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.

On December 12, 2022, the Yankees signed free agent righthander Ryan Weber and free agent lefthander Tanner Tully to minor league contracts.

On December 12, 2020, the Yankees signed the following three free agents to minor league contracts and invited them to Spring Training: catcher Rob Brantly, outfielder Ryan LaMarre, and righthander Luis Garcia.

On December 12, 2019, the Detroit Tigers claimed righthander Rony Garcia off waivers from the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees AA club.

On December 12, 2017, the Yankees traded third baseman Chase Headley, righthander Bryan Mitchell, and cash to the Padres for right fielder Jabari Blash.

On December 12, 2018, the Phillies signed free agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen, thus ending his brief Yankee career. Also, the Yankees signed free agent righthander Yoljeldriz Diaz to a minor league contract.

On December 12, 2016, the Yankees signed three free agents — catcher Kellin Deglan, lefthander Jason Gurka, and infielder Ruben Tejada — to minor league contracts and invited each to spring training.

On December 12, 2014, the Yankees signed free agent infielder Cole Figueroa to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

December 12, 1909, saw a poignant move for some Yankee fans as one-time ace Chien-Ming Wang filed for free agency. Wang had led the team with back-to-back 19-win seasons, but a baserunning injury during interleague play would bring Wang’s great ride in the Bronx to a close. At last mention, Chien-Ming was still trying to recover and pitch for the Washington Nationals.

On December 12, 2011, the Yankees, outrighted left fielder Colin Curtis, whom they had designated him for assignment three days before, to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The signing of lefty relief specialist Chris Hammond on December 12, 2002, was not a bad one, if you go wholly by the numbers. Although only 53-57 with one save in almost 10 years in the bigs, he was coming off a fabulous 2002 season with the Braves, where he had posted a 7-2 record and an infinitesimal 0.95 era. And the three wins and two losses with one save in the Bronx, with a 2.86 era, aren’t bad stats. But he failed to consistently retire lefties, and was not brought back in 2004.

Compared to the consistently poor decisions the club made in the 80s, Hammond’s wasn’t a bad signing. One of the better offseason days in that haunting decade was December 12, 1986. First the Yanks shipped DH Mike Easler to the Phillies for righty starter Charley Hudson. Easler had slugged six homers with 16 rbi’s in 54 games in the Bronx in 1986, and would only hit one homer and drive in 10 runs for the Phils. And although the brilliant start Hudson got off to in the Bronx, when he won his first seven decisions, didn’t last, the 17-13 record with two saves in ’87 and ’88 gave his acquisition more than a passing grade as trades in the 80s went. In addition, the Yanks later managed to spend Hudson for longtime Tiger third baseman Tom Brookens in 1989. Tom’s four homers and 14 rbi’s in 66 Yankee games in 1989 was icing on the cake of an all too rare positive player move.

Also on December 12, 1986, the Yanks signed free agent outfielder Claudell Washington to take Mike Easler‘s place. Claudell not only kicked in a respectable 20 homers with 108 rbi’s over two seasons, he hit two memorable 1988 taters. One beat the Tigers in a six-hour, 18-inning game that I attended. And the other was the 10,000th home run in Yankee history. The Bombers thereby became the first franchise to reach that lofty number.

There is a reason I wax with praise over those Yankee moves in 1986, because it’s hard to choose the worse between two other December 12 transactions they made around the same time. First they packaged pitcher Joe Cowley and catcher Ron Hassey and sent them to the White Sox on this day in 1985 for starter Britt Burns. Hassey would return shortly, and was a good performer in New York. It’s a good thing that Cowley was inconsistent in Chicago (despite a sloppy, multi-walk no-hitter), because Burns suffered from a degenerative hip condition, and would never throw a pitch for the Pinstripers.

The trade of good-hitting lefthanded first base prospect Hal Morris to the Reds for righty Tim Leary on December 12, 1989, is only understandable because Don Mattingly was playing that position in New York at the time. But Morris could have DH’d, and the Yanks could have made good use of the 74 homers and 461 rbi’s he blasted in Cinncy from 1990-1997 and in 1999 and 2000. But the trade really becomes ludicrous when you consider Leary’s marks. He was 45-56 in the bigs when he arrived, and lost 35 of 53 decisions in New York from 1990-1992. And the era numbers each year were horrendous: 4.11 in 1990, 6.49 in 1991, and 5.57 in 1992.

The Yankee signed southpaw starter Andy Pettitte to a one-year contract on December 12, 2007. His 14-14 season was sabotaged by a very poor second half, but he did lead the staff in innings pitched, a significant contribution. But he put doubts to rest with a stellar 2009 campaign. Will Andy pitch in the Bronx in 2010?

The decision that same day to not offer contracts to righthanded pitchers T.J. Beam, Matt DeSalvo, and Darrell Rasner and to outfielder Bronson Sardinha was probably solid, as the only significant 2008 contributor with another team among them was Beam’s 2-2 mark in 32 games for Pittsburgh. Rasner, however, would subsequently re-sign. Initially his availability to chip in and help a rotation devstated by nonperformance and injury would be a great help, but the league figured Darrell out, and the Yanks got virtually no wins from the bottom of their rotation in the critical summer months in the season’s second half.

Relieving him from his unending shuttle trips between Scranton and the Bronx, the Yanks non-tendered righty reliever Chris Britton on December 12, 2008, ending his association with the club. They let outfielder Justin Christian go as well.

In a minor move, the Yankees re-signed backup infielder Enrique Wilson to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration, on December 12, 2002.

In an equally barely newsworthy transaction, the Yankees non-tendered backup 2006 outfielder/first baseman Aaron Guiel following that season on December 12, making him a free agent. The four home runs and 11 rbi’s Guiel contributed in 2006 were important ones, and fans wish him well.

It’s probably difficult to notice in the land of the $200 million payroll, but if it feels like a little pressure has been eased as Brian Cashman goes about solidifying the current roster, look back to the seven-year free-agent contract the Dodgers’ signed righty Kevin Brown to on December 12, 1998. The unfortunate Bronx/Brown tryst that represented the last two years of that deal ended several years back, and the Yanks and their fans can thankfully move on.

The Yankees purchased the contract of righthander Andy Messersmith from the Braves on December 12, 1977. But Messersmith would suffer injuries and go just 0-3 in six 1978 games in Pinstripes.

It barely registers on the Yankee scene that journeyman catcher Mike Rivera filed for free agency on this day in 2009. But he would sign a free agent contract with the Yankees a week later, and went to spring training as a likely veteran candidate to back up Jorge Posada. But Francisco Cervelli showed some promise, and the Bombers would release Rivera the next March.

We start with the trade of pitchers Luis Tiant and Stan Williams from the Indians to the Twins for third baseman Graig Nettles, outfielder Ted Uhlaender, and pitchers Dean Chance and Bob Miller in 1969 when listing December 12 player moves that affected former and future Yankee players. Other such transactions include the Phillies’ swap of pitcher Chris Brock for Giants catcher Bobby Estallela in 1999; the Cubs trading hurler Miguel Batista to the Expos for outfielder Henry Rodriguez in 1997; and the Cardinals parting with several bodies including that of Dave LaPoint in a trade with the Brewers that netted them Rollie Fingers on the same day in 1980.

Further, outfielder Stan Jefferson accompanied Kevin Mitchell to San Diego in the 1986 transaction that brought Kevin McReynolds to the Mets; and the Cardinals’ trade of Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan to the Giants for Admiral Schlei, Bugs Raymond, and Red Murray on December 12, 1913, qualifies in this category because Bresnahan spent much of the 1901-1902 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles franchise that would relocate to New York as the Highlanders in 1903.

Start spreading the news! Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, whose rendition of New York, New York has entertained fans at the end of Yankee games in the Bronx for years, was born on December 12, 1915.

It was on December 12, 1930, that major league baseball instituted the rule making balls that bounce into the stands grounds rule doubles. For a time they had been considered home runs.

It seemed that Washington, D.C., wouldn’t have to last long without a baseball team in 1973 with rumors that the Padres would be moving across the country, but San Diego filed an anti-trust suit to block the attempt on December 12, 1973.

 
Players Who Have Died This Day

Of the four Yankee players to have died on December 12, two pitched with their right arms, one played third base, and one [briefly] patrolled center field. Thomas Myles (1963), who debuted with the 1926-1929 clubs in 71 games (24 starts), threw to a 14-12-0 record in New York. A 1929-1930 stint with the Senators resulted in overall totals of 23 wins, 22 losses, and two saves. Jim Weaver (1983) won two and lost one in 17 appearances (five starts) for the 1931 team. A 1928-1939 career spent largely with the Pirates and the Reds netted him an overall mark of 57-36-3. Third baseman Julie Wera (1975) and center fielder Gene Layden (1984) each played only with the Yanks. Wera hit one home run and drove in 10 runs in 1927 and 1929 while getting 15 hits in 54 at bats playing 43 games. Layden played just three games with the 1915 Yankees; he managed two hits in seven at bats, but contributed no homers nor rbi’s.

Former Indians’ third baseman Ken Keltner, who was responsible for stopping Joe DiMaggio‘s 56-game hitting streak in 1941 with some sparkling plays right down the line, passed away on December 12, 1991. He collected almost all of his 163 home runs with 852 rbi’s with the Tribe from 1937-1949. The list of other noteworthy nonYankee players who have died on December 12 includes two lefthanded pitchers, a lefty-hitting outfielder, and two catchers. Rube Benton (1937) won 150 games, lost 144, and saved 21 from 1910-1925 with the Reds and the Giants; while Dick Kelley (1991) posted an 18-30-5 mark pitching with the Braves and the Padres from 1964-1971. Outfielder Johnny Wyrostek (1986) hit 58 home runs and drove in 481 runs with the Pirates, the Phillies, and the Reds from 1942-1952. Lefty-hitting catcher Rube Walker (1992) cleared 35 fences good for 192 runs driven in with the Cubs and the Dodgers from 1948-1958; and Dick Buckley (1929) went yard 26 times from 1888-1895, driving in 216 runs for the Hoosiers, the Giants, the Browns, and the Phillies in that time.

 
Players Born This Day

Two of the four Yankees born December 12 were position players, but the other two are righthanded pitchers. Reliever Mike Buddie (1956) got his start with the 1998-1999 Yanks where he went 4-1, and then went 1-3 with the 2000-2002 Milwaukee Brewers. The Yanks drafted Buddie in the fourth round of the 1992 amateur draft, and released him in July 2000.

Steve Farr (1956) was an effective closer with the 1991-1993 Yanks, posting a 9-9 record with 78 saves after one year with Cleveland, and six with the Royals. He pitched for Cleveland and Boston in 1994. The Yanks signed Farr as a free agent in November 1990, and allowed him to leave three years later.

After being signed as an amateur free agent in 1958, second baseman Pedro Gonzalez (1937) debuted in the Bronx from 1963 through 1965, knocking in six runs while serving mostly on defense. Pedro played for the Indians from 1965 through 1967 after the Yanks traded him there for Ray Barker.

And lefty-hitting shortstop Paul Pee-Wee Wanninger (1902) got a home run, three stolen bases, and 22 rbi’s with the Yanks in 1925, his first big-league season, before playing with Boston and Cincinnati in 1927.

Other birthdays: Ralph Garr (1945); Gorman Thomas (1950); Orlando Hudson (1977); Garrett Atkins (1979); Shane Costa (1981); Ervin Santana (1982); Mike Kickham (1988); Juan Diaz (1988); Luis Castillo (1992); Jose Osuna (1992); DJ Peters (1995); Cristopher Sánchez (1996); Sawyer Gipson-Long (1997); Yerry De Los Santos (1997); Matt Wallner (1997); and Cole Ragans (1997).