With the unfortunate career-threatening injury to righthander Nate Eovaldi in August 2016, it is appropriate to look back at one of his best Yankee starts when he matched blanks (eight scoreless innings) and pitches (109 each) with Houston hurler Scott Feldman in a 1-0 Yankee win in the Stadium on August 24, 2015. Nate allowed just four hits to Scott’s six, and Andrew Miller retired the Astros in order (a leadoff single was erased by a caught stealing) in the ninth, but lefty Oliver Perez walked Brett Gardner to start the bottom half, then a wild pitch, intentional walk, and unintentional walk set it up for Carlos Beltran, who delivered a first-pitch sac fly to center off righty Chad Qualls.

On August 24, 2022, the Yankees sent lefthander Zack Britton on a rehab assignment to the Tampa Tarpons; the team also optioned center fielder Estevan Florial to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

On August 24, 2021, the Yankees sent righthander Corey Kluber on a rehab assignment to the Somerset Patriots.

On August 24, 2020, the Yankees placed lefthander James Paxton on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 21, with a left flexor strain. The two-year affiliation with the sometimes brilliant but oft injured Paxton had come to an end, for all intents and purposes.

It was all good for Denny McLain in 1968. Cy Young Award, League MVP, and his record as the last guy to win 30+ games in a season seems safer than ever from being equaled several decades later. To amass that kind of win total, you have to eliminate just about all the little setbacks that happen along the way no matter how well you are throwing. Denny suffered through very few of those kinds of days that year, at least until the World Series, when Mickey Lolich picked up the Tigers’ slack. But Denny did have a misstep on August 24, 1968 when, despite the fact that he threw another beaut, someone threw a little better. And that someone was young Yankee righty Mel Stottlemyre, who whipped McLain and the Tigers, 2-1.

Catfish Hunter‘s glorious career was winding down in 1977. And although he would enjoy a surprising resurgence in the 1978 season’s second half without which the Yanks’ miracle climb from 14 down would never have happened, he was running down, and the four-hit, 11-1 monster he posted against the Twins on August 24, 1977, was his last win of that season. The homers by Roy White, Mickey Rivers, Chris Chambliss, and Bucky Dent weren’t needed as it turned out, but no doubt much appreciated nonetheless.

The Yankees pulled off the sweep of the visiting Palehose on August 24, 2014, but it wasn’t easy. In a pregame ceremony, the home team honored the retiring first baseman/DH Paul Konerko in honor of his last Yankee Stadium game. It looked good for the visitors as they took a 3-0 lead in the sixth against Chris Capuano. But Chicago ace Chris Sale crumbled in that frame’s bottom half, allowing four runs on an error, a double, two walks, a hit by pitch, and a two-run single. Avisail Garcia delayed the Yanks’ celebration by tying the game with a leadoff home run off David Robertson in the ninth, but Brian McCann sent us home happy with a pinch-hit three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th, 7-4 Yanks.

Diminutive outfielder Coco Crisp almost singlehandedly whipped the Yanks as they fell to the A’s for the second straight day in the Stadium on August 24, 2011, 6-4 in 10 innings. Once Oakland tied the game 2-2 against CC Sabathia in the eighth, Crisp reached David Robertson for an rbi single. The Yanks tied it on a Mark Teixeira homer, but the Oakland center fielder blasted a Rafael Soriano offering for a two-out, three-run dinger in the 10th. Nick Swisher went yard in the bottom half, but it was not enough.

On August 24, 1960, Yankee hurler Art Ditmar handled almost everyone in the White Sox lineup easily, except for Roy Sievers, who reached him for two home runs and a double. But Art’s mastery over Roy’s teammates paid off in the form of a 3-2 win over Herb Score and the Sox.

When Wee Willie Keeler of the Highlanders (Yankees) banged out two home runs in a 9-1 win over the St. Louis Browns on August 24, 1904, both round-trippers were of the inside-the-park variety.

On August 24, 2016, the Yankees optioned righthander Bryan Mitchell to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Addressing a bullpen that was an ongoing problem, the Yankees recalled righthander Brian Bruney from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on August 24, 2007, and placed lefty Ron Villone on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain.

Early Wynn, Gene Woodling, and the number 24. Gene homered off the Indians’ pitcher on that day (the 24th) in June and again in July and once more in August, all in 1951, leading the Yankees to a 2-0 win in that third game. The contest marked Mickey Mantle‘s first appearance with the parent club after his return from the minors.

Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek homered in the 12th inning in Yankee Stadium in his very first game on August 24, 1981, to give Minnesota a 3-2 victory.

