Results tagged ‘ relief pitcher ’
May 20 – Happy Birthday Tom Morgan
One of the things the Yankees did not seem to need after winning the 1950 World Series was starting pitching. Their rotation was loaded with the glorious triumvirate of Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds and Eddie Lopat,15-game winner Tommy Byrne and a cocky rookie southpaw named Whitey Ford. But Ford would miss the entire 1951 season to military service and Byrne, who always had control problems suddenly couldn’t find the plate. That made room in the rotation for a rookie Yankee left-hander named Tom Morgan. Casey Stengel let the 20-year-old native of El Monte, California start 16 times during that ’51 season and he went 6-3 in those games, including two shutouts. He also relieved in 11 other games that year and earned two saves.
Morgan credited two guys for helping him become a successful big league pitcher. The first was his younger brother Dick, who became a minor league catcher himself. Tom would spend hours throwing a baseball to his sibling in the yard of their California home and he credited those sessions for helping him master control of his very good fastball. He also used to say that his Yankee pitching coach, Jim Turner was instrumental in helping him master both a sidearm curve and change up, giving him the confidence he needed to throw those pitches whenever he needed to at the big league level.
Morgan’s most distinctive physical trait was the way he walked. He’d bend his body at the waist, hunch his shoulders and take his steps slowly, looking as if he was always pulling something behind him. As a result, the Grand Annointer of pinstriped nicknames, Yankee announcer Mel Allen gave Morgan the nickname of “the Plowboy.”
Morgan started 12 more times in 1952 and then missed the entire ’53 season to military service. When he returned to action in 1954, Stengel began using him more out of the bullpen and he had his best season in pinstripes with an 11-5 record and a 3.34 ERA. He was then converted to a full-time reliever and over the next two seasons he saved 21 games for New York. But his ERA climbed dramatically in 1956 and the following February he was included in a humungous deal with the A’s that eventually caused 13 players to exchange uniforms.
After one year in Kansas City, Morgan spent two-and-a-half years with the Tigers and a half season as a Senator. The expansion Angels purchased him in 1961 and he surprised everyone by putting together two very strong years out of the Angels bullpen. He couldn’t keep the string going, however, and he was done as a player after the ’63 season. He then became a minor league pitching instructor with the Angels and scouted for the Yankees. He eventually became the Angels’ big league pitching coach and later held that same position with the Padres. Cy Young Award winners Nolan Ryan and Randy Jones credited Morgan with helping them become all star pitchers. He was still coaching at the minor league level when he suffered a stroke and died of a heart attack in 1987 at the age of 56.
Morgan shares his May 20th birthday with one of my favorite all-time Yankees, this very good Yankee pitcher, and this other Yankee pitcher.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | HBP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | NYY | 9 | 3 | .750 | 3.68 | 27 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 124.2 | 119 | 56 | 51 | 11 | 36 | 57 | 3 | 1.243 | |
| 1952 | NYY | 5 | 4 | .556 | 3.07 | 16 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 93.2 | 86 | 34 | 32 | 8 | 33 | 35 | 4 | 1.270 | |
| 1953 | Did not play in major leagues (Military Service) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1954 | NYY | 11 | 5 | .688 | 3.34 | 32 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 143.0 | 149 | 58 | 53 | 8 | 40 | 34 | 5 | 1.322 | |
| 1955 | NYY | 7 | 3 | .700 | 3.25 | 40 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 72.0 | 72 | 29 | 26 | 3 | 24 | 17 | 5 | 1.333 | |
| 1956 | NYY | 6 | 7 | .462 | 4.16 | 41 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 71.1 | 74 | 41 | 33 | 2 | 27 | 20 | 3 | 1.416 | |
| 12 Yrs | 67 | 47 | .588 | 3.61 | 443 | 61 | 204 | 18 | 7 | 64 | 1023.1 | 1040 | 467 | 410 | 95 | 300 | 364 | 40 | 1.309 | ||
