Things looked OK in the Bronx on September 19, 2023, once Gleyber Torres drove Aaron Judge in with a first-inning double, tying visiting Toronto, who had scored on George Springer‘s homer on a 3-1 pitch from Clarke Schmidt to lead off the game. But Beau Bichette went yard against Schmidt in the fifth, and the Jays tacked on three more in the ninth of a 7-1 defeat of the Yankees.

Yankee pitching was battered for 11 runs by Cleveland for the second day in a row in an 11-1 loss in the Stadium on September 19, 2021. No single outburst led to the carnage, as the visitors tallied in seven of nine innings, while an early Gio Urshela home run saved the Yankees from being shut out.

Early home runs from DJ LeMahieu and Brett Gardner and late ones from Cameron Maybin and Clint Frazier, sandwiched around Gardner’s two-run single, propelled the Yankees and Masahiro Tanaka to a 9-1 win over the visiting Angels on September 19, 2019.

On September 19, 2021, the Yankees optioned righthander Luis Gil to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders; recalled center fielder Estevan Florial from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre; and sent third baseman Miguel Andujar on a rehab assignment to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

If he hadn’t been totally embraced in the Bronx before September 19, 2012, Ichiro Suzuki earned his pinstripes in Yankee Stadium that day, as the Yanks swept a day/night doubleheader from Toronto, 4-2 and 2-1. First, he scored twice while going three-for-four in the opener. But that was nothing. In the nightcap, Ichiro went four-for-four with a double, stole four bases, and the run he knocked in in the bottom of the eighth was a game winner. Playing left field in both tilts, he made a fine running catch in each. The twin killing restored the Yanks to first place.

Miguel Andujar homered early, then Luke Voit went yard twice, in a 10-1 destruction of David Price and the Red Sox on September 19, 2018. Luis Severino went seven for the win, and Justus Sheffield closed this one out, making his mlb debut.

An rbi double, then single, by Brett Gardner drove young Twins righty Jose Berrios from the mound in a 5-2 Yankee win in the Stadium on September 19, 2017. CC Sabathia went six for the win, one that pushed Minnesota six games back of the Yanks in the race for first Wild Card. (The Yanks sat three games back of the Red Sox for the AL East lead both before and after this one, as Boston won too.)

It was once again a power attack by the Blue Jays, as Edwin Encarnacion homered for two quick runs in the first off Hiroki Kuroda on September 19, 2014. But Jacoby Ellsbury doubled and scored, then homered for two runs, and knocked in another with a fielder’s choice ground ball, all off veteran southpaw Mark Buehrle. Adam Warren pitched in with a five-out save in the 5-3 Yankee win.

The clueless scheduling that forced 20 home games on the Yankees by May 1 continued to affect their season, as on Monday, September 19, 2011, they used an off day to face the Twins in a makeup of the April 6 rainout. Derek Jeter led the way with three hits, and when he scored on Curtis Granderson‘s two-run jack in the first, the home team was on its way to a 6-4 win. Alex Rodriguez not only had a hit, a walk, an rbi, and a run scored, he began both the seventh and eighth Minnesota innings by making stellar defensive plays at third.

Closing in on a playoff spot with the season winding down, the Yanks won a pitcher’s duel 2-1 over Baltimore on September 19, 2007, with veteran southpaw Andy Pettite outpitching fellow lefty Brian Burres. Left fielder Hideki Matsui homered for the early lead, and Bobby Abreu‘s fielder’s choice grounder following Doug Mientkiewicz and Derek Jeter singles delivered the winner. It was the first time I have seen Jose Feliciano play the National Anthem at a ballpark since the 1968 World Series.

When the Yankees beat the Brewers 2-1 on September 19, 1976, Catfish Hunter became only the third pitcher in the century to accumulate 200 career victories before their 31st birthday. Time would take its toll soon, however. Cat won 17 in ’76 after five straight 20-win seasons. After big contributions during significant stretches of the following two Championship seasons, he would retire in 1979.

