive numbers while on the farm. Between the AA and AAA levels, he would throw 29 innings along with a 1.24 ERA, 38.2% strikeout rate and 3.6% walk rate. That was enough to get him added to the Yankee MLB roster prior to the 2021 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft, 1 year ago. However, his right shoulder issues would land him on the 60-day IL in April; he never would return to team. He did do start a Rehab Assignment in September, but he only got into 2 Minor League games before the 2021 offseason arrived. Various MLB teams are facing roster squeezes this week, since today is the deadline to add prospects to 40-man rosters in order to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 Player Draft. As such, some other players are going to get nudged out of their spots, and it seems that Ridings was one such player for the Yankees. He would be selected by the Mets.

2022-The Yankees have protected a valuable prospect from the grubby hands of their foes. The team has added Pitcher Randy Vasquez to their 40-man MLB roster on Tuesday. The MLB Rule 5 Player Draft is set for Dec. 7th at the 2022 MLB Winter Meetings being held in San Diego, Ca. The Yankees’ 40-man MLB roster, now sits at 38 players. Teams, who select players in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 Player Draft must keep them through spring training and on their 26-man active roster throughout the entire regular season, otherwise the player must be offered back to his previous club. MLB Pipeline ranks Vazquez, 24, as the Yankees’ No. 14 overall prospect. Vazquez, a Dominican Republic native, was also ranked No. 90 on Baseball Prospectus’ top 100 list at the start of the 2022 season. Vazquez had spent the entire 2022 season at AA Somerset, where he posted a 3.90 ERA in 25 starts. He had struck out 9.4 batters per 9 innings but he had walked 3.2 per 9. At 6 ft. and 165 pounds, Vazquez leads with a power, high-spin curveball and a fastball that has touched 98 mph, but lives in the mid-to-low 90s. Also, he also throws an inconsistent slider and changeup. The Yankees have left several notable MLB Rule 5-eligible prospects unprotected. They have included Catchers Josh Breaux and Anthony Seigler, Pitchers Matt Sauer and Zach Green and Infielders Andrew Chaparro and Jesus Bastidas.

2023-As expected, Gerrit Cole is the 2023 Cy Young winner in the American League. The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the Yankee star has won the award. Former Twins right-hander Sonny Gray was the runner-up, while Blue Jay’s Kevin Gausman took home 3rd place. There wasn’t a ton of intrigue, as Cole received all 30 1st-place votes. While he’s a 6-time All-Star and 2-time ERA champion, this is his 1st MLB career Cy Young. No AL pitcher topped Cole’s 209 innings, while he led Junior Circuit pitchers (minimum 150 innings) with a 2.63 ERA. He was 6th among that group with a 27% strikeout rate and trailed only Gausman and Pablo López with 222 punchouts overall.

November 16th

1883-Former Yankees INF/P Rollie “Bunions” Zeider (1903) was born. (1883-1967)
On June 1,1913, INF Rollie Zeider was traded by the White Sox along with 1B Babe Borton to the Yankees for 1B Hal Chase. For the 1903 Yankees, Rollie would hit .233 with No HRs and 12 RBIs in 50 games. Before the start of 1914 AL season, Rollie would jump from the Yankees to play for the Chicago Chi-Feds (Federal League.) He was the one of the 2 MLB players to play for all of 3 Chicago MLB teams, the White Sox, Cubs, the Chi-Feds and Whales (Federal League teams). Later, he would become a Minor League Manager.

1932-Former Yankees Minor League and MLB C Harry Chiti was born. (1932-2002)
On December 14,1956, the Cubs would send a Player to be Named Later and C Harry Chiti to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal made on December 11th. On December 11,1956, the Cubs sent a Player to be Named Later to the Yankees for veteran Reserve Catcher Charlie Silvera; Cash and another Player to be Named. Harry never would appear with the Yankees at the MLB level. He was sent to their AAA club, the Denver Bears (AA) for the 1957 baseball season. On December 2,1957, Harry was drafted by the Kansas City A’s from the Yankees organization in the 1957 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft. Also, he would later play for the Tigers and briefly for the 1962 Mets before leaving pro baseball.

1950-In the 1950 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft, the Yankees had selected Pitcher Bob Muncrief from the Cubs organization. With the 1951 Yankees, Bob would post a 0-0 record with a 9.00 ERA in 2 games. He had previously pitched in the MLB with the St. Louis Browns and Indians, while appearing in the 1944 and 1946 World Series with the 2 teams. Overall, Bob had posted an MLB career pitching record of 80-92 with a 3.80 ERA in 273 MLB games.

