Sunday, June 8, 2008

This Week in Yankee History

June 8th - June 14th

June 8th

1927 - Tony Lazzeri hits 3 HR’s during the Yankees come from behind win against the White Sox 12-11 in 11 innings. Tony hit 2 HR’s off of starter Red Faber, and hit a game tying 2-run HR in the 9th inning off of reliever George Connally.

1933 - Jimmie Foxx hit 3 HRs in his first 3 at-bats as the A’s outscore the Yankees by a score of 14-10. Foxx had homered his last time up the previous day to give him 4 consecutive HRs.

1935 - Lou Gehrig collides with Carl Reynolds on a play at 1st base and leaves the game with arm and shoulder injuries. His consecutive game streak is preserved, in part, by a rainout of the next day's game and an open date.

1941 - Yankees C Bill Dickey makes unassisted double play in the 1st game of a doubleheader again the Browns and thereby ties the MLB record for unassisted double-plays in 1 game by a catcher.

1954 - Former Yankees reserve INF Lenn Sakata (1987) was born. Lenn was signed as free agent, who appeared in 48 games and hit .267 as a reserve infielder during the 1987 AL season.

1969 - New York Yankees' uniform No. 7 is officially retired on “Mickey Mantle Day.” A crowd of 60,096 fans come to Yankee Stadium to honor Mickey Mantle and watched Yankees sweep the White Sox by scores of 3-1 and 11-2.

1977 - New York starter Mike Torrez’s 5-hit, 9-2, victory against the Brewers, puts the Yankees into 1st place in the AL East, the 1st time since May 20th.

1981 - The Yankees use their 1st round player draft pick to take college football QB John Elway, who will only play minor league baseball (Oneonta Yankees)) for the Yankees before going on to a long successful NFL career.

1986 - In the longest 9-inning game by time in AL history, Orioles beat the Yankees by a score of 18-9. The game features 9 pitchers, 36 hits, and 16 walks, and takes 4-hours-16-minutes to complete.

1997 - Former Yankees OF Ken Hunt (1959-1960) passes away (1934-1997). Ken Hunt was signed as a free agent by the Yankees in 1952. He appeared in 32 games during the 1959-60 AL seasons batting .303. He was unable to crack the regular Yankees starting OF. In December of 1960, Ken was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in AL 1960 expansion player draft. Former Yankees Manager Casey Stengel, who helped the Angels with scouting reports on players placed in the draft, recommend him to the Angels management.

2005 - The Yankees All Star 3B Alex Rodriguez became the youngest member of the 400-HR MLB career club, when he hit a solo HR in the 8th inning of New York's 12 -3 victory over the Brewers.

June 9th

1931 - Former Yankees minor league OF and Manager Bill Virdon (1974-75) was born. Bill was originally signed by the Yankees in 1950, but was later traded along with P Mel Wright and a minor league player to the Cardinals for OF Enos “Country” Slaughter in 1954. In 1955, he won the NL ROY award with the Cardinals. Bill would go on to be an All Star OF with the Pirates. He hit .241 with the Pirates in the 1960 World Series against the Yankees. He managed the Pirates before coming to the Yankees to replace longtime Yankees Manager Ralph Houk, who resigned at the end of 1973 AL season. He would later manage the Astros and Expos in the NL, after being replaced by the Yankees in 1975 mid season by Billy Martin.

1946 - The Yankees draw 66,545 fans for their doubleheader with the Indians at Yankee Stadium, breaking 1-million attendance mark in the earliest date in MLB history. The Tribe takes the opener by a score of 9-5, while the Yankees come back to win the nightcap by a score of 7-4.

1969 - Yankees purchased veteran P Ken Johnson from Braves for undisclosed amount of cash. He was washed up. Ken was sent to the Cubs in August.

1977 - Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent’s 3-hits highlight a Yankees 10-1 win at Milwaukee over the Brewers with Yankees starter Don Gullet picking up his 5th victory of the 1977 AL season.

