Results tagged ‘ yankees ’
May 26 – Happy Birthday Travis Lee
Jason Giambi’s nightmare Yankee season of 2004 represented an opportunity for Travis Lee. The Yankee brass loved Lee’s glove at first base and all they wanted from him was good defense and decent at bats. So they signed him to a one year, two-million-dollar deal even though they had already signed veteran first baseman Tony Clark a few weeks earlier. But Lee hurt his shoulder in spring training and began the season on the DL. He ended up appearing in just seven games for New York that year. Instead, it was the switch-hitting Clark who became Giambi’s “designated glove” and started the most games at first base for the Yankees that season. Lee ended up back with Tampa Bay the following year and out of baseball all together following the 2006 season.
Update: The above post was originally written in 2011. Lee left baseball because he said he had no passion left for the game. The Nationals had invited him to their 2007 spring training camp to try and win the starting first baseman’s job that was vacant as a result of one of former Yankee, Nick Johnson’s numerous injuries. Lee evidently walked into the Washington GM’s office one day and asked for his unconditional release, got it and went home.
I can remember when Lee broke into the big leagues with Arizona in 1998 because that was the Diamondbacks’ very first year in the league and former Yankee skipper Buck Showalter was in charge of baseball’s newest team on the field. The 23-year-old Lee was one of that historic squad’s bright spots, belting 151 hits, tying for the team lead in home runs with 22 and finishing third in that year’s NL Rookie of the Year Award behind Todd Helton and that year’s winner, former Yankee Kerry Wood.
Lee shares his May 26th birthday with the only Yankee ever to bat 1.000 during a pinstripe career that consisted of more than a single at bat.
| Year | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | NYY | 7 | 20 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .105 | .150 | .158 | .308 |
| 9 Yrs | 1099 | 4233 | 3740 | 476 | 958 | 191 | 16 | 115 | 488 | 59 | 457 | 704 | .256 | .337 | .408 | .745 | |
| ARI (3 yrs) | 338 | 1316 | 1161 | 162 | 292 | 49 | 4 | 39 | 162 | 30 | 150 | 219 | .252 | .336 | .401 | .737 | |
| TBD (3 yrs) | 388 | 1442 | 1289 | 164 | 336 | 70 | 7 | 42 | 150 | 18 | 141 | 236 | .261 | .333 | .424 | .757 | |
| PHI (3 yrs) | 366 | 1455 | 1271 | 149 | 328 | 71 | 5 | 34 | 174 | 11 | 165 | 246 | .258 | .343 | .402 | .745 | |
| NYY (1 yr) | 7 | 20 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .105 | .150 | .158 | .308 | |
May 25 – Happy Birthday John Montefusco
John Montefusco was good at fast starts. In his September 3, 1974 Major League debut for San Francisco, he was called in from the bullpen in the visitor’s half of the first inning with the Giants trailing their arch rivals, the Dodgers, 4-2. Not only did he go on to pitch nine innings of one-run relief to get the win, he also homered in his first-ever big league at bat against the LA knuckleballer, Charlie Hough. Then in 1975, his official rookie season, Montefusco went 15-9 with a 2.88 ERA to win the NL Rookie of the Year award. The young right-hander became the talk of baseball and was even turned into baseball royalty when sportscaster Al Michaels gave the Long Branch, NJ native the nickname “The Count.”
Montefusco continued his outstanding pitching during his sophomore season with 16 wins, a 2.84 ERA, getting selected to his first and only All Star team and leading the league with six shutouts. But in those first two seasons he had also pitched 500 innings of baseball and although he would have some decent years during the rest of his professional career, he would never again be the pitcher he was in 1975 and ’76 in San Francisco.
The injuries began in 1977 and by 1981, the Giants had traded him to the Braves, where he won just two games that season and pitched just 77 innings. Still, when he became a free agent at the end of that year, the Padres signed him. Montefusco won 10 games during his first season in a Padres uniform and was 9-4 in August of the following year when the Yankees acquired him in a trade for a player to be named later and couple of hundred thousand of George Steinbrenner’s dollars. (The player to be named later turned out to be Dennis Rasmussen.)
