This Week in Yankees History
June 12th - June 18th
June 12th
1907 - The New York Yankees commit 11 errors in their 14-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Committing the errors were Yankee players: 4 errors by shortstop Kid Elberfeld, 1B Hal Chase, 3B Frank La Porte, 2B Jimmy Williams, 2B George Moriarty, LF Bill Conroy, Pitchers Al Orth and Bill Hogg.
1912 - Former New York Yankees Co-Owner Dan Topping was born (1912-1974). Dan Topping became part owner of the New York 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, who was bought out by Webb and Topping in 1947. He sold his majority interest in the club to CBS in November of 1964. Topping sold his remaining stake in the New York Yankees in 1966. His son, Dan Topping Jr. was General Manager of the Yankees replacing Ralph Houk in May of 1966, when he returned to the Yankees dugout as manager.
1922 - Hub Pruett of the St. Louis Browns struck out Yankees slugger Babe Ruth 3 consecutive times as Browns beat the New York Yankees by the score of 7-1.
1928 – New York Yankees 1B Lou Gehrig collected 14 bases with 2 triples and 2 HRs in a 15-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
1938 - The New York Yankees score 7 runs in the 6th inning to come from behind and defeat the Cleveland Indians by a score of 7-6.
1939 - The Baseball 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 (1970-1971) was born. Gary Jones was 0-0 in 14 games with New York Yankees, before being traded to the Texas Rangers along with pitcher Terry Ley for veteran INF Bernie Allen.
1953 - The New York Yankees obtained INF Willie Miranda from the St. Louis Browns from cash above the waiver price. He would back up Scooter at shortstop before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the winter of 1954 in the big 17-player trade that featured Orioles pitchers Bob Turley and Don Larsen coming to the New York Yankees. He appeared in 140 games for the Yankees hitting .252.
1962 - The New York Yankees obtained OF Tom Umphlett and cash from the Boston Red Sox for veteran reserve INF Billy Gardner. It was a trade of weak reserve players, Tom never appears with the Yankees at the MLB level. Tom will play for the Yankees AAA club at Richmond (International League).
1969 - The New York Yankees obtained P Rob Gardner from the Cleveland Indians for reserve C John Orsino, who had been playing for the Syracuse Chiefs (AAA).
1973 - The New York Yankees obtained P Lowell Palmer from the Cleveland Indians for P Mike Kekich. The days as a Yankees player for Mike Kekich were numbered since the pre-spring training announcement of his wife-family swap with Yankees teammate P Fritz Peterson.
1974 - Former Yankees OF/DH Hideki Matsui (2003-2009) was born. On December 19,2002, Hideki Matsui was signed as a MLB free agent by the New York Yankees. He was a 2-time AL All Star team member (2003-2004). He won the 2009 ML MVP winner for his hitting performance for the New York Yankees against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 World Series. He hit .615, going 8 for 13, with 3 HRs and 8 RBI’s. His final Yankees career totals were .292 BA in 916 games, hitting 140 HR’s with 597 RBI’s. In the winter of 2009, Hideki left the New York Yankees for MLB free agency signing with the Angels.
2010 - Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter homers twice and Jorge Posada hits a grand slam in New York's 9-3 win over Houston at Yankee Stadium. Astros hurler Wandy Rodriguez (3-9) is the victim of the offensive surge, accomplished in the absence of AL All Star 3B Alex Rodriquez, still bothered by a groin injury.
June 13th
1913 - The New York Yankees notch their 13th win of the 1913 American League season at this incrediibily 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 Detroit 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 Tigers P Bert Cole hit Yankees OF Bob Meusel with a pitch. 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. Yankee players 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 St. Louis Browns.
1939 - The New York Yankees obtained INF Roy Hughes from the St. Louis 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.
1972 - Former Yankees P Darrell May (2005) was born. On July 2, 2005, Darrell May was traded by the San Diego Padres along with P Tim Redding and cash to the New York Yankees for P Paul Quantrill. He went 0-1 in 2 games for the 2005 Yankees.
1975 - The New York Yankees purchased veteran shortstop Ed Brinkman from the Detroit 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 Yankees 5-3 win at Oakland. It was the 5th time in Roy White’s Yankees career does this feat.
1979 - Former Yankees minor league C David Parrish was born. David Parrish was the son of former MLB C Lance Parrish. David never appears with the Yankees at the MLB level.
