Having been a Yankee fan for half a century, there were two seasons during that span I will always remember as being particularly depressing. There were years when New York lost more games and finished lower in the standings but the Yankee teams of both 1965 and 1989 surprised fans by their mediocrity and served as signals that the team was about to enter periods of darkness.

In 1965 it seemed as if the entire Yankee starting lineup got old all at the same time. In 1989, the team’s starting rotation consisted of Andy Hawkins, Clay Parker, Greg Cadaret, Walt Terrell and today’s Pinstripe Birthday celebrant, left-hander Dave LaPoint. That ’89 team reminded me of a wounded war veteran returning home with “no arms.”

Hawkins led that staff with a 15-15 record and no other starter won more than six games. LaPoint was 6-9 that season and then 7-10 in 1990. In the mean time, the Yankees failed to effectively address their starting pitching woes until they signed free agent Jimmy Key and traded for Jim Abbott before the 1993 season. In 1995 they brought up Andy Pettitte and traded for David Cone and they’ve been on a postseason role since.

LaPoint ended up with the Phillies the following year, which turned out to be his final season in the big leagues. He finished with a lifetime record of 80-86, pitching for nine different teams over a dozen seasons.

This former Yankee outfielder shares LaPoint’s July 29th birthday.