June 10th

1903 - Yankees obtained shortstop Kid Elberfeld from Tigers for 2 shortstops, Herm Long and Ernie Courtney.

1905 - Former Yankees P Danny MacFayden (1932-34) was born. On June 5, 1932, Dan was traded by the Red Sox to the Yankees for P Ivy Andrews, Hank Johnson, and $50,000 in cash. Dan went 14-10 in 64 games with 1 save for the Yankees. On June 4, 1935, Dan was selected off waivers by the Braves from the Yankees.

1921 - Babe Ruth of the Yankees became MLB baseball's career HR leader by hitting his 120th HR off of Indians P Jim Bagby Sr. in the 3rd inning. The Indians won the game by a score of 8 -6.

1956 - Former Yankees C Brad Gulden (1979-80) was born. Brad was obtained from the Dodgers before the start of the 1979 AL season. He was one of the 2 catchers (Jerry Narron) used after Thurman Munson’s death in August of 1979.

1966 - Yankees obtained P Fred Talbot from the A’s for OF Roger Repoz, pitchers Bill Stafford and Gil Blanco. Fred Talbot went 14-24 for the Yankees before being unloaded to the Pilots in 1968. Jim Bouton wrote about him in his famous baseball book “Ball Four.”

1977 - Yankees starter Ron Guidry does it again, stopping the Twins 4-1, with 9th inning help from closer Sparky Lyle. The key Yankee hit in the game was a 2-run double by 2B Willie Randolph.

June 11th

1927 - After Babe Ruth hits 2 consecutive HR’s, Indians’ catcher Luke Sewell demands that the umpires inspect Babe Ruth’s bat. The bat was ruled legal, but the commotion created gave the Cleveland crowd a thrill exceeded only by Babe Ruth striking out at his 3rd at bat.

1961 - Yankees All Star RF Roger Maris hits his 20th HR of the 1961 AL season in route to the magic 61 HR mark.

1974 - Yankees starter Mel Stottlemyre made his 272nd consecutive start, with no relief appearances, to set an AL record.

1976 - Former Yankees P Jim Konstanty (1955-56) passed away. After being acquired from the Phillies during the 1954 season, he posted a 1-1 mark in 9 games with 2 saves. In 1955, Jim went 7-2 with 11 saves in 45 games. In 1956, he was 0-0 with 2 saves in 8 games before being released by the Yankees. In 1950, he was the NL MVP with the Phillies, posting a 16-7 record with 22 saves. He appeared in 2 games with the Phillies against the Yankees in the 1950 World Series. He lost the opening game by a score of 1-0 to Yankees starter Vic Raschi.

1988 - Rick Rhoden of the Yankees became the 1st pitcher to start a game as a DH since the rule was adopted in 1973.

2003 - Astros pitchers Roy Oswalt, Peter Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner combined for the 1st no-hitter against the Yankees in 45 years, winning 8-0, and stopping New York at 6,980 games with at least 1 hit. Orioles P Hoyt Wilhelm accomplished the feat in 1958, 1-0. Houston sextet also set a record for the highest number of pitchers to throw a no-hitter in MLB history (4 accomplished the feat twice).

June 12th

1907 - The Yankees commit 11 errors in their 14-6 loss to the Tigers.

1912 - Former Yankee Co-Owner Dan Topping was born (1912-1974) Dan Topping became part owner of the Yankees in 1945, when he was part of a group that purchased the team from the estate of the late owner Jacob Ruppert. The group, which also included Del Webb and Larry MacPhail (1945-1947), sold majority interest in the club to CBS in November 1964. Topping sold his remaining stake in the Yankees in 1966.

1922 - Hub Pruett of the Browns struck out Babe Ruth 3 consecutive times as Browns beat the Yankees 7 -1.

1928 - Lou Gehrig of the Yankees collected 14 bases with 2 triples and 2 HRs in a 15-7 victory over the White Sox.

