This Week in Yankees History
December 27th - January 2nd
December 27th - January 2nd
December 27th
1890 - Former Yankees C Ernie Krueger (1915) was born. He appeared in 10 games hitting .172 for the 1915 Yankees.
1927 - Former minor league Yankee OF Ted Del Guercio was born. Ted Del Guercio played 12 years in the minor leagues and was the only member of the largest trade in baseball history not to make the majors. On November 17, 1954, the Orioles traded P Don Larsen, INF Billy Hunter and P Bob Turley to the Yankees for players to be named later, P Harry Byrd, P Jim Mc Donald, INF Willy Miranda, catchers Hal Smith and Gus Triandos and MLB OF Gene Woodling. On December 1, 1954 The Yankees would send P Bill Miller, 1B Kal Segrist, INF Don Leppert and OF Ted Del Guercio (minors) to the Orioles to complete the trade. In return, the Orioles would send P Mike Blyzka, C Darrell Johnson, OF Jim Fridley, and 1B Richard Kryhoski to the Yankees to complete the 17-player trade.
1939 - The Giants obtained INF Mickey Witek from the Yankees AAA team, the Newark Bears in exchange for INF Alex Kampouris, C Tom Padden and $40,000 in cash. The Giants has high hopes for Witek, who was named the 1939 MVP in the International League. He will return to the Yankees organization in 1949, appearing in 1 game that season. Kampouris and Padden never play for the Yankees at the MLB level.
1943 - Former Yankees OF and MLB Coach Roy White (1965-79) was born. In 1961, the Yankees signed Roy White as an MLB amateur free agent. He was originally INF converted to OF. Roy played for 14 years for the Yankees finishing with a lifetime BA of .271 with 160 HRs and 758 RBIs in 1,881 games. He was a 2-time AL All Star team member (1969-1970). His best Yankees season was in 1970, when Roy hit .292 with 22 HRS and 94 RBIs. He played in 3 World Series for the Yankees (1976-1978) hitting .244. After leaving the Yankees in 1979, Roy played with the Tokyo Giants before retiring as an active player.
1963 - Former Yankees C/DH/INF Jim Leyritz (1990-1996, 1999-2000) was born. In 1985, the Yankees signed Jim Leyritz, as an MLB amateur free agent. With the arrival of C Joe Girardi, Jim became expendable. On December 5, 1996, Jim was traded by the Yankees to the Angels for players to be named later. The Angels sent minor league players Jeremy Blevins and Ryan Kane on December 9, 1996 to the Yankees to complete the trade. On July 31, 1999, Jim was traded by the Padres to the Yankees for minor league player Geraldo Padua. Jim only batted .213 in the post season, but that included 8 HRs with 20 RBIs. On June 20, 2000, the Yankees to the Dodgers traded Jim for INF Jose Vizcaino and cash
1984 - MLB Free agent starter Ed Whitson, who went 14-8 for the NL champion Padres, begins a nightmarish association with the Yankees by signing a 5-year, $4.4 million contract. By the middle of his 2nd year with the club, Whitson gets so rattled in Yankee Stadium that manager Lou Piniella will refused to use him in home games. He can only pitch for the team on the road. His Yankee pitching record will be 15-10 in 44 games. The Yankees shipped him back to the Padres, on July 9,1986, for P Tim Stoddard, where he will have 4 solid seasons.
1989 - The Yankees signed free agent INF Jim Walewander. He will spend the 1990 season at Columbus (AAA).
2001 - After 21 years being heard on WABC-AM radio, the Yankees will broadcast its spring training, regular-season and postseason games on all-news station WCBS-AM, which is owned by Infinity Broadcasting. The 5-year deal with the Yankees' YES Network, created earlier this year, is worth approximately about $50 million.
December 28th
1947 - Former Yankees reserve INF Aurelio Rodriguez (19801-1981) was born. (1947-2000) On August 4, 1980, he was purchased by the Yankees from the Padres. Aurelio would play in 77 games for the Yankees, hitting .283. On November 17, 1981, he was traded by the Yankees to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later. The Blue Jays would sent Mike Lebo (minors) on December 9, 1981 to the Yankees to complete the trade. In 2000, he passed away from injuries after being struck by car that had jumped onto the sidewalk in Detroit.
