Ask a number of Yankee fans with a sense of history individually about 1978, and two arcs will emerge. In light of the day held in his honor in Yankee Stadium in 2003, we’ll mention the incredible 25-3 Cy Young season of Louisiana Lightning, Ron Guidry first. And hand in hand with that, of course, was the stirring comeback from 14 games behind, with the Yanks finally wresting the pennant from their Boston rivals in the playoff game that has made “Bucky Dent” two thirds of a three-word epithet in much of Massachusetts and New England ever since. But what should be obvious to even the most casual fan is that you can’t mount a comeback drive like that on the strength of just one starting pitcher. Catfish Hunter beat the Oakland A’s, 6-2, on August 27, 1978, to complete a six-win/no-loss August that helped propel the Bombers on their way. Utilizing a spin windup he may have copied from the wily Luis Tiant (with the Sox at the time, but who would pitch for the Yanks too), Hunter brought to mind the old saw that has it that a flashlight burns brightest just before the light goes out. Guidry’s brilliance would have gone for naught without him. Continue reading →
Manny Machado homered twice off Luis Cessa for visiting Baltimore on August 26, 2016, but that is the last of the bad news, as a six-run second-inning onslaught against Yovani Gallardo drove the O’s righty from the mound after having recorded just four outs. Young Gary Sanchez singled, doubled, and homered in this one, scoring three times and driving in four, and Mark Teixeira also went yard; he drove in three in a 14-4 drubbing. Continue reading →
It would be accurate to say that the Yankees had their August 25, 2024, 10-3 decision over Colorado won once they scored twice in both the first and second innings. But that would eliminate adding the seventh inning fun thanks to back-to-back-to-back home runs from Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton. Judge had hit a two-run bomb in the first, and Gleyber Torres crowned the scoring with a three-run eighth inning homer. Continue reading →
Still a rookie, and a quote promising one, in 2025, Yankee righthander Will Warren had a bad spot start against visiting Colorado on August 24, 2024. Surrendering single tallies in the first and second, he was reached for four runs in the third, a frame in which he allowed four hits, and the inning went bad on his own error. Still, he did manage six strike outs in that time in a game that the Rockies won 9-2. The Yankee runs scored on a Jazz Chisholm rbi double and an Alex Verdugo home run. Continue reading →
The day after the Yanks retired Jorge Posada‘s number 20 in 2015, they retired Andy Pettitte‘s number 46 on August 23. Unfortunately however, home runs by Cleveland’s Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor keyed a 4-3 Indians victory. CC Sabathia left this one with an apparent injury in the third. The ceremonial first pitch was what you would figure, Andy throwing to Jorge. Continue reading →
The Yankees honored two of their core four, plus Bernie, on back-to-back August days in 2015, with catcher Jorge Posada getting his ceremony, and plaque, on the 22nd. Then the Bombers jumped on Cleveland’s Danny Salazar for five runs through two frames, featuring home runs from Brett Gardner and Brian McCann. Rookie Luis Severino went six innings to record the 6-2 win on the day No. 20 was retired in Monument Park. Continue reading →
Two-run homers by Juan Soto in the first and Aaron Judge in the third propelled the Yankees to an 8-1 victory over visiting Cleveland on August 21, 2024. The Bhutan Baseball/Softball Association players took the field in position for the pregame National Anthem. Continue reading →
Things looked bright in the Bronx on August 20, 2024, when Juan Soto and Aaron Judge went back to back with one down in the first, but eight innings later the Guardians took the Yanks to extras at 3-3. And a six-run 12th inning spelled the Yanks’ demise, despite the two-run Judge double in the bottom half, for a 9-5 defeat. Continue reading →
A trip to see the Staten Island Yankees is usually a hoot, as attending most minor league games is, and the round trip to the game on the Staten Island Ferry is always fun. But we got a real treat on August 19, 2016, when 2016 second-round pick and second baseman Nick Solak had two hits, scored a run, and drove one in. On a fast track to the majors, Solak played in Staten Island the full year, started in Tampa in ’17, and jumped to AA Trenton as August of that year arrived. Shortstop Angel Aguilar led the offense with a double and home run in a 4-1 victory over the rival Brooklyn Cyclones. And the fun of the evening was highlighted by it being Pat Venditte Bobblehead Night. The former Yankee draftee is famous for being an ambidextrous pitcher, a feature displayed in the giveaway. Continue reading →
Those of us of a certain age generally agree that Roy White was a better player than he was perhaps given credit for, mostly on a bad ballclub, but the Yanks had improved by 1976, and on August 18 of that year the switch-hitting outfielder homered from each side of the plate in an 8-6 win over the Rangers. Unlike later Yankee hero Don Mattingly, White would play a long frustrating career in Pinstripes, but last long enough to earn a couple of rings. Continue reading →