| NYY (5 yrs) | 38 | 22 | .633 | 3.48 | 156 | 46 | 61 | 13 | 7 | 26 | 504.2 | 500 | 218 | 195 | 32 | 160 | 163 | 20 | 1.308 | ||
| LAA (3 yrs) | 13 | 4 | .765 | 2.86 | 120 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 166.2 | 147 | 65 | 53 | 14 | 42 | 75 | 9 | 1.134 | ||
| DET (3 yrs) | 6 | 11 | .353 | 3.81 | 107 | 2 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 184.1 | 197 | 93 | 78 | 24 | 32 | 83 | 7 | 1.242 | ||
| WSH (1 yr) | 1 | 3 | .250 | 3.75 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 | 36 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1.708 | ||
| KCA (1 yr) | 9 | 7 | .563 | 4.64 | 46 | 13 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 143.2 | 160 | 76 | 74 | 19 | 61 | 32 | 3 | 1.538 | ||
May 16 – Happy Birthday Jim Mecir
Jim Mecir did not compile extraordinary numbers during his eleven-season career as a big league reliever, but it was a remarkable career nonetheless. This Bayside, New York native was born with two club feet. He underwent a series of surgeries as a child that helped correct much of the defect, but the procedures left him with an atrophied right calf, a fused right ankle and a right leg that was about an inch shorter than his left. Despite all that, he somehow managed to become a successful pitcher in Major League Baseball and I consider that achievement absolutely amazing!
Mecir was drafted in the third round of the 1991 MLB Amateur Draft by Seattle. He spent his first three seasons in the Mariner system being groomed as a starter but was switched to the bullpen after the 1993 season. He made his big league debut in 1995 with two relief appearances for Seattle. That December, he and Jeff Nelson accompanied Tino Martinez to the Bronx in a mini-blockbuster that sent Yankees Sterling Hitchcock and Russ Davis to Seattle.
During the next two seasons Joe Torre inserted Mecir into 51 Yankee games. He went a combined 1-5 with an ERA in the mid five’s which explains why New York left him off both their 1996 and ’97 postseason rosters. In September of 1997, the Yankees sent Mecir to Boston to complete an earlier deal. Two months later he got a break when the Red Sox left him unprotected in the 1997 AL Expansion Draft and he was selected by Tampa Bay.
He found his groove with the Devil Rays and he went a combined 14-4 for them in 1998 and most of ’99 until he was traded to Oakland. Mecir pitched for the A’s until 2004 and then spent a year with the Marlins before hanging up his glove for good.
Due to his physical deformity, Mecir employed an unorthodox pitching motion and it was often said that the strange delivery actually helped increase the movement on his signature screwball. Today he serves as a motivational speaker.
Mecir shares his birthday with this former Yankee manager, this former Yankee starting pitcher and this other former Yankee starting pitcher.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | NYY | 1 | 1 | .500 | 5.13 | 26 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.1 | 42 | 24 | 6 | 23 | 38 | 1.612 |
| 1997 | NYY | 0 | 4 | .000 | 5.88 | 25 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.2 | 36 | 23 | 5 | 10 | 25 | 1.366 |
| 11 Yrs | 29 | 35 | .453 | 3.77 | 474 | 0 | 126 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 527.0 | 482 | 240 | 41 | 225 | 450 | 1.342 | |
| OAK (5 yrs) | 13 | 21 | .382 | 3.91 | 246 | 0 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 250.2 | 242 | 121 | 20 | 104 | 225 | 1.380 | |
| TBD (3 yrs) | 14 | 5 | .737 | 3.03 | 123 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 154.1 | 118 | 54 | 8 | 69 | 125 | 1.212 | |
| NYY (2 yrs) | 1 | 5 | .167 | 5.47 | 51 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74.0 | 78 | 47 | 11 | 33 | 63 | 1.500 | |
| SEA (1 yr) | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1.500 | ||
| FLA (1 yr) | 1 | 4 | .200 | 3.12 | 52 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.1 | 39 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 34 | 1.292 | |
May 14 – Happy Birthday Dave LaRoche
The Yankees signed Dave LaRoche ten days after the start of the strike-shortened 1981 season. The left-hander had been released by the California Angels two and a half weeks earlier. When he joined the Yanks, he had eleven big league seasons already on his resume, during which he had established himself as a better than average reliever.