1962-Former Yankees OF Hugh “Bunny” High (1915-1918) had passed away. (1876-1962)
Outfielder Hugh “Bunny” High had played 6 seasons during the deadball era for the Tigers and Yankees. In 1913-1914, he was the 4th outfielder to the Tigers' regular outfield of Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford and Bobby Veach. For the 1913-1914 Tigers, High had hit .247 in 171 games. On February 4,1915, Hugh High was purchased along with 1B Wally Pipp by the Yankees from the Tigers for $10,000 Cash. For the 1915-1918 Yankees, he would appear in 345 games, while hitting .250 with 3 HRs with 90 RBIs.

1964-Former Yankees Pitcher Dwight “Doc” Gooden (1996-1997, 2000) was born.
Veteran MLB All-Star Starter “Doc” Gooden would post a 24-12 record with a 4.67 ERA in 67 games with the Yankees, including throwing a No-Hitter against the Mariners in 1996. In the fall of 1997, he would leave the Yankees for MLB Free Agency, signing with the Indians. In 1984, as a Mets Rookie Starter, he was voted the NL Rookie of Year. Then he won the 1985 NL Cy Young Award with the Mets. Overall, as an MLB Pitcher, he would post a 194-112 record with a 3.51 ERA in 430 MLB games.

1976-Yankees Catcher Thurman Munson is named AL MVP. He had hit .302 with 17 HRs and 105 RBIs, earning 18 out of 24 1st-place MVP votes.

1996-Former Yankees Reliever Victor Gonzalez (2024) was born.
On December 12, 2023, Reliever Victor Gonzalez and Minor League INF Jorbit Vivas were traded by the Dodgers for Yankees for Minor League shortstop prospect Trey Sweeney. He has posted a 9-4 record with a 3.22 ERA and 1 save in 93 games for the 2020-2023 Dodgers. On June 21, 2024, the Yankees had designated Victor for assignment. For the 2024 Yankees, Gonzales had posted a 2-1 record with a 3.86 ERA and 2 saves in 27 games, while working out of Yankees bullpen.

1998-Former Yankees Special Pitching Coach and MLB Player Russ “Mad Monk” Meyer had passed away. (1923-1998)
Russ Meyer had appeared with the 1950 Phillies and the 1953, 1955 Dodgers against the Yankees in the World Series with a 0-1 record. He would finish his MLB Pitching career with the 1959 Kansas City A’s. Meyer would serve as a Minor League Pitching Coach with the Yankees in the 1980’s, working with Manager Buck Showalter with the Class A teams: the Oneonta Yankees (NYPL), Fort Lauderdale Yankees (FSL) and the AA Albany-Colonie Yankees (EL). In 1992, Russ Meyer and Buck Showalter were promoted to the Bronx, where he would spend the 1992 AL season as a Yankees Bench Coach.

1998-The Yankees had traded Minor League 3B Allen Butler to the Twins for MLB Reliever Dan Naulty, who had 4-5 record with a 4.61 ERA and 5 saves in 97 games in 3 seasons for the Twins. In 1998, Dan would go 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA in 33 games before ending on the DL with a season ending injury. Allen Butler had hit .268 with 19 HRs and 81 RBIs for the Class AA Greensboro Bats (SAL). On December 14,1999, Dan was traded by the Yankees to the Dodgers for Minor League 1B Nick Leach.

2002-The New York Yankees and the Yomiuri Giants sign an agreement to form a working relationship. Being the most successful teams in their respective pro baseball leagues, the organizations hope to establish scouting and marketing ties, which will benefit both teams.

2017-The AL MVP Award is announced, as Astros 2B José Altuve easily outpolls Yankees RF Aaron Judge. It is the 1st time winning the AL MVP Award for Altuve.

2018-Former Yankees Batting Practice Pitcher and MLB Player (1958) Nick Testa had passed away. (1929-2018)
Catcher Nick Testa would appear in 1 MLB game with the 1958 Giants, later that season, he would become the Giants Bullpen Coach. He played in 1 game as a Catcher, but he didn’t get a chance to bat in the game. Nick had played in the Minor Leagues from 1947-1964 playing for the Giants, Cardinals and Braves Minor League organizations. During the off-season of 1960, Nick was the catcher for the baseball TV show “Home Run Derby.” In 1962, Nick would go to Japan to play baseball. That season, he would play in 57 games for the Daimai Orions, while only batting .136 with No HRs and 5 RBIs. Later, Testa would serve as a Coach for the St. Lucie Legends in the Senior Professional Baseball Association during their lone year of existence in 1989. Also, he would coach the College Baseball team at Lehman College. After retiring from his Head Coaching job at Lehman, Nick Testa would join the Yankees as their Batting Practice Coach, serving on 5 World Championship Teams. He would work behind the plate at the Yankees winter fanasty baseball camps. On November 16, 2018, Nick Testa would pass away at the age of 90 at his home in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

Bronx Bombers Board

This Week in Yankees History November 10th-16th

Post by fwclipper51 on Nov 9, 2024 16:04:56 GMT -5

Quick Reply