Some highlights are more fun to report than others. The Yank reached Baltimore lefty Eric Bedard for two scores on four consecutive fifth-inning singles crowned by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez safeties on September 19, 2005, but came to bat in the bottom of the ninth tied at two. But the guy who had hit the second single back in the fifth homered on reliever Eric Dubose‘s second pitch, and the Stadium erupted as Bubba Crosby flew around the bases.

The 1964 Yankees took a full game lead on the Orioles on September 19 when they defeated the A’s, 8-3. Both Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris went yard, and Ralph Terry pitched well in relief of Al Downing.

The big blow in the Yankees’ 5-3 victory over the White Sox on September 19, 1951, was Mickey Mantle‘s three-run homer off Lou Kretlow.

With much of the 2006 season already having been lost, fans had big hopes when Gary Sheffield was activated from the disabled list on September 19, one week after teammate Hideki Matsui. But the two had been out too long, and the attempt to reintroduce them into the lineup at season’s end was not successful.

Mickey Mantle hit the 535th home run of his career off Denny McLain, who tipped him that he would be throwing nothing but fastballs, on September 19, 1968. The 6-2 Detroit victory was the 31st and last win of McLain’s incredible 1968 season, and also represented the 12th straight complete game for the Tigers’ staff. When Joe Pepitone followed The Mick’s at bat by indicating to McLain where he would like the next pitch, he was immediately dusted.

Hank Borowy had 10 wins in 1945 before the Yanks traded him to the NL Chicago Cubs, where he would win 11. When Bartolo Colon won his 10th game for the Expos on September 19, 2002, he became only the second pitcher ever to win at least 10 in each league in one season. Bartolo won 10 with the Indians before he was traded.

Continuing with that number-10 theme, the Bombers swept Chicago on September 19, 1933, 10-1 and 10-3. Joe Sewell stroked six hits on the day, and Lou Gehrig drove in six runs; George Uhle and Charley Devans were the starting pitchers who benefited from the onslaught.

Any question of a Yankee comeback in the September 19, 1982 tilt with Milwaukee took a huge hit when the Brewers plated nine runs in the eighth inning in a Don Sutton victory. Gorman Thomas hit a double and a homer in the big rally, and Paul Molitor added a home run in that frame too, and the Bombers fell, 14-1.

Pitching for the Chisox, former Yankee Joe Cowley managed a pretty ugly 7-1 no-hitter over the Angels on September 19, 1986, surviving seven walks and a sac fly; it was his last big-league win. And Ed Lafitte of the Federal League Brooklyn Tip-Tops threw a 6-2 no-no at the Kansas City Packers on the same day back in 1914, surrendering two runs due to wildness similar to Cowley’s.

Dick Ruether bested Emil Levsen and the Indians 8-3 on September 19, 1926, behind Babe Ruth‘s 43rd homer in the seventh followed by one from Lou Gehrig. The Iron Horse added three doubles and five rbi’s.

In the Yankees’ 6-3 win over Chicago on September 19, 2001, Roger Clemens got his 20th win to go to an amazing 20-1 on the year, the first pitcher in history to manage that mark. It was the pivotal stat that netted the Rocket his sixth AL Cy Young Award; he added one in the NL in 2004.

On that same day, St. Louis’s Matt Morris won his 20th in besting the Brewers 8-2 behind rookie Albert Pujols‘s three rbi’s. Other September 19, 20-game winners include lefty Tom Glavine of the Braves in 1998, former Yankee Doug Drabek of the Pirates in 1990, and Eppa Rixey of the Reds in 1925. Cleveland’s Dick Donovan won his 20th on this day in 1962 despite being driven from the mound in the sixth inning of a 10-9 victory over the Athletics. Finally, Grover Cleveland Alexander won his 25th for Philly on September 19, 1914; and Cleveland’s Jim Bagby took no. 29 with a 2-0 blanking of the Red Sox on this day in 1920.