His first year in pinstripes was his best as he went 4-1 with a 2.49 ERA and pitched an inning of scoreless relief for New York in the 1981 World Series. I often refer to that 1981 season as George Steinbrenner’s tipping point as a Yankee owner. The players strike coupled with the Yankee defeat to the Dodgers in that year’s Fall Classic seemed to turn the Boss from a hard-to-work for egomaniac into an impossible to please tyrant. Under his complete control, the Yankee front office began making a series of spur-of-the-moment personnel decisions that undermined the team’s field management and filled the roster with anxiety.
Laroche became a victim of that calamity in 1982, when he began being bounced back and forth between the Bronx and Columbus, as the Yankee front office made roster moves with alarming frequency. Despite all the frequent flier miles, the Colorado Springs native continued to pitch effectively for New York, compiling a 4-2 record in his second season with the team. But even LaRoche had limits. When the team tried to send him back to Triple A at the end of the ’83 exhibition season, LaRoche quit instead. At the time his wife was undergoing a very difficult pregnancy and LaRoche wanted a guarantee that if he did go to Columbus, he could remain with the Clippers until the baby was born. When the Yankees refused that request, LaRoche left baseball to be with his wife.
Unable to land a steady job, LaRoche contacted the Yankees after the baby’s birth to see if they still wanted him to pitch for the organization. He returned for one final go-round in 1983, appearing in seven games for Columbus and just one for the parent club.
I remember LaRoche’s Yankee days very well, primarily because he frequently threw a slow, high arching eephus pitch his Yankee teammates had nicknamed La Lob. After he finished his pitching career, the Yankees hired him as a minor league pitching coach and he has spent the last quarter century working in that role for a number of minor league teams. He is also the father of two big league players. They are the Washington National’s slugging first baseman Adam LaRoche and the former Dodger and Pirate infielder, Andy LaRoche.
He shares his may 14th birthday with this Hall-of-Fame Yankee center fielder, this former Yankee reliever and this pennant-winning manager.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | NYY | 4 | 1 | .800 | 2.49 | 26 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47.0 | 38 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 24 | 1.149 |
| 1982 | NYY | 4 | 2 | .667 | 3.42 | 25 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 | 54 | 19 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 1.300 |
| 1983 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.000 | |
| 14 Yrs | 65 | 58 | .528 | 3.53 | 647 | 15 | 381 | 1 | 0 | 126 | 1049.1 | 919 | 448 | 411 | 94 | 459 | 819 | 1.313 | |
| CAL (6 yrs) | 35 | 32 | .522 | 3.65 | 304 | 10 | 170 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 512.1 | 462 | 223 | 208 | 51 | 204 | 386 | 1.300 | |
| CLE (3 yrs) | 8 | 9 | .471 | 2.51 | 135 | 0 | 95 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 197.1 | 133 | 64 | 55 | 10 | 113 | 216 | 1.247 | |
| NYY (3 yrs) | 8 | 3 | .727 | 3.12 | 52 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98.0 | 94 | 37 | 34 | 8 | 27 | 55 | 1.235 | |
| CHC (2 yrs) | 9 | 7 | .563 | 5.17 | 94 | 4 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 146.1 | 158 | 91 | 84 | 16 | 76 | 83 | 1.599 | |
| MIN (1 yr) | 5 | 7 | .417 | 2.83 | 62 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 95.1 | 72 | 33 | 30 | 9 | 39 | 79 | 1.164 | |
April 30 – Happy Birthday Jumbo Brown
When CC Sabathia shed 25 pounds after the 2010 postseason, he also shed the mantra of being the heaviest full-time player in MLB history. That honor now reverts back to another Yankee pitcher named Walter Brown. Brown was 6’4″ tall, three inches shorter than Sabathia and tipped the scales at 295 pounds. As a result, he was better known as “Jumbo” Brown. Born in Green, Rhode Island, he broke into the big leagues with the Cubs in 1925 and then pitched for the Indians during the 1927 and ’28 seasons. Not yet ready for prime time, the big guy then returned to the minors.
