February 22nd - February 28th
February 22nd
1920 - Former Yankees P Karl Drews (1946-48) was born. In 1939, the Yankees signed Karl as an amateur free agent. He appeared in 52 games, posting an 8-10 record, before being sold to the Browns
1929 - Former Yankees Closer Ryne Duren (1958-61) was born. Ryne was obtained by the Yankees from the A’s on June 15, 1957, in the Billy Martin trade. In 1958, he led the AL in saves with 20, while posting a 6-4 record for the team. Ryne appeared in 2 games in the 1958 World Series going 1-1 with 1 save with 14 K’s, while posting a 1.93 ERA. Ryne was wild and fast, also he was an alcoholic. By the start of the 1961 AL season, his best days as a Yankee closer were over; he had been replaced by Louis Arroyo. On May 8, 1961, he was traded by the Yankees along with P Johnny James and OF Lee Thomas to the Angels for veteran reliever Tex Clevenger and OF Bob Cerv. Ryne would play for the Angels, Phillies and the Senators before retiring from MLB. He would later write a book on his fight with alcoholism during his 10 year MLB career, titled “The Comeback.”
1938 - Former Yankees P Steve Barber (1967-68) was born. On July 4, 1967, Steve was traded by the Orioles to the Yankees for players to be named later, 1B Ray Barker, and cash. The Yankees would send minor league players INF Chet Trail and OF Joe Brady to the Orioles in December of 1967 to complete the trade. Steve went 12-14 in 37 games for the Yankees before being drafted by the Pilots in the1968 AL player expansion draft. Steve was battling arm problems when he came to the Yankees, never recovering the form that made him a great starter for the Orioles.
1956 - Former Yankees reserve OF Joe Lefebvre (1980) was born. Joe was drafted by the Yankees in the 3rd round of the 1977 MLB amateur player draft. Joe batted .227 in 74 games as a reserve OF. On March 31, 1981, Joe was traded by the Yankees along with OF Ruppert Jones, pitchers Tim Lollar, and Chris Welsh to the Padres for OF Jerry Mumphrey and P John Pacella.
1973 - Former Yankees reserve INF Russ Johnson (2005) was born. Russ appeared in 22 games for the Yankees in 2005, with a .222 BA as a reserve INF. He spent most of the year playing at Columbus (AAA).
2000 - A Florida Department of Corrections report says Yankees OF/DH Darryl Strawberry tested positive for cocaine on January 19th.
2005 - Jerry Coleman, the San Diego broadcaster, is selected as the recipient of this year's Hall of Fame Ford C. Frick Award. The 80-year old play-by-play man, who was the MVP of the 1950 World Series for the Yankees, has spent 41 years in the booth working for the Yankees (1958-1967), Angels and the Padres. He served as a Marine fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean War.
February 23rd
1903 - Former Yankees OF Roy Johnson (1936-37) was born. On January 17, 1936, Roy was traded by the Senators along with P Bump Hadley to the Yankees for P Jimmie DeShong and OF Jesse Hill. Roy appeared in 75 games for the Yankees, hitting .278 before being picked up by Boston Bees (Braves).
1918 - Former Yankees reserve OF Ed ‘Truck” Kearse (1942) was born. Ed appeared in only 11 games for the Yankees, batting .192 during the 1942 AL season.
1929 - Former Yankees MVP All Star C/OF (1955-1967) and MLB Coach Elston Howard (1968 - 1980) was born. Elston Howard played the OF in the Negro Leagues for 3 years, switched to catcher in 3 seasons in the minors, and caught for 14 years for the Yankees and Red Sox. In 1955, he became the 1st black MLB player for the Yankees. He hit a HR in his 1st World Series at bat in 1955. Howard tied the following World Series records: most hits, inning, 1960, (2); most long hits, 5 game series, 1961 (4); most passed balls, game, 1964 (2). He established AL catcher's records for PO (939) and TCA (1006) in 1964. In 1958, Howard won the Babe Ruth Award. Ellie was an AL All Star team member 9 times during his MLB career. In 1963, he won the AL MVP award hitting .287 with 28 HRs and 85 RBIs. Howard won the AL Golden Glove Award for catchers in 1963-64. Upon his retirement as a player in 1968, he became the 1st black MLB Yankee coach. He held this position until his premature death in 1980 at age 51 from heart failure.
