Beware the Ides of March. March 15 was not a good day for Roman leader Julius Caesar, caused me no end of trouble once many years ago, but it hasn’t been a bad day for baseball, or for players. The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first pro baseball team on this day in 1869. Continue reading →
Hall of Famer George Weiss, whose Yankee teams won 10 pennants and seven World Series, including five in a row, during his general managership from 1947 to 1960, became the first president of the Mets on March 14, 1961, once he was coaxed from the roles of retirees. Continue reading →
“We Play Today; We Win Today” It’s rare that I would want to lead off with a salute to a player who spent years with the Dodgers (of all teams) and just a year and a half with the Yankees. But I make an exception for Mariano Duncan, who was born on March 13, 1963. The Yanks have had a great run, and they did in the seventies too, but among all those teams (even the ’78 team with the comeback), few would disagree that the Championship year that surprised most people, the one title fewest fans expected the team to win, was 1996. Obviously some guys played over their heads, and who did so more than Mr. Duncan, who hit .340, and who became famous for the saying that serves as today’s subtitle? Another Duncan claim to fame is that he and Luis Quinones of the Reds tied a major league record on August 3, 1989, by each coming to the plate three times in the same inning during a first-inning, 14-run outburst against the Astros. (The final was 18-2.) The Yanks signed Duncan as a free agent in December 1995, and traded him to the Blue Jays for minor leaguer Angel Ramirez in July 1997. Continue reading →
Johnny Mize and Rube Foster were elected to the Hall of Fame on March 11, 1981. Rube was a star pitcher, manager, and organizer in the Negro Leagues; Johnny finished his career as a part-time first baseman, super sub, and pinch hitter for the Yanks in 1949-1954. Mize was the World Series MVP in 1952, hitting .400 with three home runs in the seven-game series. He played for the Bombers five years, and earned five Championship rings. Continue reading →
The most recent and biggest baseball-related March 10 news for Yankee fans occurred in 1999, as it was that day it was announced that Joe Torre was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Yanks finished the spring and began the season under interim Manager Don Zimmer, as Joe took care of himself and, thankfully, got well. He returned to the team on May 10, in Boston. Continue reading →
The good times continued to roll in Tampa as the Yankees outlasted the visiting Rays, 4-3, on March 9, 2015, behind stellar pitching from Michael Pineda, Nate Eovaldi, David Carpenter, and Justin Wilson, but the best news of the day was two hits and an rbi from DH Alex Rodriguez and an rbi double from Greg Bird. Continue reading →
We felt privileged and lucky to be in Tampa on March 8, 1999, when we heard the sad news that Joe DiMaggio had passed on. Had we been home when we heard it, we would have had nowhere to turn, as the Ballpark in the Bronx was not up to speed yet. Things were handled in a pretty dignified manner at Legends Field, and a painting of Joe was placed in front of his number and plaque in the southern wing, if you will, of Monument Park. It made it easier to spend a moment honoring and remembering “the Greatest Living Ballplayer.” Continue reading →
Exciting his fans and somewhat blunting his critics, newly re-signed outfielder Brett Gardner hit a grand slam home run in the second inning of a 4-0 win over Philadelphia on March 6, 2021. Worthy of note, the home-standing Yanks wore their Pinstriped unis, something they had only done in the ST opener previous to this season. Continue reading →
When Babe Ruth signed a three-year deal on March 6, 1922, he more than tripled the yearly salary of teammate Frank “Home Run” Baker, the second-highest on the team. But it was only fair. He had outhomered him in 1921 by better than 7-to-1; The Babe hit 59 to Baker’s eight. Continue reading →