Rangers starter Aaron Myette‘s first-inning, bases-loaded walk to Jorge Posada scored Jason Giambi and tied that game at 1-1 in an August 24, 2002 tilt in Yankee Stadium, after Alex Rodriguez had homered off Roger Clemens. Six innings later Giambi’s long home run to right off lefty Juan Alvarez was the difference in a 3-2 Yankee win.

The Yankees bunched walks and singles to plate five against Matt Perisho in the third inning of an August 24, 2000, contest in Yankee Stadium and then used a Glenallen Hill fifth-inning homer to beat the Rangers. But they would need every bit of the offense, barely surviving 8-7.

Andy Pettitte battled Jack McDowell, in a stint with the Angels, to a five-inning stalemate on this day in 1998, until Scott Brosius and Joe Girardi stroked rbi base hits. But five of six reached against Pettitte in the seventh, the Angels batted around, and McDowell came away with a 7-2 victory.

Jose Contreras proved that he can be devastating when he is on. The Cuban defector that the Yankees signed before the 2003 season made a very good start in Yankee Stadium against the Orioles on August 24, of that year, riding a three-run first-inning Jorge Posada home run off southpaw Eric Dubose to a 7-0 win.

On August 24, 1983, Orioles reliever Tippy Martinez (acquired by Baltimore in a trade with the Yankees) picked off three Blue Jays in the 10th inning, an unequaled record. Eventual Yankee backup infielder Lenn Sakata took his only career turn behind the dish that day, and baserunners were falling all over themselves (literally) to test his arm. Tippy did his part to stop it.

Bart Giamatti‘s permanent ban of Pete Rose from baseball for alleged gambling was handed down on August 24, 1989.

On August 24, 2019, the Yankees optioned righthander Jonathan Loaisiga to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, creating space to activate newly acquired righty Cory Gearrin on the 25-man roster. The team also signed free agent righthander Ernesto Borges to a minor league contract.

On August 24, 2018, the Yankees sent catcher Chris Rabago outright to the AA Trenton Thunder.

On August 24, 2015, the Yankees placed southpaw CC Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list, with right knee inflammation; and then activated lefty Chris Capuano. Mr. Capuano certainly threatened for the league lead in transaction mentions in 2015.

On August 24, 2012, the Yankees activated lefthander CC Sabathia from the 15-day disabled list.

The Yankees optioned southpaw Aaron Laffey to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

On August 24, 1971, Ernie Banks hit the 512th and final home run of his career in a 5-4 Cubs win over the Reds.

On August 24, 2008, the Yanks abandoned their latest long-shot player gamble when they released slugging first baseman Richie Sexson.

In the first of two August 24 highlights featuring future or former Yankee players, eventual New York manager and player Frank Chance delivered the game-winning single for the Chicago Colts (Cubs) in a 20-inning, 2-1 win over the Phils on this day in 1905. The game tied the existing record for most innings played in a game.

The other August 24 item makes the list because of an extreme coincidence. When Ted Williams took to the mound to throw the last two frames in a 12-1 Red Sox loss to the Tigers on this day in 1940, the catcher receiving his throws was Joe Glenn. Former Yankee Glenn was also behind the plate in 1933 as the guy who caught during Babe Ruth‘s final pitching appearance.

The second of two August 24 no-hitters was tossed by Ed Halicki of the home-standing Giants in 1975 in a 6-0 shutout of the Mets in the second game of a doubleheader, but not without a bit of controversy. Rusty Staub‘s carom off Halicki’s leg deflected to second baseman Derrel Thomas, who grabbed it, but then lost the handle, so to speak. The Mets felt that it was clearly an infield single and that the E4 was a blatant case of hometown scoring. Almost 70 years earlier, the no-hitter by Jake Weimer of the Reds, 1-0 over Brooklyn on this day in 1907, went only seven innings, as the second game of doubleheaders often did in those days. Brooklyn won the first, 6-4.

And one more thing about that 1975 day when Halicki and the Mets were embroiled in controversy. On the same day Lou Brock stole his 800th base of his career, in a 6-2 Cardinals win over the Braves.

The Reds’ Bob Purkey was the first of two pitchers who earned their 20th victories in a season on August 24, notching his in a 4-2 win over Houston in 1962. And Baltimore’s Dave McNally won no. 20, 5-1 over Oakland, on this day in 1970, despite having surrendered 10 hits.