1978 - Former Yankees reserve C Walt Alexander (1915-1917) passed away. On July 30, 1915, Walt was purchased by the Yankees from the Browns. He appeared in 81 games for Yankees, hitting .233.
1992- Former Yankees hurler and long-time NL post-season rival Sal “The Barber” Maglie (1957-1958) passed away (1917-1992). In September of 1957, the Yankees purchased Sal from the Dodgers for $25,000 cash and 2 minor league players. Sal went 2-0 with 4 saves for the Yankees. In 1958, he faded going just 1-1 in 7 games, before being sold to the Cardinals. Sal had pitched for the Yankees, Dodgers and the Giants during the 1950’s.
1995 - The White Sox traded veteran OF Tim Raines to the Yankees in exchange for future considerations. The Yankees would sent minor league player Blaise Kozeniewski on February 6, 1996 to the White Sox to complete the trade.
2001 - Outgoing New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announces the Yankees and Mets have reached a tentative agreement with the city to build a pair of $800 million, retractable-roof stadiums. Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg, who is concerned if the city can afford what is believed to be the largest private-public venture history, will have final word on the $1.6 billion cost of the proposed new ballparks agreements. Neither of the new stadiums would be built with retractable-roofs, due to projected construction costs.
2005 - Yankees LF Hideki Matsui has decided not to play for Japan at next year's World Baseball Classic games, so he can concentrate his efforts on winning a World Series with the New York Yankees.
2005 - MLB Free agent veteran reserve INF Miguel Cairo and the Yankees reached an agreement on a $1 million, one-year contract.
2007 - Former Yankees player Jim Leyritz is arrested in Florida. He had crashed his car into another vehicle, killing the occupant. He was charged with DUI manslaughter. Leyritz was also driving with a suspended license.
December 29th
1885 - Former Yankees OF Frank “Pudgie” Delahanty (1905-1906, 1908) was born. On August 22, 1905, he was purchased by the Highlanders from the Birmingham (Southern Association). He hit .230 in 101 games for the Yankees. On May 16, 1907, Frank was traded by the Highlanders along with P Walter Clarkson to the Cleveland Naps for P Earl Moore. On July 9, 1908, he was signed as a MLB free agent with the Highlanders. Frank would hit .256 in 37 games for the rest of the 1908 AL season.
1893 - Former Yankees reserve C Salvatore “Joe” Smith (1913) was born. Joe appeared in only 14 games for the Yankees during the 1913 AL season, hitting just .156.
1911 - Former Yankees reserve INF Billy Knickerbocker (1938-1940) was born. On February 15, 1938, Billy was traded by the Browns to the Yankees for INF Don “Jeep” Heffner and $10,000. Billy took over Don Heffner’s role as Yankees reserve INF. On December 31, 1940, Billy was traded by the Yankees to the White Sox for C Ken Silvestri.
1928 - The Yankees waived veteran 3B Joe Dugan to the Braves.
1933 - Yankees Owner Jacob Ruppert refuses to release All Star OF Slugger Babe Ruth from his MLB player contract, thus preventing him from becoming the manager of the Reds. Babe Ruth will never receive another chance to manage a MLB team.
1952 - Former Yankees reserve INF Dennis Werth (1979-1981) was born. Dennis was drafted by the Yankees in the 19th round of the 1974 MLB amateur player draft. He hit .222 in 76 games as a reserve INF with the Yankees. His best Yankees season was in 1980, hitting .308 in 39 games. On March 24, 1982, Dennis was traded by the Yankees to the Royals for minor league player Scott Behan.
1972 - Former Yankees reliever Jim Brower (2007) was born. Jim appeared in only 3 games in 2007 for the Yankees with no record, before returning to Scranton (AAA).