Again on that same September 1920 day, the Yankees were losing 6-1 in St. Louis. Meanwhile Babe Ruth‘s movie Heading Home was opening at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Because he would be traded over the coming off season, the elevation by the Yankees of righthander Ian Kennedy from AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre on September 19, 2009 can be looked at as a very minor move. Ian would pitch one inning in a 3-2 victory over Anaheim four days later.

When Dan Topping sold his 10 percent stock interest in the Yankees to CBS on this day in 1966, he resigned as club president, and network executive Mike Burke replaced him.

The best thing you can say about a team meeting called by Joe Torre on September 19, 2000, to express his dismay with the Yankees’ poor play after a 16-3 loss to Toronto is that it may have had a positive effect later that month and in the playoffs, but not an immediate one. In the next seven days the team continued to lose, and badly: 15-4, 2-1, 11-1, 11-3, 13-2, 9-1, 7-1.

Detroit’s power-hitting Hank Greenburg hit the first ever home run into the Yankee Stadium center field stands, known as the black seats today, on September 19, 1937, in an 8-1 Tigers win.

It was a late-season blow to the Yankees’ pitching staff when they had to place righthander Domingo German on the restricted list following a domestic abuse charge on September 19, 2019. The team replaced him by selecting the contract of righty Michael King from the AA Trenton Thunder.

On September 19, 2018, the Yankees activated southpaw Aroldis Chapman from the 10-day injured list.

On September 19, 2012, the Yankees activated veteran southpaw Andy Pettitte from the 60-day disabled list, creating room on the 40-man roster by placing righthander Dellin Betances on the 60-day disabled list, with right shoulder inflammation.

Two one-time Yankees had their names in the baseball news on September 19, the first because a record was set that day that he would later match. Detroit’s Norm Cash successfully finished his 1960 season on September 19 having grounded into no double plays, the first in the AL to make it since the record was kept starting in 1940. Teammates Dick McAuliffe and Roger Repoz (the former Pinstriper) would match the mark in 1968.

And when Mike Simms of the Rangers stroked his 16th homer on September 19, 1998, he tied the major-league record for most home runs in the first 200 at bats in a season. Eddie Robinson of the Yankees and Bob Thurman of the Reds preceded him in 1955 and 1957, respectively.

Baseball players are revered for big pennant contributions and gutsy play afield, but it is nice when a star can combine those accomplishments with something of a sense of humor as well. In one of the funniest televised images of the 1978 season, Willie Stargell of the Pirates came up 10 feet short of second base in a slide in a stolen-base attempt. About to be tagged out, the lumbering power hitter signaled “time out.”

One additional September 19 highlight stands out as an achievement by Pinstripers when playing with other teams. When Alex Rodriguez stroked his 40th home run of the 1998 season off former Yank Jack McDowell, he became the third member of the 40/40 (steals/home runs) club, joining one-time (briefly) Bomber Jose Canseco and Barry Bonds.

 
Players Who Have Died This Day

Two of three Yankee players who have died on September 19 were pitchers, and all five of the noteworthy nonYankee player deaths come from hurlers as well. Righthander Lew Brockett (1960) pitched for the Yankees only, in 50 games (30 starts) for the 1907, 1909, and 1911 Highlanders, for whom he went 13-14 with one save. Fellow righty Bill Stafford (2001) pitched mostly for the Yanks too, debuting with the club by winning 43, losing 35, and saving nine in 163 games (96 starts) from 1960-1965. A two-year stop with the A’s in K.C. in 1966-1967 added five losses to those numbers. Finally, catcher Zack Taylor managed one hit in seven at bats, with no home runs or runs driven in, playing four games for the 1934 Yankees. In a 1920-1935 career spent mostly with the Dodgers, the Braves, and the Cubs, Taylor hit nine home runs with 311 rbi’s.

Southpaw Dave Danforth (1970), the only thrower from the port side to die this day, won 71, lost 66, and saved 23 games from 1911-1925 pitching more often than not with the Philly A’s, the Chicago White Sox, and the St. Louis Browns. Bill Hart (1936) posted a 66-120-3 mark between 1886 and 1901 with the A’s, the Browns, and the Pirates; and Pink Hawley (1938) won 167, lost 179, and saved three games with the Browns, the Pirates, and the Reds from 1892-1901. Slim Harriss (1963) put up a 95-135-16 record playing for the A’s from 1920-1926 and the Red Sox from 1926-1928; and Marv Grissom (2005) posted most of his 47-45-58 mark in 1946 and from 1949-1959 with the Giants. Most famed for his base running prowess, switch-hitting, righty throwing shortstop Maury Wills (2022) played most of his career (1959-1966 and 1969-1972) with the LA Dodgers, but also played with the 1967-1968 Pirates and the 1969 Expos. Maury hit 20 home runs with 451 rbi’s in 1,942 games. More to the point, perhaps, are Wills’s 586 stolen bases while being caught 208 times.

 
Players Born This Day

It is easy now to criticize the trade of lefty first baseman Nick Johnson (1978), along with Juan Rivera, to Montreal for 2004 Bombers starter Javier Vazquez, but most Yankee fans were OK with it at the time. The birthdaying Johnson stroked 31 home runs and notched 113 rbi’s in the Bronx from 2001-2003. Nick has been a vital cog in the first few seasons of the Washington Nationals, moved from Canada and renamed in the 2005 season, but the persistent injuries that hounded him in the Yankee system have accompanied him to the NL. Nick was recently traded to the Florida Marlins.

Lefty Jim Abbott‘s (1967) 1993-1994 resume with the Yanks includes a no-hitter and a 20-22 record. Abbott, who arrived in a December 1992 trade from the California Angels for J.T. Snow, Jerry Nielsen, and Russ Springer, was granted free agency 24 months later. The way Jim overcame his right arm disability to succeed in the bigs earned him the respect of millions of fans.

Bob Turley (1930) pitched eight of his 12 big-league years in the Bronx to an 82-52 record with 12 saves, and he went 4-3 in World Series games. Turley arrived in New York via a blockbuster trade with the Orioles in November 1954, accompanying Billy Hunter and Don Larsen and four other players to the Yankees for several guys including Gene Woodling, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Hal Smith, Gus Triandos, and Willy Miranda. Bob was purchased from the Yankees by the Los Angeles Angels in October 1962.

Lefty power-hitting first baseman Nick Etten (1913) banged 63 homers with 358 rbi’s for the Bombers in only four years, 1943-1946, once they got him from the Philadelphia Blue Jays for Tom Padden, Al Gerheauser, and cash in January 1943. Etten’s teammate for two years in New York, switch-hitting outfielder Hersh Marin (1909), comes in at exactly 100 rbi’s, with 16 homers; and infielder Ralph Young (1889), another switch-hitter, played seven games for the 1913 New York-based AL club.

Other birthdays start with two Hall of Fame players. Duke Snider (1926) joined Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle as a triumvirate of superb power-hitting center fielders playing in New York at the same time. Duke slugged 407 career homers, mostly for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Big Red Machine second baseman and ESPN analyst Joe Morgan (1943), who batted lefty and hit 268 taters, actually played more years with Houston than with Cincinnati. Others: 19-year veteran first baseman, mostly with the A’s, Stuffy McInnis (1890); Phillies hurler Chris Short (1937); Dodger catcher Joe Ferguson (1946); one-time Cinncy nasty boy and lefty reliever Randy Myers (1962); Pedro Munoz (1968); Twins catcher Javier Valentin (1977); Lenny DiNardo (1979); Ryan Roberts (1980); Scott Baker (1981); Robinson Diaz (1983); knuckleballer Charlie Haeger (1983); Joey Devine (1983); John Jaso (1983); Danny Valencia (1984); Gio Gonzalez (1985); Anthony Vasquez (1986); George Springer (1989); Jose Briceno (1992); Juniel Querecuto (1992); Luke Raley (1994); DL Hall (1998); Seth Johnson (1998); and Samuel Aldegheri (2001).