 
Players Who Have Died This Day

Although he played his entire 1940-1947 career in New York, all but one game of second baseman Mickey Witek‘s (1990) career, one of two Yankee ballplayers to die August 24, were spent with the Giants. Witek drove in no runs in his one at bat for the 1949 Yankees, but he did get a hit for a Yankee ba of 1.000. Mickey cleared 22 fences for the Giants and drove in 196 runs. Leaping to the top of the seniority list in this category, righthander Tex Clevenger (2019) ended his major league career pitching 42 games (no starts) with the 1961-1962 Yankees, with a 3-1 record with no saves. During 307 career games (40 starts) with the ’54 Red Sox, the ’62 Angels, and mostly with the 1956-1960 Washington Senators, Tex won 36, lost 37, and saved 30.

Until 2016, there were three noteworthy nonYankee pitchers to die this day, but the most accomplished player was outfielder Hank Sauer (2001), who smashed 288 home runs with 876 rbi’s from 1941-1959, mostly with the Cubs, the Reds, and the Giants. The lone southpaw, George Keefe (1935), went 20-48-1 from 1886-1891 mostly with the Senators; while Art Fromme (1956) won 80, lost 90, and saved four games with the Cardinals, the Reds, and the Giants from 1906-1915; and Junior Thompson (2006) posted a 47-35-7 record with the Reds and the Giants from 1939-1942. But in 2016, two middle infielders died, Juan Bell and Neil Berry. Playing mostly for the Orioles and the Phillies from 1989 through 1995, Bell hit 10 home runs and drove in 71 runs; he stole 16 bases. Berry played most of his big league ball in Detroit, from 1948 through 1954, hitting no home runs and driving in 74; he stole 11 bases.

 
Players Born This Day

In 2007 I reported that although no ballplayers who ever took the field of play with the Yankees celebrate August 24 as their birthday (one day after we acknowledged 10 of them on the 23rd), two who played in the bigs were with the team at some point in their careers. More on them later though. Speedy outfielder Brett Gardner, who finally got the call when Johnny Damon went on the DL, broke the Yankee birthday shutout in 2008. Brett drove in 16 runs for that Yankees squad, and homered three times with 23 rbi’s and 26 stolen bases backing Melky Cabrera in center for the ’09 team before and after he broke his thumb. Brett played in Staten Island in 2005, Tampa and Trenton in 2006, and Trenton and Scranton in 2007. He was selected by the Yankees out of the College of Charleston in the third round of the 2005 amateur draft. He has been the starting left fielder ever since, was among the league leaders in stolen bases in 2011, but he hurt his elbow making a catch in 2012, lost for the year through several rehab tries after having played just seven games. But Brett has been one of the most solid Yankees, played center in 2013, and had 17 home runs playing left in 2014, and 16 more in 2015. But Brett has become the veteran on a younger team in 2016 through 2019, and has given yeoman service to a team often missing center fielder Aaron Hicks to injury. The five home runs and 15 rbi’s he added to his totals in the truncated 2020 season brought his career numbers to 127 and 529, with many fans assuming the Yanks would not have him back. But although he has hit to an around .200 average in 2021 after signing a one-year deal, he has contributed mightily to a team devastated by injury and Covid protocols. The only holdover on the team from the 2009 Championship, Brett has stolen 271 bases so far.

Drafted by Baltimore in 1991, catcher B.J. Waszgis (1970) had not yet made it to the majors when he signed as a free agent with the Yankees in March 1999. After they granted B.J. free agency that October, he notched four rbi’s in 45 at bats during 24 games with the 2000 Texas Rangers.

It’s for the best, perhaps, that nobody seems to remember righthander Dean Wilkins (1966) in New York. The Yankees took Dean in the second round of the 1986 amateur draft, but it was the results of the trade that sent Wilkins away that make him notorious: He was packaged with with Rich Scheid and Bob Tewksbury and sent to the Chicago Cubs for the Yankee train wreck Steve Trout in July 1987. Wilkins posted a 3-1 record with two saves pitching two years with the Cubs and one with the Astros.

The list of other baseball birthdays begins with Hall of Fame Boston outfielder Harry Hooper (1881), who played from 1909 through 1925. Others: Hank Gowdy (1889); Hal Woodeshick (1932); Tony Bernazard (1956); Cal Ripken, Jr. (1956), who has recently joined Mr. Hooper in Cooperstown; Tim Salmon (1968); Everett Stull (1971); Chris Prieto (1972); Rafael Furcal (1977); Kevin Correia (1980); Christian Garcia (1985); the late Nick Adenhart (1986), who tragically perished in a car accident after a good start in his rookie season for the Anaheim Angels in early 2009; Enrique Hernandez (1991); Luke Jackson (1991); Steven Wilson (1994); Jamie Callahan (1994); and Mason Miller (1998).