That 1983 Yankee team was trying to catch Baltimore in the AL East Pennant race and they were hoping Montefusco would strengthen their starting rotation. He certainly did that. The Count put together one of his patented fast starts for New York and I remember it very well. He got six starts down the stretch and won all five of his decisions. The Yankees couldn’t catch Baltimore but it wasn’t Montefusco’s fault and Bronx Bomber fans were hoping he’d continue his winning ways the following year. The Yankee front office was more than hoping, they were betting on it. They gave the pitcher a 4-year, $3 million contract that October. But by then, he was 34 years-old and his right arm had just about quit on him. He went 5-3 in 84 and then spent the rest of his Yankee contract on the DL.
When he retired, he got involved in harness horse racing as a driver and owner. He also became a minor league pitching instructor for the Yankees. Then in 1997, his name was back in the New York tabloid headlines when he was convicted of assaulting his wife.
Update: The above post was originally written in 2011. After finally being acquitted of the most serious assault charges made by his ex-wife, it was reported that Montefusco told the judge he would never be a defendant in a court room again for any kind of offense. The Count actually spent two years in jail after being arrested on those charges because he reportedly couldn’t afford bail. He then became a pitching coach for an independent minor league club based in Somerset, New Jersey, that was managed by former Yankee, Sparky Lyle. He quit that job in 2005. Montefusco’s Yankee seasonal stats and big league career totals are listed at the end of this post.
I’ve also put together a lineup of some of the most notable players who have played for both the Yankees and Giants during their big league careers:
Other notable Yankee/Giants include: Jack Clark, Dave Kingman, Felipe Alou, Matty Alou, and JT Snow.
The Count shares his March 25th birthday with this former switch-hitting Yankee outfielder.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | NYY | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.32 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.0 | 39 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 1.289 |
| 1984 | NYY | 5 | 3 | .625 | 3.58 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55.1 | 55 | 26 | 22 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 1.229 |
| 1985 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 10.29 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2.000 | |
| 1986 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 2.19 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1.135 | |
| 13 Yrs | 90 | 83 | .520 | 3.54 | 298 | 244 | 17 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 1652.1 | 1604 | 728 | 650 | 135 | 513 | 1081 | 1.281 | |
| SFG (7 yrs) | 59 | 62 | .488 | 3.47 | 185 | 175 | 2 | 30 | 11 | 0 | 1182.2 | 1143 | 514 | 456 | 90 | 383 | 869 | 1.290 | |
| NYY (4 yrs) | 10 | 3 | .769 | 3.75 | 24 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 112.2 | 115 | 51 | 47 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 1.287 | |
| SDP (2 yrs) | 19 | 15 | .559 | 3.77 | 63 | 42 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 279.2 | 271 | 131 | 117 | 23 | 73 | 135 | 1.230 | |
| ATL (1 yr) | 2 | 3 | .400 | 3.49 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 77.1 | 75 | 32 | 30 | 9 | 27 | 34 | 1.319 | |
May 24 – Happy Birthday Bartolo Colon
I remember the first and only time I saw Bartolo Colon pitch live. It was a late season night game in 2000 at Yankee Stadium. The only Yankee hit he allowed that evening was an eighth inning single by Luis Polonia who was then immediately erased on a double play ground ball. I know he had at least a dozen strikeouts that night as he bested Roger Clemens and threw a complete game shutout. When I walked into Yankee Stadium that evening, I was looking forward to watching one of the best pitchers in baseball perform. As I left that evening, I realized I had just witnessed two.
Colon came up with the Indians in 1997 and spent his first five-plus seasons pitching for Cleveland. Just before the trading deadline of the 2002 season, the Indians decided to trade the Dominican right-hander to Montreal for four prospects including Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore. His record was 10-4 before the trade and he went 10-4 after it, giving Colon his first 20-victory season in the big leagues. Knowing that Colon would be a free agent following the 2003 season and realizing they could never sign him, Montreal traded him to the White Sox. He pitched one year in the Windy City became a free agent and signed a four-year, $50 million deal to pitch for the Angels. He looked like a bargain after the first two seasons of that contract during which he won 39 games including his second 20-victory season and the AL Cy Young Award in 2005. But he tore his rotator cuff pitching against the Yankees in the 2005 playoffs and he spent the next five years recovering from that injury and trying to regain his form.
In January of 2011, the Yankees signed him and told him he could compete for the fourth and fifth spots in the Yankee rotation. He won neither but pitched well enough in spring training to start the year as New York’s long reliever. When Phil Hughes fell apart last April, Colon took his spot in the rotation and pitched very well. By July 2 of last year his record was 6-3 and his ERA just 2.88. He would fade down the stretch and not get re-signed by the Yankees after the 2011 postseason, but I for one will always be grateful for Bartolo Colon’s contribution to that year’s Yankee team.
Update: The above post was originally written in 2011. Since that time, Colon has signed two consecutive one-year contracts to pitch for the Oakland A’s. Last year, he was helping Manager Bob Melvin’s team become the AL West’s surprising division-winner, when in late-August of 2012, he was suspended by Major League Baseball for the use of the MLB-banned substance, testosterone. His record was 10-9 at the time of that suspension. Colon admitted he used the stuff, apologized and then signed with Oakland to pitch for them again in 2013.
It seems that as far as the use of performance enhancing drugs by active MLB players is concerned, the best response for continuing your career unabated after a positive test occurs is to admit your guilt, apologize and serve your suspension. If you attempt to deny it, even for a week or so, as the Giants’ Melky Cabrera did last year when he was having an MVP-type season for the Giants, you’ll be shunned by your team and its fans and forced to find employment elsewhere (Unless of course you hire Ryan Braun’s legal team to get the test results thrown out.)
Colon’s record thus far in 2013 is 4-2. He turns 40-years-old today.
He shares his May 24th birthday with this former Yankee catcher named “Ellie.” No not that “Ellie.”
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | NYY | 8 | 10 | .444 | 4.00 | 29 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 164.1 | 172 | 85 | 73 | 21 | 40 | 135 | 1.290 |
| 16 Yrs | 175 | 124 | .585 | 4.05 | 390 | 384 | 0 | 33 | 10 | 0 | 2447.2 | 2457 | 1204 | 1102 | 301 | 777 | 1863 | 1.321 | |
| CLE (6 yrs) | 75 | 45 | .625 | 3.92 | 162 | 160 | 0 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 1029.2 | 984 | 483 | 448 | 109 | 419 | 873 | 1.363 | |
| LAA (4 yrs) | 46 | 33 | .582 | 4.66 | 96 | 95 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 586.2 | 633 | 328 | 304 | 90 | 154 | 422 | 1.341 | |
| OAK (2 yrs) | 14 | 11 | .560 | 3.66 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 206.2 | 217 | 88 | 84 | 24 | 27 | 121 | 1.181 | |
| CHW (2 yrs) | 18 | 19 | .486 | 3.93 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 304.1 | 292 | 149 | 133 | 43 | 88 | 211 | 1.249 | |
| BOS (1 yr) | 4 | 2 | .667 | 3.92 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.0 | 44 | 23 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 1.385 | |
| MON (1 yr) | 10 | 4 | .714 | 3.31 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 117.0 | 115 | 48 | 43 | 9 | 39 | 74 | 1.316 | |
| NYY (1 yr) | 8 | 10 | .444 | 4.00 | 29 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 164.1 | 172 | 85 | 73 | 21 | 40 | 135 | 1.290 | |
May 23 – Happy Birthday Buck Showalter
Many Yankee fans, including me, were livid at George Steinbrenner after the 1995 season. We had just gone through two strike-shortened baseball seasons at the very same time our Yankees were on the verge of once again becoming baseball’s best team. Don Mattingly had just had a wonderful playoff series against Seattle and although the Yankees lost that series three games to two, we were convinced that in Buck Showalter, the Yankees had the right manager to lead them back to post season prosperity.
Then the Boss lowered the boom. The Yankees did not try to convince Donnie Baseball to continue playing and instead acquired Tino Martinez to play first base. Just as upsetting was the firing of Showalter who was replaced by the nice guy but perennial loser as a manager, Joe Torre.
It is amazing how a little thing like winning four World Championships in a five year period can help you let bygones be bygones. And come to think of it, Buck Showalter never seemed to be having any fun. And why the heck did he always wear that completely zipped-up Yankee jacket in the dugout, even when the temperature was in the nineties?
Seriously, Buck Showalter restored a sorely needed level of low-key professionalism to the Yankee dugout after the Billy Martin-to-Stump Merrill era of merry-go-round managers. His record as Yankee skipper was 313-268. He went on to manage both the Diamondbacks and Rangers and was a two-time AL Manager of the Year winner. He is now skippering the Baltimore Orioles back to respectability.
Update: The above post was last updated in May of 2011. Since that time, Showalter’s Orioles have made it back to the postseason and once again become one of the Yankees’ most competitive rivalries. Baltimore finished in second place just two games behind New York in the AL East in 2012 and then gave the Bronx Bombers everything the could handle in the 2012 ALDS before finally losing in five games.
Many Yankee fans, including me, were livid at George Steinbrenner after the 1995 season. We had just gone through two strike-shortened baseball seasons at the very same time our Yankees were on the verge of once again becoming baseball’s best team. Don Mattingly had just had a wonderful playoff series against Seattle and although the Yankees lost that series three games to two, we were convinced that in Buck Showalter, the Yankees had the right manager to lead them back to post season prosperity.
Then the Boss lowered the boom. The Yankees did not try to convince Donnie Baseball to continue playing and instead acquired Tino Martinez to play first base. Just as upsetting was the firing of Showalter who was replaced by the nice guy but perennial loser as a manager, Joe Torre.
It is amazing how a little thing like winning four World Championships in a five year period can help you let bygones be bygones. And come to think of it, Buck Showalter never seemed to be having any fun. And why the heck did he always wear that completely zipped-up Yankee jacket in the dugout, even when the temperature was in the nineties?
Seriously, Buck Showalter restored a sorely needed level of low-key professionalism to the Yankee dugout after the Billy Martin-to-Stump Merrill era of merry-go-round managers. His record as Yankee skipper was 313-268. He went on to manage both the Diamondbacks and Rangers and was a two-time AL Manager of the Year winner. He is now skippering the Baltimore Orioles back to respectability.
Update: The above post was last updated in May of 2011. Since that time, Showalter’s Orioles have made it back to the postseason and once again become one of the Yankees’ most competitive rivalries. Baltimore finished in second place just two games behind New York in the AL East in 2012 and then gave the Bronx Bombers everything they could handle in the 2012 ALDS before finally losing in five games. Oakland’s Bob Melvin edged out Showalter for the 2012 AL Manager of the Year Award.
Another Yankee manager was also born on May 23rd as was this former Yankee catcher who was once pegged as Bill Dickey’s eventual successor.
| Rk | Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | W | L | Finish | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1992 | 36 | New York Yankees | AL | 162 | 76 | 86 | .469 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 1993 | 37 | New York Yankees | AL | 162 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 1994 | 38 | New York Yankees | AL | 113 | 70 | 43 | .619 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 1995 | 39 | New York Yankees | AL | 145 | 79 | 65 | .549 | 2 | ||
| New York Yankees | 4 years | 582 | 313 | 268 | .539 | 2.3 | |||||
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 3 years | 486 | 250 | 236 | .514 | 3.0 | |||||
| Texas Rangers | 4 years | 648 | 319 | 329 | .492 | 3.3 | |||||
| Baltimore Orioles | 4 years | 426 | 220 | 206 | .516 | 3.8 | |||||
| 15 years | 2142 | 1102 | 1039 | .515 | 3.1 |
May 22 – Happy Birthday Tommy John
My wife dragged me to a performance of Les Miserables at Proctor’s Theater in Schenectady, NY several years ago. I was not a fan of the place because the seats were built for munchkins and there was absolutely no way for a person my size to get comfortable. Plus if you’re familiar with the epic play about the French Revolution, you know I was not in for a night of excitement and laughs.
Sure enough, as soon as the curtain opened I started fidgeting and with my knees crammed against the seat in front of me, both of my legs quickly went to sleep. I was just about to close my eyes and force myself into a numbing nap when I heard my wife whisper, “That’s that Yankee pitcher’s son singing.” I opened up my program and sure enough, one of the lead characters was Tommy John’s boy. I think it was Travis and he had an absolutely amazing voice.
In spite of this connection to my all-time favorite baseball team, my legs were getting prickly, the lady next to me was pushing my arm off the armrest and I spent the rest of the evening in a painful agony. I remember how good it felt when the final curtain came down and we were able to get up and start walking toward the theater’s exit. As we crawled along with the large crowd approaching the door leading outside, I noticed a man leaning against the wall in the corner nearest me. As I passed him I smiled and told him that his son had a wonderful voice. Tommy John smiled and mouthed back the words “Thank you.”
I liked Tommy John when he pitched for the Yankees but I liked him even more when I saw him that night at Proctor’s Theater. After all, John is 6’3″ tall just like me so I know his legs were sore too. I knew then and there that in addition to being a great pitcher, Tommy was also a good father.
