April 6th - April 12th
April 6th
1954 - Former Yankees P Ken Clay (1977-80) was born. Ken was drafted by the Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1972 amateur player draft. He went 6-13 in 81 games with 3 saves. He appeared in the 1977-78 World Series against the Dodgers with no record. He picked up a save in Game 1 of the 1978 AL Playoffs. On August 14, 1980, he was traded by the Yankees along with a player to be named later to the Rangers for P Gaylord Perry. The Yankees sent Marvin Thompson (minors) to the Rangers to complete the trade.
1973 - At Fenway Park, Ron Blomberg of the Yankees becomes the 1st designated hitter in MLB history. In his 1st plate appearance, Blomberg walks with the bases loaded off of Red Sox starter Luis Tiant. He will end up with one hit in 3 at-bats as the Yankees lose to the Red Sox, 15-5. Ron jokingly refers to himself as the “Designated Hebrew.”
1974 - The Yankees play their 1st home game outside of Yankee stadium since 1922, when they hosted the Indians at Shea Stadium. The Yanks beat the Tribe 6-1 behind pitching of starter Mel Stottlemyre and 2 HRs by 3B Graig Nettles. This will be the last opening day start for Mel Stottlemyre for the Yankees. The Yankees will play at Shea Stadium for the 1974-1975 AL seasons, while Yankee Stadium is being renovated.
1977 - Former Yankees INF Andy Phillips (2005-2007) was born. Andy was drafted by the Yankees in the 7th round of the 1999 amateur player draft. In 1995, Andy won the James P. Dawson Award as the best Yankees rookie in spring training camp. Andy hit .253 with 11 HRs with 60 RBI’s in 203 games with the Yankees.
1982 - A freak heavy spring snowstorm brings subfreezing temperatures across the northeast and mid-west regions of the country that causes the postponement of home opener for the Yankees and other MLB teams.
1998 - Former Yankees P John Wyatt (1968) passed away (1935-1998). John appeared briefly with the Yankees after being acquired from the Red Sox before moving on to the Tigers during the 1968 AL season. John appeared in 7 games, going 0-2.
2004 - Former Yankees C Lou Berberet (1954-55) passed away (1929-2004).
Lou was another of a long list of young catchers in the Yankee system, who were blocked by the presence of Yogi Berra behind the plate, during the 1950’s. He was traded to the Senators in 1956.
2004 - Former Yankees P Ken Johnson (1969) passed away (1923-2004). Ken played briefly with the Yankees appearing in 12 games in 1969, going 1-2, after coming from the Braves before being sent on to the Cubs.
April 7th
1875 - Former Yankees INF John Ganzel (1903-04) was born. John hit .268 in 259 games for the Yankees, before being sent to the Reds.
1907 - Former Yankees P Oral “Hildy” Hildebrand (1939-40) was born. Oral was traded on October 26, 1938 by the Browns along with OF Buster Mills to the Yankees for C Joe Glenn and OF Myril Hoag. Oral went 11-5 in 34 games with 2 saves before retiring after the 1940 AL season.
1933 - Former Yankees reserve OF Bobby Del Greco (1957-58) was born. Bobby hit .459 for his month with the Yankees in September 1957 after being purchased from the Cubs. He appeared in 6 games with the Yanks in 1958, before being sold to Phillies in April of 1959.
1948 - Former Yankees P Rick Sawyer (1974-75) was born. Rick had no decisions in 4 games with the Yankees during the 1974-1975 AL seasons. On March 19, 1974, he was traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Indians along with OF Walt Williams to the Yankees. The Yanks sent C Jerry Moses to the Tigers. The Indians sent P Ed Farmer to the Yankees. The Tigers sent P Jim Perry to the Indians. On July 31, 1976, Rick was sent by the Yankees to the Padres to complete an earlier deal made for OF Gene Locklear on July 10, 1976.
1952 - The Yankees waived P Dave “The Squeakin’ Deacon” Madison (1950) to the Browns. Dave signed with the Yankees in 1947. He appeared in 1 game for the Yankees with no decision during the 1950 AL season. After his MLB playing career was over, Dave became a Yankee minor league scout.
1977 - The Yankees open defense of their 1976 AL Championship by defeating the Brewers 3-0 at Yankee Stadium. Sparky Lyle recorded the 1st of 26 saves in relief of starter Catfish Hunter, who went 7-innings of 2-hit ball before getting hit by a line drive by Von Joshua. Yankees DH Jim Wynn hit a HR in his 1st at bat as a Yankee.