1974 - Former Yankees 1B/DH Richie Sexton (2007) was born. His stay with the Yankees was short-lived however; after 22 games in 2007, in which he went to bat only 25 times, Richie was released on August 15th. He had hit .250 with 1 HR and 6 RBI’s in the Bronx.
1975 - Former Yankees P Jarret Wright (2005-2006) was born. On December 28, 2004, he was signed as a MLB free agent with the Yankees. He went 16-12 in 43 games with the Yankees. On November 12, 2006, he was traded by the Yankees along with cash to the Orioles for P Chris Britton.
1977 - Melissa Ludtke, a female Sports Illustrated sports writer, files suit against MLB, the Yankees and NYC officials for denying her access to the Yankee Stadium locker rooms to interview players during the 1977 World Series.
2004 - Former Yankees reserve C Gus Niarhos (1946, 1948-1950) passed away (1920-2004). He was attending Auburn University on scholarship, when a scout for the Yankees signed him. After World War II broke out, he served in the U.S. Navy. Gus spent his 1st 3+ years in the MLB with the Yankees. Yogi Berra was the up-and-coming catcher, and in 1948 Gus platoon at catcher with him while Yogi also played in the outfield. He appeared in 1 game in the 1949 World Series against the Dodgers, which the Yankees won. The White Sox picked him off waivers from the Yankees in 1950. Looking back at his start with the Yankees he said, “That was a tough organization, if you were a catcher. They had Bill Dickey. Then Yogi came up. From '49 on, it was just forget about being a catcher with the Yankees." – Gus Niarhos.
December 30th
1927 - The Yankees released two veteran players: INF Ray Morehardt and P Joe Giard, they have retired from MLB.
1930 - Former Yankees minor league INF Milt Graff was born. Milt was traded by the Yankees in February of 1957 in the Bobby Shantz trade with the A’s. He was unable to break into the crowded Yankee INF. Milt was originally signed by the Pirates in 1949. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 1955 MLB minor league player draft.
1940 - The Yankees swapped starter Monte Pearson (1936-1940) to the Reds for INF Dan Lang and $20,000 cash. Lang will never play for the Yankees at the MLB level.
1995 - MLB free agent starter Kenny Rogers is signed by the Yankees to a 4-year contract. The Gambler went 18-15 in 62 games for the Yankees. On November 7,1997, he was traded by the Yankees along with cash to the A’s for a player to be named later. The A’s would send INF/OF Scott Brosius to the Yankees to complete the trade in November.
2002 - Citing that this will probably be his last MLB career season, 40-year old All Star starter Roger Clemens agrees to a $10.1 million, 1-year deal with the Yankees. The 19-season MLB veteran, who has won the Cy Young Award 6 times, is 7 victories shy of 300 MLB career wins mark.
2002 - The Yankees resigned MLB free agent P Christian Parker. On March 22, 2000, he was sent by the Expos to the Yankees to complete an earlier deal made on December 22, 1999. The Expos sent players to be named later and P Jake Westbrook to the Yankees for starter Hideki Irabu. He went 0-1 in 1 game for the 2001 Yankees.
December 31st
1914 - AL President Ban Johnson's efforts to strengthen the Yankees succeed when he arranges the purchase of the team by Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Captain Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Houston for $460,000 from current owners Bill Devery and Frank Farrell. After Tiger’s owner Frank Navin refuses to let manager Hugh Jennings go, the new Yankee owners will name longtime Tiger hurler William “Wild Bill” Donovan to managing the team. Under the new owner regime, the Yankees will make the most important trade in franchise history, when they purchased OF/P Babe Ruth from the Red Sox in December of 1919.
1919 - Former Yankees P Tommy Byrne (1943, 1946-1951, 1954-1957) was born (1919-2007). Before the 1940 AL Season, Tommy was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent. Tommy went 73-50 in 249 games in 10 seasons with the Yankees. He won 15 games each during the1949 and 1950 AL seasons. Tom was named to the 1950 AL All Star team. On June 15, 1951, he was traded by the Yankees along with $25,000 to the Browns for veteran P Stubby Overmire. Tommy was re-obtained by the Yankees in September of 1954 from Seattle (PCL). In 1955, he won the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award by going 16-5. He would pitch 2 more seasons for the Yankees, before retiring in 1957. He later became the Mayor and Owner of the Wake Forrest, NC Country Club. Tommy passed away on December 20, 2007.