1954 - The Cardinals purchased P Vic Raschi from the Yankees for $85,000. The Yankees GM George Weiss did this deal to show other Yankee veterans what would happen to them, if they were going to stage a MLB contract holdout. Raschi did one before the 1953 AL season. He would never be a effective starting pitcher again.
1972 - Former Yankees OF/DH Rondell White (2002) was born. Rondell was signed as a free agent. He was injured most of the 2002 AL season with the Yankees. He only hit .240 in 126 games. On March 19, 2003, Rondell was traded by the Yankees to the Padres for OF Bubba Trammell, minor league player Mark Phillips and cash.
February 24th
1875 - Former Yankees C/1B Henry “Monte” Beville (1903-1904) was born. Henry appeared in 91 games for the Yankees, hitting just .200. On August 3, 1904, he was loaned to the Tigers by the Highlanders. He never returned to the Highlanders.
1877 - Former Yankees INF James “Champ” Osteen (1904) was born. In January of 1904, James was purchased by the Highlanders from the Senators. He appeared in only 28 games, hitting just .196.
1927 - Former Yankees reserve OF/3B Robert “Suitcase Bob” Seeds (1936) was born. On August 22, 1936, Bob was traded by the Montreal Royals (International League) to the Yankees for players to be named later. The Yankees would send minor league players Marv Duke and Norm Kies on November 30, 1936 to the Montreal to complete the trade. Bob only appeared in 13 games for the Yankees, hitting .262. On June 24, 1938, Bob was purchased by the Giants from the Yankees.
1948 - The White Sox traded P Ed Lopat to the Yankees for C Aaron Robinson, Pitchers Bill Wight and Fred Bradley. Eddie Lopat will star for 7 seasons in pinstripes, winning 21 in 1951 and going 16-4 in 1953. Eddie would be part of the Yankees starting rotation of Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi and later Whitey Ford that won 5th straight World Championships. After retiring as active player, Ed managed in the Yankees farm system. In 1960, he was Casey Stengel’s last MLB pitching coach. He would leave the Yankees in the winter of 1960 for the A’s being a MLB Manager, then working in the A’s front office as a General Manager until their move to Oakland. Later he worked in the front office with the Expos organization.
1974 - Former Yankees INF Mike Lowell (1998) was born. Mike was drafted by the Yankees in the 20th round of the 1995 MLB amateur player draft. Mike appeared in 8 games for the Yankees batting .267. With Scott Borias starting at 3B, Mike became expendable. On February 1, 1999, Mike was traded by the Yankees to the Marlins for pitchers Mark J. Johnson, Ed Yarnall, and Todd Noel.
1976 - Former Yankees P Randy Keisler (2000-01) was born. Randy was drafted by the Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1998 MLB amateur player draft. Randy went 2-2 in 14 games before being released by the Yankees. He criticized the Yankees management in the media for their handling of young pitchers.
1976 - The Yankees signed former NL Batting Champ OF/DH Tommy Davis as a free agent. Tommy Davis despite having a good spring will be cut by the Yankees at the end of the 1976 spring training camp.
February 25th
1940 - Former Yankees 1B/3B /OF Danny Cater (1970-71) was born. As a Yankee, he hit .301 and .276, after coming from the A’s in the Al Downing trade. He was traded to the Red Sox for P Sparky Lyle in March of 1972.
1941 - The Yankees sell 1B Ellsworth “Babe” Dahlgren to the Braves for undisclosed amount of cash. Babe replaced the ailing Lou Gehrig at 1st base when his famous consecutive games played streak ended during the 1939 AL season at Detroit.
1942 - The Yankees signed free agent OF George “Tuck” Stainback after his release by the Tigers. He would last 4 years as a reserve OF for the Yankees. George would appear in 211 games for the Yankees, hitting .243. On April 26, 1946, George was released by the Yankees.
1944 - Former Yankees Manager (1990-91) and MLB Coach (1985), Stump Merrill was born. In 1985, he was a MLB 1B coach for Manager Yogi Berra, but was replaced when Billy Martin took over the team after 16 games. Stump was a manager in the Yankees farm system for from 1978-1990, before replacing Bucky Dent as manager in 1990. He went 49-74 in 1990 and 71-91 in 1991. In 1992, he was replaced as Yankees Manager by Buck Showalter. From 1993-2004, Stump was once again was a Yankees minor league manager.
