May 4th - May 10th
May 4th
1918 - The Yankees set a MLB record by recording 8 sacrifices in 1 game (6 bunts and 2 sac flies) during their 5-4 win at Fenway Park. The Yankees took advantage of the less-than-nimble and far-from-handed Red Sox pitcher named Babe Ruth.
1929 - Yankees 1B Lou Gehrig hits 3 consecutive HRs against the Tigers during an 11-9 victory at Yankee Stadium. Also during the 6th inning, Lou’s 2nd HR was sandwiched between HR’s by his Yankees teammates Bob Meusel and Babe Ruth.
1931 - In an effort to put less strain on his leg, Babe Ruth played 1B as Lou Gehrig moved to right field. Gehrig committed a costly error in the outfield helping the Senators beat the Yankees, by a score of 7-3. This experiment ends the next day.
1933 - Yankees starter Lefty Gomez’s no-hit bid is spoiled in the 9th inning, when Tigers 2nd baseman Charlie Gehringer leads off the 9th inning with a HR. Gerald Walker follows with a double, goes to 3rd on a wild pitch by Gomez, score on a INF out before finally Gomez settles down and retires the side. The final score of the game was Yankees 5 - Tigers 2.
1936 - The Yankees waived OF Dixie Walker to the White Sox. Dixie was blocked by the current Yankees Outfield (DiMaggio, Selkirk and Chapman), with Keller and Henrich right behind him in the Yankees farm system. Dixie would have a good MLB career in NL, especially with the Dodgers.
1971 - Former Yankees P Joe Borowski (1997-1998) was born. Joe went 1-1 in 25 games for the Yankees after being obtained from the Braves.
1981 - Yankees reliever Ron Davis struck out 8 consecutive batters in the 4-2 victory over the Angels at Anaheim Stadium, tying a AL record set by Nolan Ryan.
1985 - Former Yankees P and AL Umpire Bill Kunkel (1963) past away from cancer (1936-1985). On November 26, 1962, Bill was drafted by the Yankees from the Braves in the 1962 rule 5 player draft. Bill went 3-2 in 23 games with the Yankees during the 1963 season. After retiring as an active MLB player, he became a professional umpire reaching the ML in 1968. He was the father of former MLB shortstop Jeff Kunkel.
May 5th
1903 - The Yankees turn their 1st triple play in their club’s history during an 11-3 win against the A’s.
1914 - The Yankees turn a triple play during a 6-0 loss to the Senators.
1922 - Construction begins at 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx for Yankee Stadium, the 11-month building project would be finished allowing the Yankees to open the 1923 AL Season, ending the Yankees stay at the Polo Grounds.
1925 - Everett Scott of the Yankees was benched; ending his streak of 1,307 consecutive games played that started in 1918 while playing for the Red Sox. Scott, who gave way to Pee Wee Wanninger at shortstop, had the longest playing streak before Yankees Lou Gehrig started his streak.
1925 - Yankees obtained OF Bobby Veach and P Alex Ferguson from the Red Sox for P Ray Francis and $8,000 in cash. Veach hit .353 in 56 games. Bobby was the only Yankee to ever pinch hit for Babe Ruth. He would retire after the 1925 AL season.
1926 - Former Yankees OF Bob Cerv (1951-56, 1960-62) was born. Bob was signed by the Yankees in 1950. He played for them from 1951-1956, before being sold to the A’s. He returned to the Yankees in May of 1960, in a trade that saw former starting 3B Andy Carey go to the A’s. The Yankees lost him in the 1960 AL player expansion draft to the Angels. He returned to the Yankees in May 1961 along with P Tex Clevenger for Yankee pitchers Ryne Duren, Johnny James and OF Lee Thomas. Bob was sold by the Yankees in June of 1962 to the new NL expansion team, the Houston Colt 45s. Bob was always a good OF and hitter for the Yankees, but he could never break into a fulltime position in the Yankees outfield. His best MLB season was in 1958 as regular outfielder for A’s making the AL All Star team that season.
1970 - Former Yankees P Juan Acevedo (2003) was born. Juan was signed as a free agent in January 2003. He went 0-3 in 25 games with 6 saves for the Yankees bullpen in 2003, before leaving the team for free agency.
May 6th
1890 - Former Yankees INF Lute “Danny” Boone (1913-16) was born. Danny hit .236 in 88 games with the Yankees before finishing with the Pirates in 1918.
1907 - Former Yankees P Ivy “Poison” Andrews (1931-32, 1937-38) was born. He went 8-6 for the Yankees during his 2 visits with the Yankees.
1911 - Yankees turn a triple play during a 6-3 win over the Red Sox.
1914 - Yankees win a scheduled 7th inning game with the Senators by a score of 4-0. During the pre-flight era, MLB games were occasionally shorten to 7 innings by mutual agreement by both teams, so as to allow the visiting team to catch a train on ”getaway day.”
1915 - Babe Ruth, as a pitcher for the Red Sox, had 3 hits, including his 1st MLB HR when he connected off P Jack Warhop of the Yankees at the Polo Grounds. The Yankees edge the Red Sox 4-3 in 13 innings.
1921 - Former Yankees PH Richard Wakefield (1950) was born. On December 17, 1949, he was traded by the Tigers to the Yankees for 1B Richard Kryhoski. Richard appeared in 2 games with the Yankees.
1930 - The Yankees obtained P Charles “Red” Ruffing (1930-42, 1945-46) from the Red Sox for OF Cedric Durst and $50,000 in cash. Red would led the Yankee pitchers in career wins with 231 wins, until the club record was passed by Whitey Ford in 1965, who finished with 236 wins as a Yankee. Also he was a pretty good hitting pitcher for the Yankees with a Grand Slam HR. Ruffing will win 273 games during a 22-year career with the Red Sox, Yankees and White Sox. He will gain election to the Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1967.
1941 - Tigers slugger Hank Greenberg made the most of his last MLB game before entering the U.S. military for WW II, a memorable one, as he hits 2 HRs with 3 RBIs helping the Tigers to a 7-4 victory over the Yankees.
1982 - Gaylord Perry of the Mariners became the 15th MLB pitcher with 300 career victories, when he defeated the Yankees 7-3 at the Kingdome. Perry became the 1st pitcher to notch his 300th MLB career win since Early Wynn did it in 1963.
1985 - Former Yankees reserve C Joe Glenn (1932-33, 1935-1938) passed away. Joe was the back-up catcher for Bill Dickey. On October 26, 1938, Joe was traded by the Yankees along with OF Myril Hoag to the Browns for P Oral Hildebrand and OF Buster Mills.
2005 - Former Yankees P Lee Stine (1938) passed away. (1913-2005) On December 19, 1936, Lee was purchased by the Yankees from the Reds. Lee Stine pitched 4 years in the majors, while he was young, finishing up with the 1938 Yankees, for whom he pitched in 4 games at age 24. His ERA that year with the Yanks was 1.04. He did not pitch in the 1938 World Series for the Yankees.
May 7th
1896 - Former Yankees P Jonathan “Tom” Zachary (1928-1930) was born. Tom was the Senators pitcher, who gave up Babe Ruth’s 60th Homerun on September 30, 1927. Tom was 16-4 with the Yankees, including a 12-0 mark in 1929, before being sold to the Braves in 1930.
1913 - Yankees starter Ray Keating yields a 2nd inning single to Chas Deal then pitches no-hit ball the rest of the way in a 6-0 win over the Tigers.
1943 - Former Yankees OF Steve Whitaker (1966-68)) was born. He was talented player, who couldn’t control his temper. He batted .246, .243 and .221 for the Yankees. He was drafted by the Royals in 1968 AL player expansion draft, then he was traded by the Royals to Pilots for OF Lou Piniella during spring training. He finished his short MLB career with the Giants.