2000 - Former Yankees P Bobby Tiefenauer (1965) passed away (1929-2000). Bobby Tiefenauer went 1-1 in 10 games for the Yankees, after being acquired from the Milwaukee Braves for Yankees P Tom Dukes.
2003 - Roger Clemens reached his 300th MLB career win and became the 3d pitcher in MLB history with 4,000 strikeouts, leading the Yankees over the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-2 victory in an inter-league game. Cardinals batter Edgar Renteria became his 4,000th victim in the 2nd inning. Clemens, the 21st pitcher to make it to 300, allowed 2 runs in 6 2-3 innings and struck out 10 batters, raising his total to 4,006. Clemens joined Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Steve Carlton (4,136) in the select 4,000-strikeout club.
2010 - Jorge Posada hits a grand slam for the second consecutive game as the New York Yankees complete a sweep of the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium by the score of 9-5. In 1937, catcher Bill Dickey had been the last Yankees player to hit grand slams in back-to-back contests.
June 14th Flag Day
Show your Colors!!
1925 - Former Yankees 1B Fenton “Muscles” Mole (1949) was born. “Muscles” Mole appeared in 10 games for the Yankees during the 1949 AL season, hitting just .189.
1928 - Former Yankees minor league INF Herb Plews was born. The New York Yankees signed Herb Plews as an MLB 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, along with C Lou Berberet, OF Richard Tettelbach, and P Bob Wiesler to the Washington Senators for P Mickey McDermott and INF Bobby Kline. The Yankees would later send minor league OF Whitey Herzog on April 2,1956 to the Senators to complete the trade.
1932 - The New York Yankees pull a rare triple steal led by Ben Chapman on 3B during a 7-6 win over the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees had the bases loaded, when Chapman broke for home plate and the other Yankee 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. Manager Joe McCarthy was suspended for 3 games but Gehrig's streak, now at 1,249 consecutive games continues.
1934 - New York Yankees starter Johnny Boaca allows 1-hit, a 3rd inning single by the St. Louis Browns OF Sammy West, during the Yankees 7-0 win at St. Louis.
1936 - The New York Yankees obtained OF Al “Jake” Powell from the Washington Senators for OF Ben Chapman. Several racial remarks made by Ben Chapman during the 1936 AL season cause embarrassment to the Yankees management forcing a trade. Ben Chapman was the manager of the 1947 Philadelphia Phillies, who taunted Brooklyn Dodgers player Jackie Robinson with racial slurs.
1939 - The New York Yankees recalled P Spud Chandler from the minors. Spud will go 3-0 in 11 games for the Yankees in 1939.
1946 - The New York Yankees sell veteran 3B Hank Majeski to the Philadelphia A’s for cash. On May 25,1941, Hank Majeski was purchased by the Yankees from the Boston Braves. Hank appeared in just only 8 games for the Yankees in 1946, hitting just .083.
1953 - The New York Yankees sweep the Cleveland Indians in a doubleheader by scores of 6-2 and 3-0, before a crowd of 74,708 fans to extend their winning streak to 18 games.
1956 - The New York Yankees obtained P Ed Burtschy, OF Bill Renna and cash from the Kansas City A’s for OF Lou Skizas and veteran 1B Eddie Robinson. The Yankees sent both players received from the A’s to the minors.
1961 - The New York Yankees obtained veteran starter Bud Daley from the Kansas City A’s for P Art Ditmar and OF/1B/3B Deron Johnson. Bud Daley would help out the Yankees pitching staff. Art Ditmar was a sore-armed pitcher, who had won 15 games for the team in 1960. While Deron Johnson was blocked at 3B by Clete Boyer and at 1B by Bill “Moose” Skowron. Deron couldn’t crack the Yankees starting regular outfield of Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris-Yogi Berra/ Hector Lopez, either.
1961 - The New York Yankees traded veteran P Danny McDevitt to the Minnesota Twins for veteran reserve INF Billy Gardner.
1969 - The New York Yankees obtained Detroit 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 Sr. during the 1966 AL season that seriously injured both of his knees.
1977 - The New York Yankees starter Don Gullet wins his 5th straight start as the Yankees win a 6-5 come-from–behind victory over the Minnesota Twins.
1978 - The New York Yankees obtained OF Jay Johnstone and minor league OF Bobby Brown from the Philadelphia Phillies for P Rawly Eastwick. Jay would hit .262 as a pinch hitter for the 1978 Yankees.
1978 - The New York Yankees repeatedly rally to defeat the Seattle Mariners by the score of 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; reserve OF Paul Blair hits a 2-out, 3-run HR in the 10th inning to win the game.
2010 - Former Yankees OF Oscar Azocar (1990) passed away. Oscar Azocar was signed as a MLB free agent for the New York Yankees by scout Fred Ferreira on November 22, 1983. Originally a pitcher in the minor leagues from 1984-1986, he went 14-5 with a 2.31 ERA. He began playing the outfield in 1987, hitting .359 for the Fort Lauderdale Yankees that year. In 1990, Azocar played 94 games for the Columbus Clippers (AAA); he was called up to the Yankees. He made his MLB debut on July 17th, getting a pinch-hit single in his first at-bat against the Kansas City Royals. The following day, he homered, doubled, and singled against the Royals. Overall, he appeared in 65 games for the 1990 Yankees. He was used more than any other player in left field by the Yankees, who also played Mel Hall, Hensley Meulens, Claudell Washington, Deion Sanders, Dave Winfield and others at the position that year. He hit for a good average, but hardly drew any walks, which diminished his value as a player significantly, especially as he had little power. After the 190 AL season, Azocar was traded to the San Diego Padres for OF Mike Humphreys. He appeared in 38 games for San Diego in 1991, while also playing 107 games for the Las Vegas Stars (PCL). In 1992, he was in the majors the whole season with the San Diego Padres, appearing in 99 games, although only 37 were in the field. Azocar holds the record for career-stolen bases without being caught with 10, although caught stealing records are incomplete before 1951. Azocar also played in the Venezuelan League, becoming a star with Magallanes. He later played several years in the Mexican League, ending his playing career in 2001. In 2010, he was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame. He died later that year in Venezuela.
June 15th
(Old MB Trade Deadline Day)
1912 - Former Yankees 1B Ellsworth “Babe” Dahlgren (1937-1940) was born (1912-1996). Babe Dahlgren replaced Lou Gehrig at 1st base, when his ALS illness forced him to stop playing at Detroit in 1939. On February 17,1937, Babe was purchased by the New York Yankees from the Boston Red Sox. He appeared in 327 games for the Yankees hitting .248 with 27 HRs and 163 RBIs. On February 25, 1941, Babe was purchased by the Boston Braves from the New York Yankees.
1916 - Former Yankees OF Edward “Bud“ Stewart (1948) was born. In March of 1947, Bud Stewart was acquired by the Yankees and began the 1948 season in New York after hitting .358 for the Kansas City Blues (American Association) the previous year. After just 6 games with the Yankees, before he was traded to the Washington Senators on May 13,1948. Ed was traded to the Senators for OF Leon Culberson and $20,000.
1923 - Former Yankees OF Alfred “Allie” Clark (1947) was born. Al Clark was signed by the New York Yankees as an MLB amateur free agent in 1941. In 1947, Al appeared in 24 games for the Yankees, hitting .373. On December 11,1947, Al was traded by the Yankees to the Cleveland Indians for veteran hurler Red Embree.
1923 - Rookie 1B Lou Gehrig makes his MLB Debut with the New York Yankees as a pinch hitter.
1926 - The New York Yankees obtained OF Roy Carlyle on waivers from the Boston Red Sox. He hit .385 in 35 games for the Yankees in 1926.
1928 - Former Yankees minor league player (1955-1958) and Manager (1968-1974) Gene Hassell was born. Gene Hassell played the infield in the New York Yankees minor league system with the Denver Bears (1954-1959). He was a minor league Manager for the New York Yankees organization at Johnson City, Manchester and Kinston teams from 1968-1974.
1935 - The Cincinnati Reds returned P Dan MacFayden to the Yankees upon the expiration of the “try-out” period allowed for in the deal, which sent him to the Reds in 1934. The Yankees return around and sell him to the St. Louis Browns for cash.
1943 - Former Yankees P Al Closter (1971-1972) was born. Al Closter went 2-2 in 16 games with the Yankees, before being sent to the Atlanta Braves in the Pat Dobson trade.
1950 - The New York Yankees obtained P Joe Ostrowski, Tom Ferrick and Sid Schacht and 3B Leo Thomas from St. Louis Browns for veteran INF George “ Snuffy” Stirnweiss, OF Jim Delsing, P Don Johnson, P Duane Pillette and $50,000 cash. Tom Ferrick would help the 1950 Yankees bullpen by going 8-4 with 9 saves. Joe Ostrowski would become a valuable long man for the Yankees, going 9-7 in 27 games with 3 saves (1950-1953.).
1951- The New York Yankees obtained P Bob Kuzava and Bob Ross from the Washington Senators for hurlers Fred Sanford, Bob Porterfield and Tom Ferrick. Bob Kuzava would go 8-4 with 5 saves for the Yankees. In World Series play, Bob had 2 saves in 3 games. Trading Bob Porterfield was a rare Yankees trade mistake; he would recover from his back problems, winning 22 games in 1953 for the Senators. Sanford and Ferrick were ineffective with Senators.
1951 - The New York Yankees obtained veteran P Stubby Overmine from the St. Louis Browns for P Tommy Byrne and $25,000 cash. Stubby went 1-1 in 1951, before being traded back to Browns. Tommy Byrne would return to Yankees in 1954, from the Seattle (PCL) and he would enjoy 4 good seasons with the Yankees, before retiring from MLB.
1957 - The New York Yankees obtained P Ryne Duren and OF’s Jim Pisoni and Harry “Suitcase” Simpson from the Kansas City A’s for P Ralph Terry, INF/OF Woodie Held, INF Billy Martin and OF Bob Martyn. Ryne Duren would become the Yankees bullpen closer (1958-1960), while battling drinking problems. Ralph Terry would return to the Yankees during the 1959 AL season. Billy Martin would never be the same player as he was with the Yankees, bouncing from team to team in both leagues. Woodie Held would become the starting shortstop for the Cleveland Indians during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.
1958 - The New York Yankees obtained hurlers Virgil Trucks and Duke Maas from the Kansas City A’s for P Bob Grim and OF Harry “Suitcase” Simpson. Trucks went 2-1 in 25 games before retiring from MLB. Duke Maas went 7-3, in 1958, then posted a 14-8 mark in 1959 and went 5-1 in 1960, before going to the Angels in the 1960 AL expansion team player draft. He returned to Yankees in April of 1961 in a trade with the Angels, but injury to his pitching arm made him ineffective and he didn’t pitch again in the MLB.
1958 - Former Yankees 3B Wade Boggs (1993-1997) was born. The former AL All star 3B Wade Boggs was signed as a MLB free agent by the Yankees in 1992. He hit over the .300 mark in 4 of the 5 AL seasons, that he played for the Yankees.
1966 - The New York Yankees sell veteran starter Bob Friend to the New York Mets for cash. He was washed up. On December 10,1965, Bob was traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Yankees for P Pete Mikkelsen and cash. He went 1-4 in 12 games for the 1966 Yankees.
1968 - The New York Yankees signed MLB free agent veteran OF Rocky Colvaito, after his release by the Dodgers. Rocky would appear in 39 games for the Yankees, just hitting .220 with 5 HRs with 13 RBIs. Also he pitched in 1 game for the Yankees in relief getting the victory. The Yankees asked him to come back in 1969 as a relief pitcher and pinch-hitter, but Rocky decided to retired from MLB.
1968 - The New York Yankees sell veteran reliever John Wyatt to the Detroit Tigers for $30,000. After being obtained from the Boston Red Sox, John had appeared in 7 games with the Yankees posting a 0-2 record. He had been a star in the Negro Leagues before signing with the Kansas City A’s during the 1950’s.
1972 - Former Yankees 1B/DH Tony Clark (2004) was born. Tony Clark was signed as a MLB free agent in 2004. Tony hit .221 with 16 HRs and 49 RBIs for the Yankees.
1972 - Former Yankees P Ramiro Mendoza (1996-2002, 2005) was born. Ramiro Mendoza went 54-34 with 20 saves in 277 games with the New York Yankees. Ramiro was one of the key bridges in the Yankees bullpens to Yankees Closer Marino Rivera.
1972 - Former Yankees All Star starter Andy Pettitte was born. On June 4, 1990, Andy Pettitte was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 22nd round of the 1990 MLB amateur player draft. His Yankees career pitching record was 203-112 mark in 405 games. Andy has won 21 games in a season for the Yankees twice in his MLB career. In the post season Andy went 6-3 in ALDS, 7-2 in ALCS and 5-4 World series for the Yankees. He was named to 3 AL All Star teams. In 2001, Andy was named 2001 AL ALCS MVP.
1974 - The New York Yankees purchased P Rudy May (1974-1976,1980-1983) from the California Angels for cash. Rudy May would go 54-45 with Yankees in 2 tours with the team. His best Yankees season was in 1980, Rudy went 15-4, leading the AL in ERA with a 2.46 mark.
1976 - The Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley sold 3 of his All Star players at the MLB trade deadline. OF Joe Rudi and P Rollie Fingers were sent to the Boston Red Sox for $1 million apiece and starter Vida Blue to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million. Three days later, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn will void the moves, saying they are "not in the best interests of baseball." This was one of the worst baseball decisions made by Commissioner Kuhn, who had numerous run-ins with AL team owners Charlie Finley and George Steinnbrenner.
1976 - The New York Yankees obtained hurlers Ken Holtzman, Doyle Alexander and Grant Jackson, C Elrod Hendricks and minor leaguer OF Jim Freeman from the Baltimore Orioles for Yankees hurlers Rudy May, Tippy Martinez, Dave Pagan and Scott MacGregor and C Rick Dempsey. This was a classic Yankees trade for “today and forget about the future.” Alexander and Grant would be gone at the end of the 1976 AL season. Martinez and MacGregor were major improvements for the Orioles pitching staff, the type of pitchers that the Yankees would later need and didn’t have.
1977 - The New York Yankees obtained C/1B Cliff Johnson from the Houston Astros for Yankees minor leaguer players P Randy Neimann, INF Mike Fischlin and 1B/OF Dave Bergman. Johnson would DH, play 1B and catch for the Yankees.
1977 - Former Yankees reliever Bret Printz (2003-2004) was born. On July 29, 2003, Bret Printz was traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks along with John Prowl (minors) and OF/DH/1B David Dellucci to the Yankees for veteran OF Raul Mondesi and cash. Bret went 1-0 in 28 games for the Yankees. On March 29,2005, Bret was traded by the Yankees to the Angels for reserve C Wil Nieves.
1978 - The New York Yankees obtained OF Gary Thomasson for Oakland A’s for minor league OF Dell Alston and INF Mickey Klutts. Gary would hit .276 in 51 games for Yankees, while filling in for the injured OF Mickey Rivers. In the spring of 1979, Gary was traded by the Yankees to the Dodgers for reserve C Brad Gullen.
1978 - Former Yankees minor league P Zach Day was born. In 1996, Zach Day was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 5th round of the MLB amateur player draft. He never pitched for the team at the MLB level. Zach Day was one of the three young Yankee players traded to the Cleveland Indians as part of the Dave Justice trade.
1979 - Former Yankees P Matt Smith (2006) was born. On June 5, 2000, Matt Smith was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 4th round of the 2000 MLB amateur player draft. He appeared in 12 games with the 2006 Yankees with no decisions. On July 30, 2006, he was traded by the New York Yankees along with minor league players C.J. Henry, Carlos Monastrios and Jesus Sanchez to the Philadelphia Phillies for OF Bobby Abreu and P Cory Lidle.
1987 - Current Yankees reserve INF Eduardo Nunez (2010-2011) was born. Nunez signed with the New York Yankees in 2004. He debuted that year as a pro, hitting .249for the DSL Yankees. In 2005, he batted .313 for the Staten Island Yankees. Nunez was 3rd in the New York-Penn League in hits (88), tied for 3rd in triples (6) and 9th in average. He led the league's shortstops in double plays (46) but also in errors (28). Baseball America rated him as the Yankees' 6th-best prospect and 4th-best in the NYPL (behind Nolan Reimold, Chris Volstad and Wade Davis and ahead of Radhames Liz, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie; Clay Buchholz was 13th). In 2006, Eduardo struggled with the Tampa Yankees (.184) and Charleston RiverDogs (.227). He did steal 32 bases in 42 tries overall, one positive. The Dominican infielder took the opposite course in 2007, starting with Charleston (.238, 20 SB in 28 tries over 91 G) before being returned to Tampa (.285 in 30 Games). Nunez missed time in 2008 with sprains to both thumbs. He hit .271 for Tampa while healthy, but he was a just 14-for-24 in steal attempt. He fielded .952 at short. In 2009, the 22-year-old showed his 1st signs of serious talent in 4 years, putting up a .322 talent for the Trenton Thunder. He stole 19 bases in 26 tries. The youngster was 2nd in the Eastern League with 160 hits (4 behind Neil Sellers) and was 3rd in average behind Brock Bond and Josh Thole. He made 33 errors at shortstop, most in the entire EL. He was still named the All-Star shortstop for the league. Baseball America did not list him as one of the league's top 20 prospects, though. That winter, he was 2 for 10 for the Toros del Este. The Santo Domingo native began 2010 with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, hitting .289 in 118 games with 23 steals in 28 tries while fielding .976 at short. He was called up to the Yankees, when All Star 3B Alex Rodriguez was injured. In his MLB debut, he was a defensive substitute for Derek Jeter and turned 2 double plays in 3 innings. In his 1st trip to the plate, he was retired on a pop-up by Jose Valverde.
1992 - Former Yankees P and MLB Coach Ed “Steady Eddie” Lopat (1948-1955) died (1918-1992). The New York Yankees obtained Eddie from the Chicago White Sox in February of 1948 for C Aaron Robinson, P Fred Bradley and Bill Wight. From 1948 to 1954, Eddie won 113 games for the Yankees as part of the Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi, Whitey Ford (1950,1953) starting rotation that won 5 straight World Championships (1949-1953). Ed helped Whitey Ford with his MLB development, using a 8MM camera to study the pitcher’s movements. Eddie was known, as “The Junkman” would be started by Manager Casey Stengel in-between fastball starters Reynolds and Raschi, to throw off the opposition club’s hitters. Some Eddie’s Yankee career highlights are 113 wins with a .657 WP, 20 career shutouts, with 91 complete games. His Yankees career ERA was 3.21. In 1951, he was 21-9 for the Yankees. After retiring as MLB player, Eddie managed in the Yankees minor league system at Richmond (IL). He was the Yankees MLB pitching coach in 1960. He would later work for the Kansas City A’s as a Manager and General Manager, later work with the Montreal Expos in the front office.
2008 - New York Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang, who is 8-2, after back-to-back 19-win seasons, breaks his right foot running the bases in an inter-league game against the Houston Astros, spoiling a 13-0 Yankees rout. Wang will miss the remainder of the 2008 AL season.
June 16th
1903 - The New York Yankees register their 1st shutout victory ever, 1-0 against the Chicago White Sox with Clark Griffith as the winning pitcher for New York.
1925 - The New York Yankees signed veteran MLB 1B Fred Merkle (1925-1926) after his release by the Chicago Cubs. Fred hit .266 for the Yankees in 8 games, before becoming a Yankees MLB coach.
1933 - Former Yankees P Ken Johnson (1969) was born. After being obtained from the Atlanta Braves, Ken Johnson went 1-2 in 12 games before being sold to the Chicago Cubs.
1945 - Boston Red Sox starter Dave Ferriss loses to the New York Yankees by the score of 3-2, after starting his MLB career with 8 victories, 4 of them shutouts.
1950 - The New York Yankees waived reserve C Gus Niarhos (1946-1950) to the Chicago White Sox. Gus appeared in 153 games, hitting .257 for the Yankees.
1953 - Duane Pillette of the St. Louis Browns ended the New York Yankees' win streak at 18 games and the St. Louis Browns' team record 14-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory at Yankee Stadium. Johnny Mize became the 93rd player in MLB history to get 2,000 hits, when he singled in the only Yankees' run in the 5th inning.
1962 - An injured Mickey Mantle returned after a 1-month layoff and hit a dramatic 3-run pinch-hit HR in the top of the 8th inning. Although Mantle's blast gave the Yankees a 9-7 lead, but the Cleveland Indians came back to score a run in the bottom of the 8th inning and won the game in the 9th inning by the score of 10-9, on a 2-run HR by 2B Jerry Kendall.
1975 - Former Yankees C Clint Courtney (1951) passed away of a fatal heart attack. The New York Yankees signed C Clint Courtney as an MLB amateur free agent in 1947. Clint appeared in only 1 game with the Yankees before being sold to the St. Louis Browns in 1951. He was one of the 1st modern catchers to wear glasses behind the catcher’s mask. Clint was the manager Richmond (AAA) for Braves at the time of his death.
1977 - New York Yankees starter Ron Guidry hurls his 1st complete game, a shutout over the Kansas City Royals as the Yankees win by a score of 7-0.
1994 - Former Yankees P Marlin Stuart (1954) passed away. On July 4, 1954, Marlin Stuart was selected off waivers by the New York Yankees from the Baltimore Orioles. He went 3-0 in 10 games for the 1954 Yankees.
1977 - Former Yankees P Kerry Wood (2010) was born. On July 31, 2010, veteran reliever Kerry Wood was traded by the Cleveland Indians with cash to the New York Yankees for players to be named later. The New York Yankees sent minor league players Andrew Shive and Matt Cusick on October 21, 2010 to the Cleveland Indians to complete the trade. Kerry Wood went 2-0 in 24 games for the Yankees before leaving the team in the winter of 2010 as MLB free agent. He signed with his original MLB team, the Chicago Cubs for the 2011 MLB season.
1996 - Legendary Hall Of Fame baseball broadcaster Mel Allen died at the age of 83. In 1939, Mel Allen started doing play-by-play for both the New York Yankees (1939-1964) and Giants. After the 1964 World Series, Mel was let go by the New York Yankees, who were now owned by CBS. He went to Atlanta to do Braves play-by-play work. Allen later narrated the long-running television show, “This Week in Baseball.” In 1978, Mel Allen received the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence.
2001- Former Yankees P Wally Hood (1949) passed away. On June 29, 1948, Wally Hood, a pitcher for the University of Southern California baseball team, was signed as an MLB amateur free agent by the New York Yankees. The 22-year-old right-hander was assigned to the Newark Bears of the Yankee's AAA affiliate in the International League. Wally would chalk up a 6-5 record and a 4.19 ERA while pitching 86 innings in his first season in pro baseball. Hood, who would never pitch below AA ball during his 7-year run in the minor leagues, he was with the Newark Bears and the Kansas City Blues in 1949, his 2nd year in the minors, Wally put together an 8-8 record with a 4.92 ERA while pitching 161 innings. Wally would receive a call from the Yankees in late September of 1949. The Californian made his MLB debut on September 23 of this same season. In his two MLB appearances, he allowed no hits and no runs and never appeared in the big leagues again. Hood would spend 5 more seasons in baseball, all in the minors. The right-hander would go from a 7-16 and a 5.42 ERA record with the 1950 Kansas City Blues to a 11-9 record in a split season with the San Francisco Seals and the Hollywood Stars, both teams were in the Pacific Coast League, in 1951. The Yankees would send Hood to the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1952 season in a presently unknown transaction. Hood reported to the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League (AA). Wally had the best numbers of his career, going 5-2 with a 2.66 ERA in the final months of the 1952 season. Wally would hold on through 1954 when he went 4-5 with a 5.43 ERA for the Montreal Royals AAA (International League), He called it quits at the age of 28 with a 7-year career record of 52-62 and a 4.61 ERA in 951 innings.
June 17th
1903 - Former Yankees P Benjamin “Big Ben” Shields (1924-1925) was born. Ben Shields went 3-0 in 6 games for the Yankees.
1917 - The Giants and Yankees played the 1st Sunday game in New York City for a war charity in front of 21,000 spectators at the Polo Grounds.
1918 - The New York Yankees play an 8-inning 5-5 tie with the Detroit Tigers, called because the team had to catch a train to Cleveland.
1936 - Red Ruffing of the New York Yankees set an AL record for pitchers by recording up to 10 total bases. Ruffing hit 2 HRs as part of a 4-hit day (2-singles), helping the Yankees to a 15-4 crushing of the Cleveland Indians.
1941 - Joe DiMaggio of the Yankees was credited with a hit in his 30th consecutive game when an easy grounder to shortstop bounced up and hit Luke Appling on the shoulder. The Chicago White Sox beat the Yankees by the score of 8-7.
1961 - Former Yankees reserve OF Vic Mata (1984-1985) was born. The New York Yankees signed Vic Mata as an MLB amateur free agent in 1978. He appeared in 36 games for the Yankees hitting .312.
1977 - The New York Yankees open a 3-game series at Fenway Park, with starter Jim “Catfish” Hunter is bomber by four 1st inning HR’s by Rick Burleson, Fred Lynn, Carlton Fisk and George Scott. The Boston Red Sox win the game by a score of 11-1.
1978 - Ron Guidry of the Yankees struck out 18 batters in a 4-hit, in a 4-0 shutout of the Angels, to set an AL record for a left-handed pitcher in a single game. Guidry, who struck out 15 batters in the first 6 innings of the game. Ron posted his 11th consecutive victory without a loss. The performance will help coin a new nickname for Guidry as the team's announcer, Phil Rizzuto, began to refer to him as 'Louisiana Lightning', inspiring a new Yankees tradition as the fans began to clap rhythmically, each time there was 2 strikes on the batter.
1979 - Former Yankees OF Duffy Lewis (1919-1920) passed away. Duffy Lewis was traded by the Boston Red Sox goes along with front-line P Ernie Shore and Dutch Leonard for New York Yankees P Ray "Slim" Caldwell, P Slim Love, C Roxy Walters, OF Frank Gilhooley and $15,000. The Boston Post reports, "It will take a lot to convince Boston fans that they got the best of this one". Duffy Lewis will hit .272 for the Yankees. On December 31,1920, Lewis is traded by the Yankees along with veteran P George Mogridge to the Washington Senators for OF Braggo Roth.
1984 - Former longtime Yankees Bullpen Coach Jim Hegan (1960-1973, 1979-1980) passes away (1920-1984). Jim’s son Mike Hegan played for the Yankees during the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Jim Hegan was a 5-time AL All Star catcher for the Cleveland Indians during the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Jim was the Indians starting catcher from 1946-1956. He was a MLB scout for the Yankees for 2 years before retiring from baseball.
1985 - Former Yankees minor league INF Mitch Hilligoss was born. In 2006, INF Mitch Hilligoss was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 6th round of the MLB amateur player draft. He never played for the Yankees at the MLB level. On January 26, 2010, Mitch was traded by the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for OF Greg Olson.
1987 - Former Yankees player (1967-1968), MLB Coach (1968-1979) and Manager (1980), Richard Howser died from brain cancer at the age of 51. As an active player, he came to the New York Yankees at the end of his MLB career dealing with bad back problems. Upon his retirement as an active player in 1968, the Yankees hired him to be a MLB coach. In 1980, he led the Yankees to a 103-59 record in AL East before losing to the Royals in the AL Championship Playoffs. After leaving the Yankees, he managed the Kansas City Royals before being stricken by cancer.
June 18th
1918 - The New York Yankees score in every inning except for the 8th inning as they beat the Cleveland Indians by a score of 19-3.
1946 - The New York Yankees waived veteran P Bill Zuber (1943-1946) to the Boston Red Sox. Bill went 18-23 for the Yankees.
1975 - Former Yankees P Felix Heredia (2003-2004) was born. On August 25,2003, reliever Felix Heredia was selected off waivers by the New York Yankees from the Cincinnati Reds. He worked out of the Yankees bullpen. On November 7, 2003, Felix was granted MLB free agency by New York. On December 4, 2003, he was re-signed as a MLB free agent with the team. Felix Heredia went 1-2 in 59 games as a Yankees reliever, before being traded to the New York Mets for veteran reliever Mike Stanton on December 3, 2004.
1976 - MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the sales of Oakland A’s stars Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi. Kuhn ordered the players to return to Oakland, but A’s owner Charlie Finley will not allow the A’s manager Chuck Tanner to use any of them in a game until June 27.
1977 - New York Yankees OF Reggie Jackson and Manager Billy Martin became involved in a dugout confrontation that is seen on national television during a “Game of the Week” broadcast on NBC-TV being played at Boston’s Fenway Park. After Martin removed Jackson for loafing on a ball hit to the outfield, replacing him with reserve OF Paul Blair. Jackson questioned Manager Billy Martin actions in the Yankees dugout. The two were eventually separated by Yankees MLB coaches Elston Howard and Yogi Berra.
2007 - The New York Yankees signed Chinese catcher Zhenwang Zhang and pitcher Kai Liu. It is touted as the 1st time a MLB organization has signed Chinese players. This is not the case, as the Seattle Mariners had signed Chao Wang in 2001.
2009 - In a start delayed by rain for over five hours at New Yankee Stadium, Craig Stammen earns his 1st MLB career victory when the Washington Nationals shut out the New York Yankees by the score of 3-0. It is the 1st homer-less game at the ballpark since it’s opening in April.
2010 - The New York Mets extend their winning streak to 8 games, when rookie starter Hisanori Takahashi, with help from relievers Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez, shut out their cross-town rivals the New York Yankees by the score of 4-0.
(As always I'd like to thank Fw57Clipper51 for his great contribution.)