1963 - Former Yankees All Star OF Paul O’Neill (1993-2001) was born. On November 3, 1992, Paul was traded by the Reds along with Joe DeBerry to the Yankees for OF Roberto Kelly. He was a member of the AL All Star team 4 times. He appeared in 4 World Series with the Yankees. His best Yankees season was in 1994, when he won the AL Batting Crown with a .354 BA.
1988 - The Yankees signed OF Jose Cruz as a free agent. Jose will appear in only 38 games for the Yankees, hitting .200 before being released on July 22, 1988 by the Yankees.
1994 - The Veterans Committee elects former Yankees long-time shortstop Phil Rizzuto (1941 - 42, 1946 - 1956) to Baseball’s Hall Of Fame. Phil won the 1950 AL MVP award and the 1951 Babe Ruth Award. Long-time Red Sox rival HOF Ted Williams said that Phil could beat you with his glove or bat.
2004 - The Yankees signed free agent P Nerio Rodriguez. He does not appear with the team at the MLB level. On June 15, 2004, he was sent to the Cardinals by the Yankees as part of a conditional deal.
February 26th
1872 - Former Yankees reserve C Louis Criger (1910) was born. On December 16, 1909, Louis was traded by the Browns to the Highlanders for P Joe Lake and OF Ray Demmitt. He appeared in only 27 games for the Yankees, hitting just .188.
1896 - Former Yankees P Rip Collins (1920-21) was born. He went 25-13 in 64 games before being traded to Red Sox in 1921.
1933 - Former Yankees 1B/OF/Catcher John Blanchard (1955, 1959-1965) was born. In 1951, the Yankees signed him, as an amateur free agent. His best Yankees career season was in 1961, when he hit .305 with 21 HRs and 54 RBIs in 243 at bats under100 games. During July of 1961, Johnny hit 4 HRs in 4 consecutive appearances during a 3 game series. He appeared in 5 World Series with the Yankees hitting .345. On May 3,1965, John was traded by the Yankees along with P Rolland Sheldon to the A’s for C Doc Edwards.
1935 - The Yankees release longtime star OF Babe Ruth, freeing him to sign a $20,000 contract with the Braves of the NL. Ruth's new contract with the Braves also gives him a share of the team's profits. In 1934, Ruth had endured one of his worst seasons with the Yankees-at least by his lofty standards-with a .288 batting average, with only 22 HRs and 84 RBIs. In 1935, he will play just only 28 games for the Braves, before announcing his retirement on June 2nd at the age of 40. Ruth will hit the final 3 HRs of his MLB career on May 25 against the Pirates, giving him a final MLB HR career total of 714. His last HR will clear the right field grandstand at Forbes Field and will travel an estimated 600 feet.
1968 - Former Yankees 1B J. T. Snow (1992) was born. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 5th round of the 1989 amateur player draft. He appeared in only 7 games for the Yankees, batting just .143. He refused the Yankees request to learn how to play the outfield, since Don Mattingly was at 1B. This rejection by Snow to switch positions resulted in him being put into a player trade package to the Angels for starter Jim Abbott.
1971 - Former Yankees reserve OF Matt Luke (1996) was born. Matt was drafted by the Yankees in the 8th round of the 1992 MLB amateur player draft. He appeared in only 1 game with Yankees with no at bats before being picked up on waivers in 1997 by the Dodgers.
1991 - Bill Veeck, the colorful owner of the MLB's Browns, Indians and the White Sox (twice) and the Yankees great 2B Tony Lazzeri are elected to the HOF by the Veterans Committee. The AL All Star 2B Tony Lazzeri played for the Yankees from 1926 to 1937, finishing with a lifetime BA of .293 with 169 HRs and 1,154 RBIs in 1,659 games.
February 27th
1896 - Former Yankees reserve catcher (1931) and MLB Coach (1932) Cy Perkins was born. Cy was a veteran catcher picked up from the A’s. He batted .255 for the Yankees. He would become a Yankees Coach on the 1932 World Championship team.
1907 - The Yankees acquired C Branch Rickey from the Browns in exchange for INF Joe Yeager. As noted by baseball writer Lyle Spatz, Branch Rickey will not play on Sundays, while new C Fritz Buelow will. Rickey will go on to have a more successful MLB career as a baseball executive than as a player. He was the man responsible for creating MLB farm system concept with the Cardinals and bring the MLB player color barrier with Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers in 1947.
1912 - The Yankees announced that, they would begin to wear pinstriped uniforms for the 1912 AL season.