April 8th
1899 - Former Yankees P Ted Kleinhans (1936) was born. Ted appeared in 19 games going 1-1 with 1 save in 1936.
1908 - While at spring training, 1B Hal Chase of the Highlanders contracts smallpox. The entire Highlanders team is vaccinated and quarantined while traveling north.
1946 - Former Yankees Hall OF Fame P Jim “Catfish” Hunter (1975-1979) is born in Hertford, North Carolina (1946-1999). Hunter will make his MLB debut in 1965 with the A’s. He will join the Yankees as a free agent in 1975. His Yankee career pitching record was 63-53. He won 23 (1975) and 17 games (1976) for the Yankees. He will retire at the age of 33 in 1979 after 15 year MLB career. He will win election to the HOF in 1987. Sadly in 1999, Catfish Hunter passes away from ALS disease.
1957 - Former Yankee INF Roger Holt (1980) was born. He was drafted in the 4th round (101st pick overall) of the 1977 amateur draft by the Yankees. Holt was a star in the minor leagues (he had the game winning hit in the minor league World Series and was named the Yankees Minor League Player of the Year). In 1980, he was called up by Yankees and given the number 55; he played in 2 games. In those 2 games, Holt had 6 at bats; he struck out twice, walked once, and got 1 hit (off of Aurelio Lopez of the Tigers). However, the following spring, he was traded to the Rangers for INF Tucker Ashford.
2003 - At Yankee Stadium home opener, with the fans chanting his name, Hideki Matsui hit his 1st MLB HR, a grand slam, against the Twins.
April 9th
1888 - Former Yankees P James “Hippo” Vaughn (1908, 1910-1912) was born. Hippo went 22-30 with the Yankees in 72 games before going to the Senators on waivers.
1961 - Former Yankees back-up C Brian Dorsett (1989-90) was born. On November 17, 1988, Brian was traded by the Angels to the Yankees for Eric Schmidt (minors). He appeared in only 22 games hitting .258, before he was released in November, 1990.
1965 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson joins 47,878 fans for the opening of Harris County Domed Stadium, the Astrodome. The Astros win an exhibition game against the Yankees, 2-1, in 12 innings. Yankees CF Mickey Mantle hits the 1st-ever indoor HR in the new park.
1965 - Former Yankees OF/1B Hal Morris (1988-89) was born. Hal was drafted by the Yankees in the 8th round of the 1986 amateur played draft. He played 30 games for the Yankees, hitting .189, before being traded away to the Reds for P Tim Leary. Some reason, owner George Steinbrenner didn’t like Hal as a player, hence his Yankee career was very short.
1967 - Former Yankees P Graeme Lloyd (1996-1998) was born. Graeme came to the Yankees in the trade with the Brewers, that saw P Bob Wickman and OF Gerald Williams going to the Brewers. He went 4-3 in 109 games with 1 save before being traded with P David Wells to the Blue Jays for P Roger Clemens in 1999.
1971 - The A’s trade 1B/OF Felipe Alou to the Yankees in exchange for pitchers Rob Gardner and Ron Kliminkowski. In 1972, Alou's younger brother, Matty, will join him in pinstripes. The Yankees will acquire him in another trade with A’s.
1989 - All Star LF Rickey Henderson of the Yankees gets his 800th MLB career stolen base in a 4-3 Yankees loss to the Indians.
2004 - The Yankees and their Manager Joe Torre agreed to a 3-year contract extension. The contract also includes an additional 6-year deal in which the 62-year old manager will serve as a team advisor through the 2013 season.
April 10th
1913 - In a game, which features U.S. President Woodrow Wilson throwing out the 1st pitch, the Highlanders, who are now called the Yankees, played their 1st game under their new nickname. The Yankees lose to the Senators, 2-1, as future HOF P Walter Johnson picks up the win for Washington.
1946 - Former Yankees 1B/DH and GM Bob Watson (1980-81) was born. Bob was signed as a free agent in 1980. He hit .307 for the Yankees. He was traded to the Braves in 1982. During the early1990’s, he was the Yankees General Manager until 1995. Bob now works for MLB.
1950 - Former Yankees OF/1B Ken Griffey Sr. (1982-86) was born. On November 4, 1981, Ken was traded by the Reds to the Yankees for a player to be named later and P Brian Ryder (minors). The Yankees sent P Freddie Toliver on December 9, 1981 to the Reds to complete the trade. Ken hit .289 in 551 games with 49 HRs and 251 RBIs with the Yankees. On June 30, 1986, Ken was traded by the Yankees along with INF Andre Robertson to the Braves for OF Claudell Washington and INF Paul Zuvella.
1967 - Former Yankees reserve OF Mike Humphreys (1991-93) was born. On February 7, 1991, he was sent by the Padres to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal made on December 3, 1990. The Padres sent a player to be named later to the Yankees for Oscar Azocar. The Padres sent OF Mike Humphreys to the Yankees to complete the trade. Mike won the James P. Dawson Award in 1993, as best Yankees rookie in spring training camp. Mike appeared in 54 games, just hitting .176 for the Yankees.
1976 - 3B Don Money hits a 9th-inning grand slam HR to give the Brewers an apparent 10- 9 lead over the Yankees. The umpires, however, rule that Yankees 1B Chris Chambliss had called timeout prior to the pitch. Money returns to the plate, hits a sacrifice fly, and the Brewers lose the game by a score of 9-7.
1982 - The Yankees trade hard-throwing reliever Ron Davis and minor leaguers INF Greg Gagne and P Paul Boris to the Twins for INF Roy Smalley. The trade breaks up the Yankees' devastating bullpen combination of Ron Davis and Goose Gossage. George wanted a HR hitting shortstop because the Orioles had Cal Ripken. This trade weakens the Yankees bullpen greatly and gave up Gagne, who would become a solid infielder for the Twins for many years. Smalley never fits in with the Yankees.
1998 -The Yankees draw the largest regular-season crowd ever at the new Yankee Stadium as 56,717 fans attend the home opener against the A’s. Then the Yankees crush the club scoring mark by winning the 17-13 slugfest.
April 11th
1954 - To make room for promising rookie OF Wally Moon, the Cardinals trade longtime OF great Enos Slaughter to the Yankees in exchange for OF Bill Vidron, P Mel Wright, C Hal Smith, and OF Emil Tellinger. Bill Vidron would become the NL Rookie of the Year in 1955, later starting OF for the Pirates during the 1950-60’s. Hal Smith was another in a string of young Yankee catchers, who were traded away because of presence of Yogi Berra behind the plate. Bill Virdon and Mel Wright would return to the Yankees in 1974, as Manager and pitching coach. Enos Slaughter would play 5 seasons with the Yankees in between a brief stay with the A’s.
April 12th
1895 - Former Yankees OF Sammy Vick (1917-1920) was born. On December 15, 1920, Sammy was traded by the Yankees with INF Del Pratt, C Muddy Ruel, and Hank Thormahlen to the Red Sox for P Waite Hoyt, P Harry Harper, C Wally Schang, and INF Mike McNally. Sammy was a weak hitting outfielder.
1927 - Yankees beat the A’s, by a score of 8-3, before the largest confirmed paid opening day attendance in baseball history, at that time (73,206) as Yankees starter Waite Hoyt out-dueled A’s starter Lefty Grove.
1948 - Yankees released AL All Star P Surgeon “Spud “Chandler (1937-1947), he retired as an active player. Spud went 109-43, with a .717 WP, finishing with a 2.84 ERA, in 211 games for the Yankees. He completed 109 games with 26 shutouts. He won 20 games twice for the Yanks in 1943 (20-4) and 1946 (20-8). He won the AL MVP in 1943. In 1943, he led the AL with a 1.64 ERA. Spud was named to the AL All Star teams in 1942-43 and 1946.
1959 - Yankees obtain OF Bob Martyn and INF Mike Baxes from the A’s for OF Russ Synder and INF Tommy Carroll. Russ Synder was a rare Yankee mistake, who would play 12 years and hit .300 for the A’s and the Orioles. Martyn and Baxes never made it with the Yankees at the MLB level. Tommy Carroll was one the Yankees bonus baby signings of the 1950’s. He attended Norte Dame University. He left baseball to have a long career in U.S. Foreign Services agency.
1970 - Plaques honoring Yankees Centerfielders Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle are dedicated at Yankee Stadium. The plaques are located in center field and will eventually be moved to "Monument Park" beyond the LF fence, when Yankee Stadium is renovated in 1974-75.
1973 - Former Yankees P Antonio Osuna (2003) was born. He came to the Yankees from the White Sox in the Orlando Hernandez trade. He went 2-5 in 48 games for the Yankees, working out of the bullpen.
(As always I'd like to thank Clipper51 for his great contribution.)
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