1944 - Former Yankees minor league OF Billy Murphy was born. Billy was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1962. He never played for the Yankees at the MLB level. On November 29, 1965, he was drafted by the Mets from the Yankees in the 1965 rule 5 player draft.
1957 - At night game in Cleveland, Indians starter Herb Score was hit on the right eye by a line drive off the bat of Yankees Gil McDougald in the 1st inning. The ball broke Score's nose and damaged his eye; he will miss the rest of the 1957 AL season. The Yankees win the game by a score of 2-1. The eye injury effectively ended Score’s MLB pitching career. He was never the same power strikeout pitcher. Also the injury to Score affected Gil McDougal, who never as aggressive at the plate like he had been. He would retire from baseball after the 1960 World Series, refusing to go to the new Senators and turning down a $100,000 offer to be the player-manager of the other new expansion team, Los Angeles Angels. He would become the baseball Coach at Fordham University during the 1960’s.
1959 - The largest crowd in baseball history, 93,103 fans jammed the Los Angeles Coliseum to watch the World Champion Yankees play Dodgers in an exhibition game held for the benefit of crippled former Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella. The Yankees defeat the Dodgers starter Sandy Koufax by a score of 6-2.
1966 - After only 4 victories in the first 20 games of the 1966 AL season, the Yankees Manager Johnny Keane was fired and was replaced by the team's GM and former skipper, Ralph Houk. The 1966 Yankees would go 70-89, finishing last in AL. Keane was the wrong manager for the Yankees, replacing the popular Yogi Berra in October, 1964. Ralph Houk deserved to finish last place, since he was responsible for some of the poorest player moves ever made, including the hiring of Keane to replace Berra, while he was the Yankees General Manager (1964-1966).
1969 - Former Yankees 2B Ray Mack (1947) passed away. On December 6, 1946, Ray was traded by the Indians along with C Sherman Lollar to the Yankees for OF Hal Peck, P Al Gettel, and P Gene Bearden. Ray appeared with only game with the Yankees in 1947, before being sent to the White Sox. Lollar would share catching duties with Robinson and Berra, before being traded by the Yankees to the Browns in December of 1948.
1999 - Hideki Irabu of the Yankees pitcher opposes Mac Suzuki of the Mariners in the 1st match up of Japanese starting pitchers in MLB history. The Yankees win the game by a score of 10-1 with Irabu going 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 run. Suzuki lasted 5 1/3 innings, giving up 5 hits, 7 runs, 5 walks and 3 strikeouts.
May 8th
1891 - Former Yankees P Chester “Red” Hoff (1911-13) was born. Red went 0-2 in 12 games for the Yankees.
1903 - After losing their 1st ever game against the Red Sox, the Yankees behind starter Jack Chesbro, win 6-1 for their 1st victory. He throws a 6-hitter.
1911 - At New York, Boston starter Smokey Joe Wood beats the Yankees, 4-0, in 6 innings. He gives up just 1 hit, a single to Ray Caldwell.
1915 - The Yankees pound the Red Sox, 10-3, scoring all of their runs in the 4th inning. Sixteen Yankees will come to the plate in the 4th inning.
1919 - Yankees ace Bob Shawkey retires the 1st 14 batters, he faces, then he allows a single for the A’s only hit as the Yankees beat the A’s by score of 2-0.
1926 - The Yankees score 7 in the 2nd inning but lose to Tigers 14 -10, knocking themselves out of the AL lead; as the Senators move into 1st place.
1927 - The Yankees draw a record 52,000 fans to Comiskey Park, but starter Waite Hoyt spoils the party by winning one of his league-leading 22 games, by a score of 9-0, the 2nd straight shutout of the White Sox. Yankees C Pat Collins homers in the 7th inning, while Lou Gehrig adds a pair of triples.
