After retiring and then un-retiring during the offseason, Roger Clemens came back to win his seventh Cy Young Award — and first in the NL — for the Astros in 2004, and he led the NL in era in ’05. Some of the “numbers” aficionados quibbled when the Rocket won his sixth AL Cy Young Award as a Yankee on November 15, 2001, complaining about his middle of the pack earned run average. But if you consider that the sport’s greatness is rooted in men excelling every once in a while in a game that is really mostly about failure, you realize that he was a lock based on the 20-1 mark he achieved to start the season, breaking an almost 100-year-old record. It was the kind of achievement the awards were made for. Continue reading →
The Yankees traded three minor leaguers to the Texas Rangers on November 14, 1979, for Eric Soderholm. The third baseman would hit .287 in 1980, but with only 11 homers and 35 rbi’s. The first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Twins in 1968, Soderholm would miss the 1981 season due to injury, and then retire. Continue reading →
Although many trace the origin of the Yankees to the 1903 New York Highlanders, the franchise actually entered the American League on November 13, 1900, as the Baltimore Orioles. They would play in that Maryland city for two seasons, and then be moved to New York. Continue reading →
The oft-suspended Yankee Steve Howe got a reprieve on November 12, 1992, when arbitrator George Nicolau ruled his latest suspension from major league baseball was too severe. The Bombers promptly re-signed him. Howe died in a one-car accident in May 2006. Continue reading →
On November 11, 2015, the Yankees traded utility player Jose Pirela to the San Diego Padres for righthander Ronald Herrera. Herrera pitched 24 games (all starts) in the upcoming season for AA Trenton and AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (just one game) to a 10-8 record. He appeared in two games for the Yankees in 2017, both in relief, taking one loss. In 14 minor league games, all starts, he went 0-1 with the Gulf Coast Yankees, 8-0 in Trenton, and posted no record in Scranton/Wilkes Barre in two games. Herrera was traded in November 2017 to the Ranngers for minor leaguer Reiver Sanmartin. Continue reading →
The Yankees and Rangers made a major trade on November 10, 1978. The Bombers sent Sparky Lyle, catcher Mike Heath, infielder Domingo Ramos, and pitchers Larry McCall and Dave Rajsich south and in return received pitchers Dave Righetti, Mike Griffin, and Paul Mirabella along with outfielders Juan Beniquez and Greg Jamison. In Sparky and Rags, the Yanks spent a former Cy Young Award winner for a future Rookie of the Year (which Righetti would cop in 1981). Continue reading →
On November 9, 1951, Yankee catcher Yogi Berra won his first of three MVP awards. Yogi had batted .294, with 27 home runs and 88 rbi’s, along with his great work behind the plate. (Note, you have this as yesterday too) Continue reading →
Back when there was only one Cy Young Award for both leagues, Yankee lefthander Whitey Ford defeated Warren Spahn of the Braves in the vote, with the results announced on November 8, 1961. “The Chairman of the Board” posted a 25-4 record with a 3.21 era in the recently completed season. Continue reading →
The Yanks engineered a great deal on November 7, 1997, a judgment we can make before we even know who the infamous “Player to Be Named Later” (PTBNL) was, although the plot just took another twist in the 2006 ALDS. Kenny Rogers made three starts for the Yanks in the 1996 playoffs and put the team in an early hole all three times. Jimmy Leyritz‘s homer off Mark Wohlers rescued the Yanks in Game Four of the World Series, but Kenny had to go. But not only was he sent to Oakland for a PTBNL, that no-name would become eventual 1998 World Series MVP Scott Brosius. Brosius wore no. 7 with the A’s, so the later-arriving Jason Giambi was forced to settle for 16; its parts add up to seven, as does his 25 in New York. The connection is that both Scott’s and Jason’s fathers were big fans of Mickey Mantle. Brosius’s stingy defense, classy demeanor, and ability to provide clutch offense was huge, and it culminated with the game-tying home run he hit in the bottom of the ninth of Game Five of the 2001 World Series. But the postscript, of course, is that Rogers had a part in sending the Yanks home in 2006. Continue reading →