1948 - Newly elected to the HOF are Yankees P Herb Pennock and Pirates Pie Traynor. Needing 91 votes for selection, Pennock, who died a month before, gets 94 votes, as Pie Traynor gets 93 votes. Just missing in the HOF voting are former A’s slugger Al Simmons, Tigers 2B Charlie Gehringer and Giants player/manager Bill Terry. Herb Pennock was the GM for the Phillies at the time of his death, a position he had held since 1944. He was helping the new Phillies ownership rebuilt the team. He had suffered a fatal heart attack.
1953 - Former Yankees C/DH Ron Hassey (1985-86) was born. Ron came from the Cubs in 1984. In 1985, he hit .296 in 92 games. He was traded to the White Sox, but he was required in February of 1986, he hit .298 in 64 games.
1962 - Former Yankees P Greg Cadaret (1989-1992) was born. Greg came to the Yankees from the A’s in the Rickey Henderson trade. He went 22-23 with 7 saves as a Yankee, before being sold to the Reds.
1969 - Former Yankees P Willie Banks (1997-98) was born. Willie Banks was signed as a free agent by the Yankees. He was a former NJ All State HS Pitching star, who had been originally been signed by the Twins. He went 4-1 in 14 games with the Yankees, before being traded to D-Backs during the 1998 AL season.
1985 - Veteran INF Toby Harrah, an original Texas Rangers member, is traded by the Yankees back to Texas for OF/DH Billy Sample and a player to be named later. Harrah was a major disappointment with the Yankees after coming in a trade with the Indians in 1984.
1988 - Former Yankees MLB Coach (1984-85) and Minor League Manager Doug Homquist passed away. Holmquist managed for the Yankees in their minor league system from 1978 to 1983. As the Yankees awarded World Series rings to their minor league managers as well, they gave Holmquist one. While managing in the minors, he worked with future MLB players such as Willie McGee, Pat Tabler and Steve Balboni.
February 28th
1947 - Former Yankees reserve INF Marty Perez (1977) was born. On March 14, 1977, Marty was traded by the Giants to the Yankees for OF Terry Whitfield. He appeared in 1 game with the team before being traded on April 27, 1977 by the Yankees along with P Dock Ellis and OF Larry Murray to the A’s for starter Mike Torrez.
1959 - AL All Star CF Mickey Mantle of the Yankees ends his MLB player contract holdout after one day. Mantle agrees to a salary of $72,000 and a bonus of $2,000. He had been asking the Yankees for $85,000, after batting .304 with 42 HRs and 97 RBIs in 1958.
1970 - The Yankees acquired veteran INF Ron Hansen (1970-71) from the White Sox. Ron was at the end of his MLB career battling with back problems. He batted .297 in 59 games, before fading in 1971 to .207 in 61 games and being released by the Yankees. Ron originally came up to the MLB with the Orioles in 1960.
1973 - The Yankees traded minor league slugger 1B Tony Solaita to the Pirates for 1B George Kopacz, who never appears with the Yankees at the MLB level.
1983 - The Yankees signed free agent OF Rowland Office. He appear in 2 games for the Yankees with 2 at bats and no hits, he spent majority of the year at Columbus (AAA). On November 9, 1983, Rowland was released by the Yankees.
1983 - The Yankees signed free agent AL All Star INF Bert Campaneris. Bert appeared in 60 games as a Yankee reserve INF, hitting .322 in his final MLB season. Bert played in the MLB for 19 seasons starting with the A’s, Rangers and the Yankees. On November 7, 1983, Bert was granted free agency by the Yankees.
Just for fun, I'll throw in February 29th...
February 29th
1924 - Former Yankees President and MLB Player Al Rosen (1978-79) was born. Al took over the GM duties after Gabe Paul left the team in 1977 to return to the Indians. His personnel moves including bringing in Bob Lemon as Manager during the 1978 AL East race, allowed the Yankees to catch the Red Sox and win the AL flag. As a MLB player, Al played for the Indians.
1992 - The Yankees traded P Alan Mills to the Orioles for players to be named later. The Orioles would send minor league players Francisco de la Rosa and Mark Carper to the Yankees to complete the trade.
2000 - After being suspended yesterday by MLB for 1 year for testing positive for the use cocaine, Yankees OF/DH Darryl Strawberry is invited to join the Newark Bears during his suspension. The New Jersey franchise, which is a member of the Atlantic League which is independent from organized baseball, is located near Strawberry's Fort Lee, NJ home.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment