Gerrit Cole was his usual 2023 self when he beat the visiting Royals 5-2 on July 22, 2023. With eleven strike outs over seven dominant innings, Cole was not threatened due to a home run and three rbi’s from Giancarlo Stanton, and a singleton shot from DJ LeMahieu.

It was Madison Bumgarner vs Masahiro Tanaka in a rare San Francisco Giants visit to the Bronx on July 22, 2016, and although each pitched well, Tanaka should have gotten the 3-2 win. Starlin Castro doubled in a run in the home first, and left fielder Angel Pagan‘s error on Castro’s fly in the second led to an unearned run. Tanaka left with a 2-0 lead after six, and Bumgarner was down 2-1 when he left after seven. Mac Williamson tied it in the eighth with an rbi double off Andrew Miller, who would “earn” the victory when Chase Headley scored on Brandon Crawford‘s wild throw to first trying to complete a double play in the bottom of the eighth.

The Yanks were carried to a 4-3 home-standing win over the Orioles on July 22, 2015, in the manner in which they won so many of their games that year: home runs by Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Ivan Nova went six innings for the win, and Andrew Miller got the save, despite surrendering a two-out Chris Davis home run in the ninth.

Two things about the July 22, 2-1 Yankee victory over Texas in the stadium that were typical of the 2014 season were that long stretches of innings passed with no scoring, and that two Yankee players had their debuts with the team. Traded for that day (for Yangervis Solarte and Rafael de Paula), third baseman Chase Headley didn’t enter the game until the eighth of 12 straight scoreless innings to start it. Stubbornly clinging to my seat in the grandstand through five hours of offensive ineptitude and drudgery, I finally shifted to the terrace for the bottom of the 14th, after we had stood and sung to the 14th-inning stretch. Strangely, the Yanks had finally scored in the 13th on a Brett Gardner double and Jacoby Ellsbury single once J.P. Arencibia homered off David Huff in the top half. And then lefty Jeff Francis, debuting in pinstripes, got a win pitching the 14th, because Headley became a first-day hero by driving in Brian Roberts as the clock struck midnight.

The 10-4 Yankee win over Kansas City in Yankee Stadium on July 22, 2010, their second straight 10-run game, featured big offensive days from Derek Jeter, with two hits, two runs scored and an rbi; a run, two rbi’s, and three hits from Mark Teixeira; but most of all, Alex Rodriguez, who scored once on three hits while driving in four runs. CC Sabathia got the win in this one, a three-and-a-half hour adventure on a Thursday evening.

A.J. Burnett was the beneficiary when the Yankees jumped on Baltimore righty Jason Berken for a four-run first inning on run-scoring hits from Alex Rodriguez, Robbie Cano, and Nick Swisher on July 22, 2009. Jorge Posada doubled and homered for two rbi’s in the 6-4 Yankee win, a game that got more exciting in the end when Brian Bruney struck out two to start the top of the ninth, then allowed home runs to Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. Thankfully, when Mariano Rivera came on he posted the inning’s third strike out, not a third home run.

Oh for the glorious and magical seasons! For instance, in 1998, the Yanks did the spanking, and did it often. On July 22 of that year, the Bombers beat up on the Tigers, 13-2, bringing the season mark to a healthy 71-25! Orlando “el duque” Hernandez was the beneficiary of all the offense, featuring a Jorge Posada double and home run, and taters from Chuck Knoblauch and Darryl Strawberry as well.

Continuing the theme, the magic that was the 1961 season did not begin and end with the M&M Boys. How about Johnny Blanchard, whose pinch-hit, ninth-inning homer started a three-run rally that beat the Red Sox, 11-9, on July 22, one of several examples of Johnny’s late-inning heroics for that team?

A small indication of why the 2008 season, the first in 14 years in which the Yanks did not play in the postseason, was not one of those magical years was that righty Darrell Rasner started 20 games. But it wasn’t his fault that he gave up the lead when he allowed Minnesita two sixth-inning tallies in Yankee Stadium on July 22, 2008, as the home team had plated just one. Not to worry though, a Bobby Abreu home run and rbi doubles by Abreu and Derek Jeter led the Yankees to seven runs in the home sixth and seventh, and the Bombers cruised to the 8-2 win. Longtime Yankee broadcaster John Sterling received the honor of being the one to move the games-remaining counter in the old Stadium from 28 to 27 in the fifth inning.

In a fortuitous transaction, the Yanks purchased the contract of reliever Luis Arroyo from Jersey City on July 22, 1960. Luis helped in the 1960 pennant march, and was yet another Yankee who performed to Olympian heights in 1961.

Yankee fans worried that they had not saved any runs for their Sunday battle with Tampa Bay on July 22, 2007, after the 7-3, 17-5 doubleheader sweep the day before could relax once the Bombers erupted with a 10-run fourth inning in a 21-4 drubbing. Hideki Matsui went 5-for-6 with a home run, Bobby Abreu homered in four hits good for four rbi’s, Alex Rodriguez went yard and knocked in three, Robbie Cano cleared one fence in four hits for three rbi’s, and last but not least, Shelley Duncan hit the second and third home runs of his three-day-old major league career.

Yesterday we reported that the Yanks had beaten the Blue Jays in the first contest of a two-game homestand in 2004. Then on a steamy afternoon in Yankee Stadium on July 22, the Bombers closed the New York stop in dramatic fashion. Orlando “el duque” Hernandez and former Yankee Ted Lilly struck out 10 and six respectively, and allowed just seven singles between them through seven scoreless innings. Then in the bottom of the ninth, Toronto righty Vinnie Chulk struck out both Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez in succession, only to be beaten when right fielder (that day, Shef DH’d) Ruben Sierra blasted a 2-1 pitch to just right of dead center for the 1-0 Yankee walk-off win.

In a trade that evokes poignant loss to those who remember him, the Yanks shipped lefty third baseman Mike Pagliarulo and Don Schulz to San Diego for ex-Tiger starting pitcher Walt Terrell and Fred Tolliver on July 22, 1989. Tolliver barely played for the Yanks, while Terrell’s address was not in the Bronx the next season. “Pags,” who now runs a scouting combine of his own, was a much-welcomed presence at a recent Old Timers’ Day in the Bronx.

David Cone was throwing a three-hit shutout against the Anaheim Angels on this day in 1997 until he tired and allowed two tallies in the eighth inning in a 9-2 Bombers win. Light-hitting second baseman Pat Kelly hit a three-run jack to left, and Paul O’Neill blasted one to right in the second inning right after Pat.

But the 2000 season was a whole different world for David Cone, sometimes due to his own ineffectiveness but not always. He left a June 22 tilt with the Devil Rays with a 3-2 lead over Ryan Rupe after six, but a wild Jeff Nelson allowed two in the seventh, and the visiting Rays reached Jason Grimsley and Darrel Einerston for seven runs in the eighth on six hits, two walks, and one error in a 12-4 Tampa Bay bombing.

In an annual (sadly) rite of summer, the Yankees tried to solve their lefthanded relief problems on July 22, 2003, as their pen featured the ineffective Sterling Hitchcock and southpaw Chris Hammond. Hammond’s principal crime was that he was better against righty batters; Hitch was better against neither side. The Bombers pursued Scott Sauerbeck before the Pirates traded him to the Red Sox, and the Cardinals weren’t willing to give up Steve Kline for Hitchcock. So the Yanks went in a different direction, acquiring Jesse Orosco, the majors’ oldest player, from the Padres for a player to be named later and cash. The ex-Met, Oriole, etc., would provide a short-term benefit in a battle against the Red Sox in his first action.

Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, and Tino Martinez home runs carried Mike Mussina and the Yanks to a 7-3 win over Chris Carpenter and the Blue Jays on July 22, 2001. But the “little” guys paid the price, as Chuck Knoblauch and Derek Jeter were hit by pitches. First Blue Jay hurler Chris Michalack and later Yankees reliever Jay Witasik and Joe Torre were tossed in an eighth-inning beanball battle.

On July 22, 1948, the Yanks won the series as they took the second of three with Cleveland. Vic Raschi bested Bob Feller 6-5, as Joe DiMaggio hit a grand slam. Joltin’ Joe had eight rbi’s in the three-gamer, and had hit four homers and a triple against “Bullet Bob” in four games that season.

The Yanks dropped one to the White Sox in a weird manner on July 22, 1928. In a 4-4 tie, Chicago pitcher Red Faber came to bat against Yankee righty Wilcy Moore with two men on in the eighth inning. Faber swung at two pitches righthanded and missed, then switched to lefthanded and singled in the winning runs.

Casey Stengel shifted Phil Rizzuto to second base on this day in 1954, and brought Mickey Mantle in to play short to jazz up the lineup, and it worked, if just barely. They prevailed over Chicago, 3-2, on Mickey’s 10th-inning home run.

Former Yankees reliever Ramiro Mendoza gets much of the credit for Andy Pettitte‘s 5-4 victory over the Devil Rays in Yankee Stadium on July 22, 1999. Two walks off Pettitte, and two singles, a walk, and a wild pitch off Mike Stanton tosses brought the Rays to within one with the sacks filled, but Ramiro struck out pinch-hitter Paul Sorrento to quell the seventh-inning uprising. Bernie Williams homered for the Yanks’ first run.

On July 22, the Yankees sent catcher Ben Rortvedt on a rehab assignment to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders; sent righthander Ron Marinaccio on a rehab assignment to the Somerset Patriots; and optioned lefthander JP Sears to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The team also signed free agent righthander Adam Stone and free agent shortstop Hueston Morrill to minor league contracts. They also signed righties Matt Keating, Kris Bow, Trevor Kirk, and Sebastian Keane.

On July 22, 2021, the Yankees selected the contract of righthander Sal Romano from the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, and designated righty Asher Wojciechowski for assignment. The team also signed lefthander Brock Selvidge.

On July 22, 2019, the Yankees recalled Jonathan Holder from the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, optioning lefthander Stephen Tarpley to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to create roster space.

As the 2013 infield shuttle continued, the Yankees sent shortstop Alberto Gonzalez outright to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on July 22.

The Yankees purchased Leo Durocher from Hartford of the Eastern League on July 22, 1925.

The acquisition of Jose Molina the day before made the move a no-brainer, and the Yankees designated catcher Wil Nieves for assignment on July 22, 2007. It has been good to see Wil get some playing time with the 2008-2009 Nationals.

On July 22, 2018, the Yankees optioned righthander Domingo Acevedo to the AA Trenton Thunder. And the team recalled Giovanny Gallegos from the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Weldon Henley of the Athletics won only four games in 1905, but he threw a no-hitter on July 22 against the Browns, 6-0.

July 22 events featuring future or former Yankee players include two involving hurler Bob Tewksbury , whose 55.3-inning streak of walk-free pitching came to an end via Eric Young in Colorado’s 7-6 win over Bob’s Cardinals on this day in 1993. And when Greg Maddux threw just 78 pitches in a complete-game win for the Braves over the Cubs on July 22, 1997, it was the lowest pitch count for such a game since Tewksbury had come in at just 76 in a 1990 start.

Speaking of complete games, Dazzy Vance, who got his start briefly with the Yanks, notched his 2,000th career strike out in his last career complete game on July 22, 1934, a 4-2 Cardinals win over the Braves.

The “Big Train” Walter Johnson notched his 3,000th career strike out in a 3-1 Washington win over Cleveland on July 22, 1923.

Even though he had little impact in Pinstripes after the Yanks signed him coming off arm surgery, we’ll acknowledge the part reliever Octavio Dotel played in the first ever shutout thrown in what used to be known as Enron Field, as he teamed with Shane Reynolds and Billy Wagner in a 3-0 Houston win over the Cubs on July 22, 2001.

The Hall of Fame accepted four new members as Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Red Schoendienst, and umpire Al Barlick were enshrined on July 22, 1989.

The All Star Game was cancelled due to rain for the first and only time on July 22, 1969.

Cincinnati Red Curt Walker tied a record by stroking two triples in one inning on this day in 1926.

Tigers star Ty Cobb stole second, third, and home for the first of four times in his career in a 6-0 Detroit shutout of Boston on July 22, 1909.

 
Players Who Have Died This Day

Although third baseman Mike Coolbaugh‘s only big league service was with the 2001 Brewers and the 2002 Cardinals, we list him as one of two Yankee players to have died on July 22 because he spent time playing for New York as a free agent in the minors in 1998-1999. Before Mike’s tragic and bizarre death by being struck in the head with a line drive coaching first base this day in 2007, he went 15-for-82 with two home runs and seven rbi’s in the big leagues. Outfielder Frank Delahanty (1966) spent roughly half of his career between 1905 and 1915 while debuting with the Highlanders in 1905, 1906, and 1908. His two long balls and 53 rbi’s with New York grew to five and 94 after playing one year with Cleveland and with the Buffalo Buffeds and the Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federal League in 1914-1915.

Of the six noteworthy nonYankee players to have died this day, three were lefty outfielders, one lefty throwing, righty throwing outfielder, and two have been righthanded pitchers. Multi-year stints with the Braves and the Giants dominated Don McMahon (1987)’s 1957-1974 career, during which he won 90, lost 68, and saved 153 games. Amos Strunk (1979) hit 15 long balls good for 530 rbi’s with the A’s, the White Sox, and the Red Sox from 1908-1924; and “Little Poison,” Lloyd Waner (1982), hit most of his 27 home runs and 598 runs driven in with the Pirates from 1927-1945. And the most recent addition to the list, Ed Stevens (2012), also played with the Pirates, and the Dodgers as well. From 1945-1950, Ed hit 28 home runs and drove in 193 runs. Most recently, righty Bob Sebra (2020) spent chunks of his 1985-1990 career with the 1986-1987 Expos and the 1988-1989 Phillies, plus three other stops. Bob posted a 15-29 record with one save. Lefty hitting, righty throwing outfielder Dwight Smith (2022) hit most of his 46 home runs and 226 rbi’s in 813 games from 1989 through 1996 with the Cubs and the Braves.

 
Players Born This Day

The long-time manager of the Atlantic League Somerset Patriots, who fills a role with that team, Sparky Lyle (1944), leads a group of six Yankees celebrating birthdays on July 22. He posted a 57-37 record with 139 saves and a Cy Young Award during his seven-year stretch in the Bronx that began in 1972, a time when the team went from “not” to “very” good. Before the collapse in the 2004 ALCS, “Babe, Bucky, Buckner, Boone” was all the rage when Yankee fans taunted their Red Sox brethren. But the Yankees’ acquisition of Lyle from the Red Sox for Danny Cater and Mario Guerrero in March 1972 was so one-sided in New York’s favor that it peppered Yankee fans’ Red Sox jibes for several years. In November 1978, Sparky was packaged with Mike Heath, Larry McCall, Dave Rajsich, and Domingo Ramosto to get Dave Righetti, Juan Beniquez, Mike Griffin, Paul Mirabella, and Greg Jemison from Texas.

Scott Sanderson (1956) pitched two of 17 seasons for the Yanks, and posted 16-10 and 12-11 win-loss marks in 1991 and 1992 once he was purchased from the Oakland Athletics in December 1990. Sanderson posted a 163-143 career mark.

Cliff Johnson (1947) hit 20 Yankee homers and delivered 56 rbi’s in the ’77-’79 seasons after the June 1977 trade of Randy Niemann, Dave Bergman, and Mike Fischlin that brought him over from the Astros. And it was pretty clear that the move of Cliff to the Cleveland Indians for Don Hood exactly two years later was payback for his having scuffled with and injured closer Goose Gossage in a clubhouse battle.

Mike Thurman, released in 2003, was signed as a Yankee free agent in January 2002. He went 1-0 in 12 games relieving and spot-starting that year. And although he never played for the Yanks, lefty thrower Jack McMahan (1932) was in the organization until the Pirates grabbed him in the 1955 rule-V draft. He returned to the Yanks in the Clete Boyer trade in 1957, but didn’t play with the team then either. Jack posted an 0-5 record with Pittsburgh and Kansas City in 1956.

Newest to the Yankee team is righthander Jake Barrett (1991), who was a third-round choice in the amateur draft in both 2009 and 2012, being signed by Arizona in the latter case. Pitching with the D’backs in 103 games from 2016 through 2018 with a 2-4 record and four saves, he was signed by the Yankees off waivers in 2109. He posted no record in two games, and was granted free agency in November 2019.

Other birthdays: Hall of Fame St. Louis pitcher for 19 years Jesse Haines (1893), who won 210 while losing but 158 from 1918-1937; Doc Cramer (1905), who played outfield for 20 seasons in Philly, Boston, and Detroit for American League teams, with 37 home runs and 842 rbi’s; Blue Jays righty Dave Steib (1957), with a gaudy 176-137 mark from 1979-1998; longtime KC Royals banger Mike Sweeney (1973), a good hitter and rbi man who has trouble staying off the DL, and who played for the A’s in 2008, the Mariners in 2009; Scot Shields (1975); Ryan Vogelsong (1977); Angel Chavez (1981); Rob Johnson (1983); Denis Phibbs (1985); Kwang Hyun Kim (1991); Tanner Scott (1994); and Jose Siri (1995).