1938 - The Yankees score 7 runs in the 6th inning to come from behind and defeat the Indians by a score of 7-6.

1939 - The Hall of Fame was officially dedicated at Cooperstown, N.Y. The greatest-ever gathering of members and future inductees of the Hall of Fame accepted their plaques: Grover Alexander, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Walter Johnson, Nap Lajoie, Connie Mack, Babe Ruth, George Sisler, Tris Speaker, Honus Wagner and Cy Young.

1945 - Former Yankees P Gary Jones (1970-71) was born. Gary was 0-0 in 14 games with Yankees, before being traded to the Rangers along with pitcher Terry Ley for veteran INF Bernie Allen.

1953 - Yankees obtained INF Willie Miranda from the Browns from cash above the waiver price. He would back up Scooter at shortstop before being traded to the Orioles in the winter of 1954 in the big 17- player trade that featured pitchers Bob Turley and Don Larsen coming to the Yankees.

1962 - Yankees obtained OF Tom Umphlett and cash from Red Sox for INF Billy Gardner. It was a trade of weak players; Tom never appears with the Yankees at the MLB level.

1969 - Yankees obtained P Rob Gardner from the Indians for C John Orsino.

1973 - Yankees obtain P Lowell Palmer from the Indians for P Mike Kekich. The days as a Yankee for Kekich were numbered since the pre-spring training announcement of his wife swap with teammate Fritz Peterson.

1974 - Current Yankees OF/DH Hideki Matsui was born.

June 13th

1913 - The Yankees notch their 13th win of the season at this incredibly late date. They had already lost 36 games.

1921 - Babe Ruth of the Yankees hit a 460 FT HR into the CF bleachers in the Polo Grounds, for the 1st HR ever hit to that spot. Ruth added his 21st HR of the 1921 AL season also he pitched 5 innings in the 13- 6 win over the Tigers, giving up 4 runs, but striking out Ty Cobb. The next day, Babe Ruth will hit 2 more HRs, his 6th and 7th in 5 games, in a 9-6 win over Detroit.

1924 - A riot by 18,000 fans at Detroit caused a forfeiture of a game to the Yankees. The trouble occurred, when Yankee OF Bob Meusel was hit with a pitch by Tiger P Bert Cole. Bob Meusel charged the mound, swung at Cole and missed, but was followed a bench clearing brawl. Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth got into it. Meusel and Ruth were both ejected from the game. When they went out on field to get their gloves, fans poured out onto the playing field. Umpires not able to restore peace with the crowd, ruled forfeit of the game. Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel were fined $1,000 each, while Ty Cobb received a formal reprimand. The Yankees were leading the game by a score of 10-6, when the incident occurred.

1937 - Joe DiMaggio hits 3 consecutive HRs in the 2nd game of a doubleheader at St. Louis. The game ended in an 8-8 tie with the game called because of darkness. Rules allowed the all records from the game to count. The Yankees won the 1st game by a score of 16-9, when they scored 7 runs in the 9th inning to break a 9-9 tie with the Browns.

1939 - Yankees obtained INF Roy Hughes from the Browns for OF Joe Gallagher. Roy Hughes never plays for the Yankees at the MLB level.

1948 - An ailing Babe Ruth made his final appearance at Yankee Stadium. With the crowd of 49,641 fans singing Auld Lang Syne, and members of the 1923 Yankees team (the 1st to play in the stadium) looking on, the New York Yankees retired Ruth's uniform No. 3 during ceremonies that also commemorated the 25th anniversary of Yankee Stadium. Fewer than 2 months later, the 53-year-old Babe Ruth will die from throat cancer.

1975 - Yankees purchase shortstop Ed Brinkman from the Tigers for cash. He played 44 games for the Yankees before retiring as an active MLB player.

1978 - Roy White hits a HR from each side of the plate during a Yankee 5-3 win at Oakland. It was the 5th time in White’s Yankee career does this feat.

1979 - Former Yankees minor league C David Parrish was born.

2000 - Former Yankees P Bobby Tiefenauer (1965) passed away (1929-2000) Bobby went 1-1 in 10 games for the Yankees, after being acquired from the Braves for Yankees P Tom Dukes.

June 14th

1928 - Former Yankees INF Herb Plews was born. Herb was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1950. He never appeared with the Yankees at the MLB level. On February 8, 1956, Herb was traded by the Yankees along with a player to be named later, with C Lou Berberet, OF Richard Tettelbach, and P Bob Wiesler to the Senators for P Mickey McDermott and INF Bobby Kline. The Yankees would send OF Whitey Herzog on April 2, 1956 to the Senators to complete the trade.

1932 - The Yankees pull a rare triple steal, led by Ben Chapman on 3rd base during a 7-6 win over Indians. The Yankees had the bases loaded when Chapman broke for home plate and the other base runners also moved up.

1933 - Lou Gehrig's consecutive-game streak stays intact, even though he and Yankees manager Joe McCarthy were thrown out of a game. McCarthy was suspended for 3 games but Gehrig's streak, now at 1,249 games, continues.

1934 - Yankees starter Johnny Boaca allows 1-hit, a 3rd inning single by Browns OF Sammy West, during the Yankees 7-0 win at St. Louis.

1936 - The Yankees obtained OF Al “Jake” Powell from the Senators for OF Ben Chapman. Several racial remarks made by Ben Chapman during the season cause embarrassment to the Yankees management forcing a trade. Ben Chapman was the manager of the 1947 Phillies, who taunted Dodgers Jackie Robinson with racial slurs.

1939 - Yankees recall P Spud Chandler from the minors. Spud will go 3-0 in 11 games for the Yankees in 1939.

1946 - Yankees sell 3B Hank Majeski to the A’s for cash. On May 25, 1941, Hank was purchased by the Yankees from the Braves. Hank appeared in just only 8 games in 1946, hitting just .083.

1953 - The Yankees sweep the Indians by scores of 6-2 and 3-0, before a crowd of 74,708 fans to extend their winning streak to 18 games.

1956 - Yankees obtained P Ed Burtschy, OF Bill Renna and cash from the A’s for OF Lou Skizas and 1B Eddie Robinson. Both players were sent to the minors by the Yankees.

1961 - Yankees obtained P Bud Daley from the A’s for P Art Ditmar and OF/1B Deron Johnson. Bud Daley would help out the Yankees pitching staff. Ditmar was a sore armed pitcher and Deron Johnson was blocked at 3B by Clete Boyer and at 1B by Bill “Moose” Skowron, Ken couldn’t crack the Yankee regular outfield of Mickey Mantle- Roger Maris- Yogi Berra- Hector Lopez, either.

1961 - The Yankees traded veteran P Danny McDevitt for reserve INF Billy Gardner.

1969 - Yankees obtained Tigers OF Ron Woods for INF/OF Tom Tresh. Tommy was at the end of his MLB career, never having to fully recover from his collision with Yankees shortstop Ruben Amaro during the 1966 AL season that seriously injured both of his knees.

1977 - Yankees starter Don Gullet wins his 5th straight start as the Yankees win a 6-5 come-from–behind victory over the Twins.

1978 - Yankees obtained OF Jay Johnstone and minor league OF Bobby Brown from the Phillies for P Rawly Eastwick. Jay would hit .262 as a pinch hitter for the 1978 Yankees.

1978 - The Yankees repeatedly rally to defeat the Mariners 10-9 in 11 innings. Yankees trailed into 8th inning, when Cliff Johnson’s pinch-hit HR ties the game. The Yankees then spotted the Mariners an extra inning lead before, Paul Blair hits a 2-out, 3-run HR in the 10th inning to win the game.


(As always I'd like to thank Fw57Clipper51 for his great contribution.)

0 Comments: