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 →
In an underattended 2021 Spring Training game in Tampa on March 5, the Yanks almost beat visiting Detroit on Gleyber Torres‘s fourth-inning home run, but the Tigers tied in the eighth, a frame in which righty Addison Russ walked four guys and delivered a wild pitch as well, for a 1-1 final. Continue reading →
The Yankees bunched four singles into a three-run first inning that was barely enough to hold off the visiting Phillies 3-2 on March 4, 2020. A guy in Yankee camp in 2021, veteran outfielder Jay Bruce, plated both Philly runs with a two-run home run in the top of the sixth. Ex-Yankee infielder Ronald Torreyes stroked two of the five hits the Phillies scratched that evening. Continue reading →
The only good news from the Yanks’ 7-2 loss to the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla., on March 3, 2024, came early, in the form of newly acquired Juan Soto‘s first-inning home run. Most of the Detroit damage came late, in a four-run eighth inning. Continue reading →
The only good news about a 7-3 Yankee loss to the Orioles in Sarasota, Fla., on March 2, 2024, was that the youngsters saved them from the shutout by scoring all three runs in the top of the ninth. Continue reading →
The Yankees used an Everson Pereira two-run homer and an Anthony Rizzo grand slam (first pitch, following three consecutive walks) to take a 6-2 lead in an eventual 8-4 final over visiting Toronto on March 1, 2024, but this would not be a good day in Yankee camp. Ace Gerrit Cole allowed a single, home runs, triple with two down in the top of the first, and was removed, though in weird Spring Training fashion, Cole returned to pitch the second. But the tightness that he experienced in the first was not a minor matter, and he would spend much of the upcoming season on the Injured List. Continue reading →
Years ago, much of the Yankee controversy spun around the late George Steinbrenner and his criticism of Derek Jeter regarding his level of intensity and commitment to his game. It seemed a tempest in a teapot when they did a series of Visa commercials together lampooning the alleged late-night partying, and then suddenly, Jeter was named team captain. Although I’m sure no one knew that Alex Rodriguez would be joining him on the left side of the Yankee infield soon, the timing of Derek’s receipt of this honor before that trade was fortuitous. These musings flow from the fact that it was February 28 in 1991 that Don Mattingly became the 10th Yankee captain. Donnie, who served in that capacity through 1995, his last year in Pinstripes, arrived on the scene as hitting coach the same year Jeter began his first full season holding that title. Donnie served as Joe Torre‘s bench coach for the Dodgers in 2007-2009, then took over as manager, and joined the Marlins in that capacity in 2016. Continue reading →
The 2024 Yankees took their first Spring Training loss on February 27, in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Rays in Port Charlotte. A home run from First baseman Jose Rojas and Anthony Volpe‘s RBI double tied the game at two, but the Rays took it with a third tally in the sixth. Continue reading →
