Being a baseball fan is supposed to be an enjoyable and life-affirming endeavor, and despite the undeniable tension we suffer during tight games, pennant races, and playoff contests, it fills those requirements admirably. But “into each life a little rain must fall” the saying goes, and December 14 is a day dominated by poignant and sad moments for Yankee fans. We’ll begin the list with this: MVP Yankee catcher Elston Howard passed away on this day in 1980. Continue reading →
It seems forever since we’ve led off a Yankee daily history report with a mention of Mickey Mantle. On December 13, 1961, The Mick signed a contract for the 1962 season. He would earn $82,000, the second highest Yankee total (to Joe DiMaggio) to that point in time. He would only play 123 games due to injury, but what would he earn today for the 30 home runs and 89 rbi’s? Continue reading →
On December 12, 1922, Colonel Jacob Ruppert agreed to buy out his partner, Cap Huston, thereby gaining full control of the Yankees. This explains why there is no Monument Park plaque commemorating Huston. Continue reading →
On December 11, 2017, the Yankees closed on a biggie, obtaining outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, the 2017 NL MVP, in a trade with Miami for minor leaguers Jose Devers and Jorge Guzman and second baseman Starlin Castro. Continue reading →
It was a no-brainer when an Associated Press panel voted Babe Ruth Player of the Century on December 10, 1999, and I won’t even haggle with their nod to the splendid Willie Mays in the second spot. But we’ll need to have a talk with the ESPN “experts” who chose basketball player Michael Jordan over the Babe as Athlete of the Century in a similar end-of-1999 designation. The Sultan of Swat retired from playing some 70 years ago, but now, several years into a new Millennium, he is already once again talked about as often as the fading-from-memory Jordan. Continue reading →
December 9 is another problematic day in Yankee history, but the 12-year contract they signed on that day in 1988 with the MSG Network turned things decidedly in their favor. The $500,000,000 would pay the contract of many a player in those years during which they went from AL East basement (well, fifth place) to penthouse. Continue reading →
The only real Yankee positive that took place on December 8 is the birthday of recent mound stalwart Mike Mussina (see below), who retired after a very good 2008 season, because the day has not been a good one. Adding to the “bummer” aspect of the day, I am bending the rules in a baseball history column by leading off with the assassination of Beatle John Lennon on this day in 1980. Imagine there’s no heaven…Continue reading →
I’m sure it’s just a quirk that December 7 is so rich in Yankee history, and it’s already a pretty big day “in infamy,” what with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on this day in 1941, which ushered the United States into World War II. Two years before that fateful day, the slowly dying Yankee Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, (who would succumb to his illness in 1941) was ushered into baseball’s Hall of Fame on December 7, 1939. Lou had been forced to retire at the age of 36 after blasting 493 homers and knocking in 1,995 runs in a Yankee career that spanned 1923-1938. He is the rare exception who had the mandatory five-year waiting period for Hall acceptance waived. Continue reading →
There was a stark choice given veteran Yankee reliever Mike Stanton on December 6, 2002. “Take a pay cut and you can stick around; you have 15 minutes to answer.” On the one hand, the eventually signed Chris Hammond failed to make the lefty set-up spot his own that year. And Gabe White, C.J. Nitkowski, and Felix Heredia all failed miserably trying to fill Mike’s role in 2004. The situation did not improve with Stanton (again), Buddy Groom, or Alan Embree in 2005. But on the other hand, Stanton was hurt and ineffective with the Mets in ’03 (2-7 in 50 games, five saves, 4.57 era), and not much better (2-6, 0 saves, 3.16 era) in ’04. Mark Guthrie (the other alternative) was only so-so with the Cubs in 2003, and then didn’t pitch in the bigs. Bottom line: It was not a bad move to not re-sign Stanton, but it was a problem trying to effectively replace him. Mike Myers was effective in 2006, but he took his place on the “disaster” list in 2007. Continue reading →
The three-team trade that landed shortstop Didi Gregorius on the Yankees on December 5, 2014, was initially greeted lukewarmly, and five months later was the subject of considerable complaints, as Gregorius started the ’15 season not only struggling with the bat, but in the field and running the bases too. Further, young righthander Shane Greene, whom New York shipped to Detroit, started his Tigers season at 3-0, with a minuscule era. But Detroit, who had traded second baseman Domingo Leyba and lefthander Robbie Ray to the Arizona Diamondbacks (who shipped Didi to the Yanks), would remove a struggling Greene from their rotation, then demote him to the minors as the season passed, and Gregorius blossomed in all aspects of the game in the Bronx. He would hit 20 homers with 70 rbi’s in 2016. Continue reading →