He became a Yankee in 1932 and spent four of the next five seasons as a member of the Yankee bullpen and one of manager Joe McCarthy’s occasional starters. Unfortunately for Brown, those Yankee teams of the 1930′s were loaded with talented pitchers. One of Brown’s biggest problems, according to author Stephen Lombardi in his book “The Baseball Same Game,” was the fact that his fingers were too short and too stubby to throw a curveball so he was limited to throwing only a fastball. Though Brown’s heater was a good one, it was not good enough to break into that Yankee rotation because after one time through a lineup, opposing hitters had a much easier time squaring up to a one-pitch pitcher.
By 1934, Jumbo was forced to pitch in Newark where he again got a chance to start and won 20-games for the Yankees’ top Minor League franchise. He was 19-16 during his stay in pinstripes, earning two saves and pitching two shutouts. The Reds purchased his contract in 1937 but he quickly returned to the Big Apple when the Giants bought him from Cincinnati that same season. He spent his final five big league seasons pitching very effectively out of the bullpen at the Polo Grounds. His one pitch repertoire was much more suited to relief work, during which hitters faced the rotund right hander and his fastball just once. Brown actually led the NL in saves in both 1940 and ’41 before joining the US Navy. His baseball career ended for good when his military service began. Jumbo is the only member of the Yankee all-time roster to celebrate his birthday on the last day of April.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | NYY | 5 | 2 | .714 | 4.53 | 19 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 55.2 | 58 | 30 | 28 | 1 | 30 | 31 | 1.581 |
| 1933 | NYY | 7 | 5 | .583 | 5.23 | 21 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 74.0 | 78 | 48 | 43 | 3 | 52 | 55 | 1.757 |
| 1935 | NYY | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3.61 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 87.1 | 94 | 41 | 35 | 2 | 37 | 41 | 1.500 |
| 1936 | NYY | 1 | 4 | .200 | 5.91 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 64.0 | 93 | 47 | 42 | 4 | 29 | 19 | 1.906 |
| 12 Yrs | 33 | 31 | .516 | 4.07 | 249 | 23 | 146 | 7 | 2 | 29 | 597.1 | 619 | 316 | 270 | 26 | 300 | 301 | 1.539 | |
| NYG (5 yrs) | 13 | 12 | .520 | 2.93 | 150 | 0 | 103 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 267.1 | 237 | 106 | 87 | 13 | 104 | 131 | 1.276 | |
| NYY (4 yrs) | 19 | 16 | .543 | 4.74 | 80 | 22 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 281.0 | 323 | 166 | 148 | 10 | 148 | 146 | 1.676 | |
| CLE (2 yrs) | 0 | 3 | .000 | 6.48 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.1 | 38 | 29 | 24 | 3 | 41 | 20 | 2.370 | |
| CIN (1 yr) | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 8.38 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1.966 | |
| CHC (1 yr) | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1.500 | ||
April 26 – Happy Birthday Shawn Kelley
Coming out of their 2013 spring training camp, I thought the Yankees made a mistake going north without former Mariner closer David Aardsma and choosing to take along today’s Pinstripe Birthday Celebrant instead. Granted, the new season is less than a month old, but thus far, right-hander Shawn Kelley has not pitched especially well in his seven appearances in pinstripes. Meanwhile though, Aardsma is not getting a chance to show if he’s again ready for prime time because he started this season pitching in the Marlins’ farm system.
Like Aardsma, Kelley pitched out of the Mariner bulllpen before he came to New York, but not as a closer. When announcing they were cutting Aardsma and going with Kelley, Yankee manager Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman explained they wanted a reliever who could pitch more than one inning. If it was up to me, I’d rather have the pitcher who can get the biggest outs in my bullpen instead of the one who can throw the most pitches. No disrespect to Kelley, its just that Aardsma saved over 30 games twice with Seattle before injuring his arm and if that arm is fully healed, the Yanks had enough other pitchers in their pen to not have to extend his appearances beyond an inning.
Kelley turns 28-years-old today.He was born in Louisville, KY and was Seattle’s 13th round draft pick in 2007. He spent his first four big league seasons in Seattle and was traded to New York in February of 2013 for Abraham Almonte, a 23-year-old outfield prospect. Though he got off to a slow start this season, he did pick up his first win as a Yankee against Toronto last week and two nights ago he pitched two scoreless inning against the Rays. I’d love to see him get hot and make me completely wrong about the management decision that got him on this Yankee team.
He shares his April 26th birthday with this former Yankee pitcher who gained most of his fame pitching for another team and this one too.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | NYY | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 6.52 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 1.345 |
| 5 Yrs | 11 | 9 | .550 | 3.73 | 127 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 137.2 | 130 | 61 | 57 | 23 | 43 | 136 | 1.257 | |
| SEA (4 yrs) | 10 | 9 | .526 | 3.52 | 120 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 128.0 | 121 | 54 | 50 | 19 | 39 | 122 | 1.250 | |
| NYY (1 yr) | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 6.52 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 1.345 | |
April 25 – Happy Birthday Darren Holmes
I remember thinking the Yankees made a good move when they signed this righty reliever to a free agent contract in 1998. Holmes had pitched out of the Colorado bullpen for five seasons before that and had put up decent numbers, especially considering half his mound appearances were in Denver, where pitchers are typically punished by the thin air. But I was wrong. Holmes showed promise during the first two months of his only season in Pinstripes and Joe Torre’s confidence in the Asheville, NC reached a highpoint after Holmes turned in seven consecutive scoreless stints between late April and mid-May. But then he gave up three home runs in a single inning against Baltimore and after that, he struggled to regain consistency. He did bounce back to pitch well that September but when he didn’t make an appearance in the Yankees’ 1998 postseason you knew his days in pinstripes were numbered. The following March, Holmes was traded to the Diamondbacks. His final Yankee record included two saves and an 0-3 won-lost record. Holmes kept pitching until 2003, when he retired with a record of 35-33 and 59 saves, appearing in a total of 557 games during his 13-season career.
Holmes shares his April 25 birthday with this former Yankee pitcher and this Cuban defector.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | NYY | 0 | 3 | .000 | 3.33 | 34 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 51.1 | 53 | 19 | 19 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 31 | 1.305 |
| 13 Yrs | 35 | 33 | .515 | 4.25 | 557 | 6 | 212 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 680.0 | 709 | 348 | 321 | 63 | 256 | 36 | 581 | 1.419 | |
| COL (5 yrs) | 23 | 13 | .639 | 4.42 | 263 | 6 | 129 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 328.0 | 341 | 181 | 161 | 34 | 136 | 13 | 297 | 1.454 | |
| ARI (2 yrs) | 4 | 3 | .571 | 4.25 | 52 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 55.0 | 62 | 27 | 26 | 4 | 26 | 8 | 40 | 1.600 | |
| ATL (2 yrs) | 3 | 4 | .429 | 2.89 | 103 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 96.2 | 88 | 34 | 31 | 8 | 23 | 4 | 93 | 1.148 | |
| MIL (2 yrs) | 5 | 8 | .385 | 3.94 | 81 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 118.2 | 125 | 55 | 52 | 7 | 38 | 5 | 90 | 1.374 | |
| STL (1 yr) | 0 | 1 | .000 | 9.72 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1.800 | |
| LAD (1 yr) | 0 | 1 | .000 | 5.19 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.1 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 19 | 1.500 | |
| NYY (1 yr) | 0 | 3 | .000 | 3.33 | 34 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 51.1 | 53 | 19 | 19 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 31 | 1.305 | |
| BAL (1 yr) | 0 | 0 | 25.07 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3.857 | ||
April 14 – Happy Birthday Kyle Farnsworth
When I see the name Kyle Farnsworth, I associate it with a pitcher who had nasty closer-like stuff but lacked a closer’s mentality. Brian Cashman paid Farnsworth a lot of money after the 2005 season ($17 million over three years) to replace Flash Gordon as the new Yankee bridge to Mariano Rivera. The right hander had pitched his first six big league seasons as a member of the Chicago Cub bullpen. In 2005 he was traded to the Tigers. He made just 16 appearances in Detroit and was then traded to the Braves just before the 2005 inter-league trading deadline expired. He became Bobby Cox’s closer in Atlanta and during the last two months of the ’05 season, Farnsworth pitched the best baseball of his life. He saved 10 games, struck out 32 guys in 27 innings and gave up less than two earned runs per nine innings pitched, helping the Braves hold off the Marlins and win the NL East division race. But in Game 4 of that year’s NLDS, Farnsworth was called in to protect a 6-1 lead in the eighth inning against the Astros and gave up a grand slam to Lance Berkman and a solo shot an inning later and the Braves lost the game and the series in the 18th inning.
I remember watching that game. I’m sure it was a performance Farnsworth would love to forget and Brian Cashman must have forgot it when he paid all that money to bring this guy to the Bronx. He then became an enigma for Joe Torre. Torre was a great Manager but he did have his struggles developing working relationships with certain players and Farnsworth was one of them. In his first year in pinstripes, the pitcher struggled to establish a rhythm. He’d pitch lights out baseball for a stretch and then he’d get hit hard for a week or two. It was clear Torre did not trust his stuff and it became clear that Farnsworth resented that when the pitcher started talking about his Manager’s lack of faith in him to the New York sports press.
Ironically, it was Joba Chamberlain who effectively ended Farnsworth’s career in New York. When Joba was brought up in 2007 and pitched brilliantly as Mo’s set-up man, Farnsworth found himself buried even deeper in that Yankee bullpen. I call it ironic because Joba’s meltdown in the 2007 postseason’s “Bug” game at Jacobs Field seemed to knock his career off stride in the same way Farnsworth’s was thrown off kilter by his disastrous performance against the Astro’s two seasons earlier.
When both Jorge Posada and Jose Molina went down with injuries in the first half of the 2008 season, the Yankees traded Farnsworth to the Tigers for Ivan Rodriguez. Kyle was born in Wichita in 1976. Another Yankee who shares Farnsworth’s April 14th birthday is this hero from New York’s 2000 season.
| Year | Tm | Lg | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | NYY | AL | 3 | 6 | .333 | 4.36 | 72 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 66.0 | 62 | 34 | 32 | 8 | 28 | 3 | 75 | 1.364 |
| 2007 | NYY | AL | 2 | 1 | .667 | 4.80 | 64 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60.0 | 60 | 35 | 32 | 9 | 27 | 2 | 48 | 1.450 |
| 2008 | NYY | AL | 1 | 2 | .333 | 3.65 | 45 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44.1 | 43 | 18 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 43 | 1.353 |
| 15 Yrs | 40 | 62 | .392 | 4.24 | 814 | 26 | 260 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 925.0 | 873 | 477 | 436 | 126 | 388 | 35 | 917 | 1.363 | ||
| CHC (6 yrs) | 22 | 37 | .373 | 4.78 | 343 | 26 | 88 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 478.2 | 468 | 281 | 254 | 75 | 224 | 20 | 467 | 1.446 | ||
| TBR (3 yrs) | 6 | 7 | .462 | 2.86 | 101 | 0 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 88.0 | 71 | 30 | 28 | 7 | 27 | 3 | 76 | 1.114 | ||
| NYY (3 yrs) | 6 | 9 | .400 | 4.33 | 181 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 170.1 | 165 | 87 | 82 | 28 | 72 | 8 | 166 | 1.391 | ||
| KCR (2 yrs) | 4 | 5 | .444 | 3.40 | 78 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82.0 | 83 | 35 | 31 | 5 | 26 | 2 | 78 | 1.329 | ||
| ATL (2 yrs) | 0 | 2 | .000 | 3.42 | 49 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 47.1 | 30 | 18 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 57 | 0.930 | ||
| DET (2 yrs) | 2 | 2 | .500 | 3.53 | 62 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 58.2 | 56 | 26 | 23 | 5 | 25 | 1 | 73 | 1.381 | ||
April 5 – Happy Birthday Bobby Hogue
On August 20th of 1951, the Yankees made one of the most successful minor league recall decisions in franchise history. Bobby Hogue was a chubby, Miami-born WWII Navy veteran, who had made his big league debut in 1948 as a 27-year-old rookie reliever with that season’s NL Champion Boston Braves. The short and stocky right-hander did not make a very good first impression on Billy Southworth, the Braves’ skipper at the time, who took one look at Hogue’s waistline and told him he needed to lose some weight. What Southworth didn’t know was that Hogue may have looked out of shape but he was anything but. Back in Miami, before he joined the Navy, Hogue had been a promising amateur boxer who had won 36 fights. After watching the pitcher work his butt off during the Braves’ ’48 spring training camp, Southworth realized the rookie’s portly appearance actually disguised a well-conditioned athlete’s body and he brought Hogue north with the team.
That proved to be an excellent decision as Hogue went 8-2 during his rookie season in Beantown, with 2 saves and a 3.23 ERA. He didn’t get to make a single appearance in the Braves’ six-game World Series defeat to the Indians that year but he certainly was one of the key reasons Boston was able to get to that Fall Classic. He was blessed with a natural slider and he had always been able to locate it with extreme precision. He only walked 19 hitters in the 88-innings he pitched during that ’48 season.
He had another good year for the Braves in 1949 but the following year, his ERA ballooned to over five and his control began to erode. When he started off the 1951 season slowly, the Braves put him on waivers and he was picked up by the Browns. At first, the change of team’s and league’s did not benefit Hogue. By the end of July, he had appeared in 18 games for St. Louis and both his ERA and walk ratio were as high as ever. That’s when the Yankees purchased his contract and sent him to pitch for their Kansas City farm team. The demotion gave Hogue the opportunity to work on his knuckleball. That pitch helped him win four straight decisions in KC, which was good enough to earn him a ticket up to the Bronx on August 21 of the 1951 season.
At the time of the call-up, the Yankees were in second place, a game behind a very solid Indians’ ball club. They proceeded to finish the year by going 24-12 and capturing the AL flag by five games over second place Cleveland. Hogue made seven appearances in that stretch without allowing a run. He then put together two more goose-egg appearances against the Giants in that year’s World Series and got his second ring. Unfortunately, Hogue’s effectiveness abandoned him the following year. He was 3-5 with a 5.32 ERA when the Yankees put him on waivers in early August of the 1952 season. He was re-claimed by the Browns and though he pitched better once back in St Louis, he never again pitched in the big leagues after that 1952 season.
So you may be wondering why I started this post with the claim that Hogue’s recall from the minors in August of 1951 was one of the most successful recalls in Yankee franchise history? Yes he did finish the season and that year’s World Series un-scored upon but he only pitched a total of nine innings during that span. How could I place such historical significance on that front-office move that took place over a half-century ago? Well, Hogue was one of two Kansas City players the Yankees recalled that day. The other one was an infielder the Yankees were trying to convert into an outfielder. His name was Mickey Mantle.
Hogue shares his April 5th birthday with this former AL Rookie of the Year and the first starting third-baseman in Yankee franchise history.
March 30 – Happy Birthday Dick Woodson
The only former Yankee celebrating a birthday today is a big right hander named Dick Woodson, who appeared in just eight games for New York during the 1974 season and then left the big leagues. Woodson did all of his other pitching for the Twins. I can actually remember when he broke into their rotation. Back then, Minnesota had a young Bert Blyleven, veteran Jim Perry and one of my all-time favorite Yankee announcers, Jim “Kitty” Kaat, as starters. Those three guys had a total of 785 regular season victories between them. Woodson won 14 games as a Twin starter in 1972 and 10 more the following season. Then in May of 1974, Minnesota swapped Woodson for a lefthanded pitching prospect named Mike Pazik, who had been the Yankees first round pick in the 1971 draft. Neither pitcher performed well for their new teams. Woodson had actually torn his rotator cuff before the trade and back in those days, that injury ended a pitcher’s career.
Woodson did, however, play a significant role in baseball history when, in 1974 he was handpicked by the legendary Marvin Miller to become the first Major League Player to go through the newly established arbitration process. Miller had studied every eligible player’s contract and discovered Woodson was the most underpaid player in baseball. At the time, the Twins stingy owner, Calvin Griffith was paying the pitcher $15,000 and had offered him a $2,000 raise after a 14-victory season. Miller’s minions had discovered that pitchers with similar stats were making two and even three times more than Woodson was being offered. Woodson’s arbitration starting point was $30,000 and he won his case easily.
March 29 – Happy Birthday Bill Castro – 2013 Reg Season Predictions
Cy Young was born on today’s date, way back in 1867. The legendary right-hander won 511 games during his 22-season career, more than any other man in baseball history. Young ended up in Cooperstown. He set such a standard for pitching excellence that the award given annually to the best pitcher in each league is named after him. One of the pitchers to win that award was also born on this date, 77 years after Young. His name was Denny McLain and he actually won the AL Cy Young Award two times in a row. McLain was baseball’s last thirty-game winner and he’s also quite a character who battled both drinking and gambling addictions and ended up in jail.
A Yankee pitcher also born on this date never came close to winning thirty games in a season or a Cy Young Award. His name is Bill Castro. He was a very good relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers for much of the 1970′s, winning 25 games and saving 44 more during his seven seasons with that team. The Yankees signed this right-handed native of the Dominican Republic as a free agent in February of 1981. Castro ended up pitching in just eleven games for New York during the strike-shortened season that followed, winning one and losing one decision. The Yankees then traded him to the Royals for third baseman Butch Hobson. When he stopped playing he got into coaching and worked for the Brewers organization until 2009. We know Castro won’t be following Cy Young to Cooperstown and let’s hope he never follows Denny McLain to jail, either.
2013 Yankee Regular Season Finish Prediction
I still can’t believe a New York Yankee team with a payroll that exceeds $200 million will be featuring the Opening Day lineup I’ve projected above. When the Yankees postseason ended last October, I was pretty certain that Nick Swisher would not be returning to New York this year and though I was hoping they’d re-sign Russell Martin, I knew there was a better than even chance that he wouldn’t be around the next Opening Day either. But I figured Cashman had to re-sign Raul Ibanez after his great postseason run.
Well the Yanks will open their 2013 season this week and in addition to Martin, Swisher and Ibanez, they will also be missing Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson from the lineup they fielded for Opening Day just one year earlier. Teixeira and A-Rod are recuperating from serious injuries that may keep them on the sidelines for much of this regular season. Jeter is still recovering from a badly broken ankle and the Grandy Man won’t be back till May, when a broken arm he suffered during his first spring training at-bat is fully healed.
Fortunately, New York’s starting pitching staff is mostly healthy (except for Phil Hughes) and relatively deep. Ditto for their very strong bullpen. So the task at hand for this skimpy patched together Yankee offense is to score enough runs to win enough games to keep New York within single digits of the AL East lead by June 1. Their record was 27-23 on that date last year. As long as they can keep it around the .500 mark this year, the returning members of the Yankee offense should provide the added boost needed to get them close to at least a postseason wild card spot. But I confess that I honestly have no idea if this new Yankee lineup is capable of doing that. A lot depends on how well their AL East opponents do. Toronto made the biggest roster improvements this off season and Tampa should again have the pitching quality necessary to keep the Rays in contention. I don’t expect Baltimore to digress and even Boston should be better because they no longer have their crazy skipper and added several positive pieces to their lineup during the winter.
Only the Yankee Opening Day lineup looks significantly worse on paper than it did last year so we need to remember that looks can be deceiving, at least until June.
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