1924 - Former Yankees P Ted Gray (1955) was born. On June 30, 1955, Ted was signed as a MLB free agent with the Yankees. He will appear in only 1 game with no decisions before being released in July of 1955 by the Yankees.
1940 - The Yankees send P Bump Hadley to the Giants for the waiver price. Also they traded reserve INF Bill Knickerbocker to the White Sox for C Ken Silvestri. The military will claim Ken Silvestri for the next 4 years.
1971 - Former Yankees P Esteban Loaiza (2004) was born. On July 31, 2004, he was traded by the White Sox to the Yankees for starter Jose Contreras and cash. He appeared in 10 games for the Yankees posting a 1-2 record, before leaving the team for MLB free agency in the winter of 2004.
1974 - MLB free agent starter James “Catfish” Hunter, who posted a 25-12 record with the A’s, signs with the Yankees ending an unprecedented bidding war, when he inks a 5-year, $3.75 million dollar contract. This is triple the salary of any other MLB player. His Yankees pitching career record was 63-53. He won 23 games in 1975 and 17 games in 1976 for the Yankees. He will retire at the age of 33 in 1979, after a 15-year MLB career. He will win election to the HOF in 1987.
1980 - Former Yankees P and MLB Manager (1930) Robert “Sailor Bob” Shawkey (1915-1927) passed away at the age of 90 (1890-1980). After being obtained from the A’s for $85,000 in 1915, Bob was a 3-time 20 game winner for the Yankees. In 1920, Bob led the AL in ERA with a 2.45 mark. Bob Shawkey is noted as the starting pitcher in the 1st game played in Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923. Bob held the Yankees record for 15 strikeouts in a single game. That record stood until Whitey Ford broke it in the early 1960’s. Bob Shawkey finished his Yankee pitching career with a record of 168-131. In 1929, Bob became the Yankees MLB pitching coach. Following Yankees Manager Miller Higgins death, Bob will manage the 1930 Yankees to an 86-68 record, a 3rd place finish, before being replaced by veteran NL manager Joe McCarthy. In 1934-1935, he managed the Yankees top AAA club, the Newark Bears. In the 1940’s, Bob was a MLB scout for the Tigers and Pirates. After managing in the minors in 1949 and 1950 for the Pirates, Bob became the baseball coach at Dartmouth College from 1952 to 1956. During the 1976 opening day festivities for the renovated “new” Yankee Stadium, Bob Shawkey threw out the ceremonial 1st pitch.
1990 - The Yankees purchased starter Scott Sanderson from the A’s. He would go 16-10 in 1991 and 12-11 in 1992, before leaving the team for MLB free agency.
2004 - After the Devil Rays decline his 2005 $8 million player contract option, MLB free agent 1B/DH Tino Martinez, who had hit .262, with 23 HRs and 76 RBIs for the Tampa, signs a 1-year, $3 million contract to rejoin the Yankees. Martinez played in New York from 1996 through 2001, he was replaced by free agent 1B Jason Giambi. This time, he is acquired as insurance in the event Giambi's fragile health due to steroid use continues to fail.
January 1st Happy New Year to All!!!
1874 - Former Yankees P Ned Garvin (1904) was born. On September 9, 1904, Ned was selected off waivers by the Yankees from the Brooklyn Superbas. Ned appeared in 2 games for the Yankees with a 0-1 record in September of 1904.
1881 - Former Yankees reserve OF Rudy Bell (1907) was born. He appeared in only 17 games in 1907, hitting just .212.
1910 - Former Yankees P Charles Devens (1932-1934) was born. Charlie went 5-3 in 16 games for the Yankees. He had been a college star baseball player, before signing with the Yankees.
1923 - Former Yankees HOF OF William “Wee Willie” Keeler dies in Brooklyn, NY, at age of 50. In 19 MLB seasons, Keller hit .341, amassed 2,932 hits. He won consecutive batting titles in 1897-1898. He played for the Yankees from 1903 -1909. He hit over .300, three times for the Yankees, including .343 in 1904.
1924 - Former Yankees 1B and MLB Coach Earl Torgeson (1961) was born. On June 17, 1961, Earl was signed as a MLB free agent with the Yankees. The White Sox had released Earl. Earl hit .111 in 22 games before becoming a MLB coach on September 2, 1961.
1942 - Former Yankees minor league INF Bill Bethea was born. Bill was obtained from the Twins on waivers in 1965, but he never played for the Yankees at the MLB level.
1955 - Former Yankees minor league P LaMarr Hoyt was born. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 5th round of the 1973 MLB amateur player draft. Hoyt never played for the Yankees at the MLB level. On April 5, 1977, he was traded by the Yankees along with P Bob Polinsky, OF/DH Oscar Gamble, and $200,000 cash to the White Sox for shortstop Bucky Dent.
1974 - Former Yankees GM Lee MacPhail takes over as AL President, succeeding Joe Cronin, who retires. MacPhail will serve in this role until 1984. He will join his father, Larry MacPhail, as a member of the Hall of Fame in 1998.
2006 - Former Yankees reliever Paul Linbald (1978) passed away. He appeared in 7 games with no decisions after being purchased from the Rangers. The Yankees will send him to the Mariners after the 1978 AL season.
January 2nd
1963 - Former Yankees P David Cone (1995-2000) was born. On July 28, 1995, Dave was traded by the Blue Jays to the Yankees for P Marty Janzen, Jason Jarvis and Mike Gordon. Dave went 64-40 as a Yankees starter. He was 2-0 in 4 World Series with the Yankees. David Cone compiled an 8–3 postseason record over 21 postseason starts. He was a part of 5 World Series championship teams (1992 Blue Jays and 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 Yankees). He had a career postseason ERA of 3.80. After pitching a perfect game on July 18, 1999, against the Expos (the last no-hitter to date by a Yankee pitcher), he seemed to suddenly lose effectiveness. The 1st inter-league perfect game was the last shut-out, he would throw in his MLB career. After retiring from MLB, David has worked with the YES network covering the Yankees.
1973 - Rumors appeared nationwide in the sports media that the New York Yankees were being purchased from CBS Inc., by a Cleveland group of investors.
1977 - Former Yankees P Scott Proctor (2004-2007) was born. On July 31, 2003, Scott was traded by the Dodgers along with OF Bubba Crosby to the Yankees for veteran INF Robin Ventura. Scott went 11-10 with 1 save in 190 games with the Yankees, before being traded back to the Dodgers on July 31, 2007 for INF Wilson Betemit.
1991 - The Yankees signed MLB free agent starter Mike Witt. Mike was obtained from the Angels for All Star OF Dave Winfield in May of 1990. He posted a 5-6 record in 16 games. He would only appear in 2 games in 1991, posting a 0-1 record due to injuries. He would miss the 1992 AL season due to injuries. In 1993, Mike appeared in only 9 games with Yankees, posting a 3-2 record.
2003 - Former Yankees OF Art ‘Bud” Metheny (1943-1946) passed away. Art hit .247 in 376 games for the Yankees. He appeared in 2 games in the 1943 World Series, hitting just .125. Bud Metheny was the baseball coach at Old Dominion University from 1948 to 1980. He also coached basketball (1948-1965) and served as athletic director (1963-1970) at ODU.
2008 - Former Yankees reliever Gerry Staley (1955-1956) passed away. On September 14, 1955, Gerry was selected off waivers by the Yankees from the Reds. He appeared in only 3 games with no record for the 1955 Yankees. On May 28, 1956, he was selected off waivers by the White Sox from the Yankees. He would be one of the key members of the 1959 AL Champions White Sox bullpen.
(As always I'd like to thank Fw57Clipper51 for his great contribution.)