1937 - Former Yankees OF Arturo Lopez (1965) was born. When injuries struck the Yankee outfielders in 1965, Arturo was not the answer for the Yankees. He later played baseball in Japan with former Yankees teammate Joe Pepitone.
1959 - The Yankees obtained P Mark Freedman from the A’s for veteran P Murray Dickson. Freeman will only appear in 1 game for the Yankees, before being sent to the Cubs in 1960. Dickson will go 2-1 for the A’s, before retiring from MLB.
1961 - The Angels trade veteran relief P Tex Clevenger and OF Bob Cerv to Yankees for Pitchers Ryne Duren, Johnny James and OF Lee Thomas. For Cerv, it is his 3rd and final tour of duty in pinstripes. Clevenger helped the Yankee bullpen. Bob Cerv, once again was a backup outfielder and power bat off the Yankee bench. Ryne Duren had lost his Yankees closer job to Louis Arroyo. Johnny James injured his arm in spring of 1963 and never pitched again in the ML. Lee Thomas would have some success in MLB. After retiring as a player, he later would become a General Manager for the Phillies and other MLB teams.
1962 - Former Yankees 1B/OF Orestes Destrade (1987) was born. Orestes was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1981. He appeared in 9 games for the Yankees in 1987, hitting .263. with only 19 at bats. On March 30, 1988, he was traded by the Yankees to the Pirates for P Hipolito Pena.
1964 - In Cleveland, there are tornado warnings, but the Yankees supplies damage when CF Mickey Mantle cracks a 3-run HR off of P Tommy John in the 4th inning to lead New York to a 10-3 win.
1971 - Former Yankees reserve C Todd Greene (2001) was born. Todd was signed as a free agent by the Yankees. He hit .208 in 35 games in 2001, before being released by the team in March of 2002 during the Yankees spring training camp.
1991 - Howard Spira is found guilty of trying to extort money from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Spira had already received $40,000 from Steinbrenner.
1994 - Danny Tartabull, Mike Stanley and Gerald Williams hit back-to-back-to-back HRs for the Yankees in the 6th inning of Bronx Bomber's 8-4 win over Red Sox.
May 9th
1903 - The Boston Pilgrims top the visiting Highlanders, by a score of 12-5, with a little help from Umpire Caruthers, who tosses out Highlanders P Jesse Tannehill and 2B Williams for a ball call at home.
1930 - The Yankees and the Tigers outfielders make only 2 putouts for an AL record, which has never been equaled. Detroit's George Uhle strikes out 8 batters in winning, 5-4, and dropping the Yankees to 7th place. Hank Johnson (7 innings) and George Pipgras are the New York hurlers.
1940 - The press reports the impending sale of the Yankees by the Jacob Ruppert estate to political bigwigs Jim Farley and Jesse Jones. The Sporting News declares the sale will be for $4 million. The imminent sale will resurface on the front page several times during the next year, but it never happens. The Yankees will be sold in 1945 by the Ruppert Estate to Del Webb, Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail.
1944 - Joe McCarthy returns as Yankees manager after missing much of the Yankees 1944 spring training and the early AL season due to illness. The team would finish in 3rd place with an 83-71 record.
1949 - At Detroit, the Tigers set back the 1st-place Yankees, 4-1, behind the 5-hit pitching of Ted Gray. Yankees starter Vic Raschi also allows just 5 hits, including a HR by Richard Wakefield, in taking the loss.
1953 - At Fenway Park, the 1st place Yankees beat the Red Sox, 6-4. Mickey Mantle hits a HR off of P Bill Werle and is robbed of another when OF Jimmy Piersall makes a sensational catch at the Sox bullpen in right-center field.
1954 - Athletics C Wilmer (Billy) Shantz, brother of P Bobby Shantz, hits a grand slam HR, the 1st HR of his MLB career. It comes off former A's P Harry Byrd, now with the Yankees. Shantz will hit just 1 more ML home run. Wilmer's slam is all the offense the A’s get as the Yankees win the game by a score of 7-4. The nightcap ends in a 1-1 tie, after 9 innings. Bobby and Billy Shantz will be teammates once again with the Yankees during the 1960 AL season.
1958 - After 6 straight home rainouts, the Yankees play their 1st home night game of the 1958 AL season, against Washington. Mickey Mantle breaks a 2-2 tie in the 3rd inning with an inside-the-park solo HR off of P Pedro Ramos. New York rolls to a 9-5 win over the Senators.
1964 - At Cleveland, Pedro Ramos gives up 4 HRs to New York - Tony Kubek, Mickey Mantle, Joe Pepitone, and Hector Lopez, as the Yankees win 6-2. Pedro Ramos would finish the 1964 AL season with the Yankees, coming in a late season trade in September. He would help out Yogi’s bullpen, but was unable to play in the 1964 World Series against the Cardinals, because the trade was made after August 31st.
1966 - At Minneapolis, the Yankees (6-20) edge the Twins, 3-2. Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, and Joe Pepitone, with the game-winner in the 9th inning, hit HRs for New York.
1979 - The Yanks released veteran OF Paul Blair, who then signs with the Reds.
1981 - Tom Paciorek hits his 2nd game-winning, bottom-of-the-9th inning HR in as many games, a 3-run blow giving the Mariners a 6-5 win over the Yankees. The previous night, Paciorek led off the 9th inning with a solo HR to give Seattle a 3-2 win over the Yankees.
1990 - At Yankee Stadium, the A's edge the Yankees, 2-1 in 11 innings. Rickey Henderson scores the 1st run, scoring from 2B on a 6-3 ground out. Rick Honeycutt is the A’s winning pitcher.
1997 - Against the Royals in the 6th inning, the Yankees catch Jay Bell in a rundown when Bell is suddenly called out by umpire Dale Ford, who thinks he passed the preceding baserunner, Jose Offerman. However, Offerman had been forced out at 3B. Royals' manager Bob Boone argues until the umpires agree and put runners back at 2B and 3B and call for a resumption of play. Chili Davis then lines a 2-run single off of P Kenny Rogers to tie the score. The Royals win 7-5 in 12 innings, with the victory going to Randy Veres. The Yankees protest that the rundown play should not have been reversed. Gene Budig will dismiss the protest, stating that with the rundown there were several scenarios, where Bell could have escaped a tag.
1999 - The Yankees defeat the Mariners, 6-1. Relief Pitcher Mike Stanton makes his 1st MLB start for NY, ending his MLB record streak of 552 consecutive relief appearances prior to his 1st start. The previous MLB record was 443 games, which was set by Gary Lavelle of the Giants.
May 10th
1868 - Future MLB player, manager and HOF baseball executive Edward Barrow is born. Ed was the manager of 1918 World Champion Red Sox. In 1920, Ed will leave the Red Sox to become the Yankees General Manager, who will through a series of trades with the Red Sox build the Yankees into a World Championship team. In 1931, he signed former NL manager Joe McCarthy to manage the Yankees. He will be with the Yankees until 1945. (1868-1953)
1911 - The Tigers lose their 1st home game of the year by a score of 6- 2, as Yankees hands Tiger starter George Mullin his 1st loss. The Tigers have a 21-2 record and will lead the pack until July 4th.
1913 - The Yankees commit 8 errors, but still end up beating the Tigers, by a score of 10-9, in 10 innings. Three of the errors are made by shortstop Claud Derrick, who will field just .872 for the year. Related? In 10 days, the Yankees will deal for Indians shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.
1926 - At Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth hit back-to-back HRs off of Tigers starter Sam Gibson, and the Yankees outscore the Tigers, 13-9. Herb Pennock is the winning pitcher for the Yankees.
1934 - Lou Gehrig hits 2 HRs (including a grand slam) and a pair of doubles, tying the record with 4 long hits, and drives in 7 runs, but leaves the game after 5 innings with a severe cold. The Yankees top the White Sox, 13-3. During the game, Yankee OF Ben Chapman (1930-36) shouts racial remarks at a Jewish fan. His behavior will lead the Yankees to trade him in 1936 to the Senators. In 1947, he will lead the dugout bigots in protest of Jackie Robinson, as manager of the Phillies.
1936 - By beating the A's, 7-2, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees move into 1st place and will remain there the rest of the 1936 AL season. Rookie OF Joe DiMaggio makes his belated home debut for the Yankees hitting his 1st MLB career HR, off of P George Turbeville. Lou Gehrig has 4 hits with 2 RBIs with P Johnny Murphy, in his 1st start of the 1936 AL season, picks up the victory.
1937 - Yankees starter Monte Pearson pitches a 1-hitter in stopping the White Sox, 6-0. Joe DiMaggio hits his 1st two HRs of the 1937 season and George Selkirk his 5th HR for NY. Chicago's only hit is a one-out 1st inning single by Larry Rosenthal, who was erased on a double play.
1946 - Before a Friday Ladies' Day crowd at Yankee Stadium of 64,183, the 1st-place Red Sox win their 15th straight game, a 5- 4 win over the Yankees. Earl Johnson gets the win with 4 innings of scoreless relief. A Joe DiMaggio grand slam HR accounts for all of the Bombers' scoring.
1947 - Former Yankees P John Cumberland (1968-1970) was born. John went 3-4 in 18 games with the Yankees, who drafted him from the Phillies organization. John was traded to the Giants for P Mike McCormick. He later became a MLB pitching coach, working for the Red Sox, among other MLB teams.
1952 - RF Hank Bauer of the Yankees goes 5-for-6 in an 18-3, romp over Boston. The Red Sox come away with a record-tying 10 assists in the 5th inning.
1953 - Yankees starter Vic Raschi makes his 1st relief appearance in 2 years, limiting the Red Sox to 3 hits in 4 innings, as the Yankees win, 7-4. Billy Goodman sustains a freak rib accident, which will keep him out of action for 3-weeks, when Jim Piersall picks him up and lugs him from the field to break up Goody's argument with umpire Jim Duffy. Del Wilber hits his 2nd consecutive pinch HR in the 8th; his 1st came on May 6th.
1956 - At Yankee Stadium, Bob Lemon gives Cleveland a 7-2 victory over the Yankees. Mickey Mantle has a solo HR in the 6th inning for New York. For Mickey Mantle, it is his 20th HR of May, a new record. The slugger adds a double and 2 singles and is hitting .425 with 50 RBIs.
1959 - The Yankees sweep doubleheader from the Senators at Yankee Stadium, winning by scores of 6-3 and 3-2 in 10 innings. Mickey Mantle's HR in the 3rd inning of the opener starts the Yankees scoring as they beat starter Chuck Stobbs. Mantle singles and scores the winning run in the 10th inning of the nightcap. Yogi Berra has a HR in the 2nd game. Yogi sets a new MLB record for consecutive errorless games by a catcher with 148.
1965 - At Fenway Park, the 9th-place Yankees lose again to Red Sox, by a score of 3-2, when Carl Yastrzemski out-hits a hobbling Mickey Mantle. Yaz hits a pair of HRs and sacrifice fly, while Mantle is 3-for-4 with a HR. After Mantle doubles with 2 outs in the 9th inning off of starter Jim Lonborg, who is lifted. Red Sox closer Richard “The Monster” Radatz gets the final out of the game. It is Jim Lonborg's 1st MLB career win.
1996 - Yankees Pitcher David Cone undergoes surgery to remove an aneurysm in his pitching arm.
(As always I'd like to thank Fw57Clipper51 for his great contribution.)
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