John may be most famous for the surgery (ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction) named after him but he was a pretty good Yankee pitcher too. He had two twenty-victory seasons with New York during his first stay in the Bronx and then went 13-6 for them as a 44-year old in 1987. One of the things that most surprised me when I was doing research for this post was finding out that Tommy won more games as a Yankee (91) than he did for the Dodgers (87) or White Sox (82.) As of right now, those 91 wins place him in the 20th spot on the Yankees’ all-time career wins list. He has more wins as a Yankee than Roger Clemens (83), Bob Turley, David Wells (68) or Catfish Hunter (64) were ever able to achieve in pinstripes.
John was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on May 22, 1943, the only member of the Yankee all-time roster to be born on today’s date. I was also surprised to find out that there were not too many former Yankee all-star-level players born in Indiana. The best of the Hoosier-born Yankees were Don Mattingly, Don Larsen and John.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | NYY | 21 | 9 | .700 | 2.96 | 37 | 36 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 276.1 | 268 | 109 | 91 | 9 | 65 | 111 | 1.205 |
| 1980 | NYY | 22 | 9 | .710 | 3.43 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 265.1 | 270 | 115 | 101 | 13 | 56 | 78 | 1.229 |
| 1981 | NYY | 9 | 8 | .529 | 2.63 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 140.1 | 135 | 50 | 41 | 10 | 39 | 50 | 1.240 |
| 1982 | NYY | 10 | 10 | .500 | 3.66 | 30 | 26 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 186.2 | 190 | 84 | 76 | 11 | 34 | 54 | 1.200 |
| 1986 | NYY | 5 | 3 | .625 | 2.93 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 70.2 | 73 | 27 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 1.245 |
| 1987 | NYY | 13 | 6 | .684 | 4.03 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 187.2 | 212 | 95 | 84 | 12 | 47 | 63 | 1.380 |
| 1988 | NYY | 9 | 8 | .529 | 4.49 | 35 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 176.1 | 221 | 96 | 88 | 11 | 46 | 81 | 1.514 |
| 1989 | NYY | 2 | 7 | .222 | 5.80 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63.2 | 87 | 45 | 41 | 6 | 22 | 18 | 1.712 |
| 26 Yrs | 288 | 231 | .555 | 3.34 | 760 | 700 | 22 | 162 | 46 | 4 | 4710.1 | 4783 | 2017 | 1749 | 302 | 1259 | 2245 | 1.283 | |
| NYY (8 yrs) | 91 | 60 | .603 | 3.59 | 214 | 203 | 7 | 53 | 12 | 0 | 1367.0 | 1456 | 621 | 545 | 80 | 324 | 483 | 1.302 | |
| CHW (7 yrs) | 82 | 80 | .506 | 2.95 | 237 | 219 | 5 | 56 | 21 | 3 | 1493.1 | 1362 | 573 | 490 | 99 | 460 | 888 | 1.220 | |
| LAD (6 yrs) | 87 | 42 | .674 | 2.97 | 182 | 174 | 6 | 37 | 11 | 1 | 1198.0 | 1169 | 460 | 396 | 64 | 296 | 649 | 1.223 | |
| CAL (4 yrs) | 24 | 32 | .429 | 4.40 | 85 | 76 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 489.1 | 610 | 263 | 239 | 42 | 125 | 143 | 1.502 | |
| CLE (2 yrs) | 2 | 11 | .154 | 3.61 | 31 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 114.2 | 120 | 63 | 46 | 11 | 41 | 74 | 1.404 | |
| OAK (1 yr) | 2 | 6 | .250 | 6.19 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48.0 | 66 | 37 | 33 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 1.646 | |
May 21 – Happy Birthday Hank Johnson
This right-hander was just 19 years old when he made his big league debut for Miller Huggins’ Yankees in April of 1925. The legendary New York skipper was impressed enough with the youngster’s stuff that he got him into 24 ballgames that season, mostly as a reliever. But the native of Bradenton, Florida wasn’t quite ready for prime time and he spent the next two years back in the minors.
Huggins brought Johnson back up to begin the 1928 season and inserted him into a Yankee starting rotation that included two Hall of Famers in Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock, plus 20-game winner George Pipgras. The kid was able to hold his own with that impressive group, finishing the year with a very good 14-9 record. That mark was no doubt boosted by the powerful 1928 Yankee lineup because Johnson’s 4.30 ERA and his league-leading 104 walks that season indicated he did not dominate opposing lineups. He then sat in the Yankee dugout watching his teammates sweep the Cardinals in the ’28 World Series. In fact, New York used just three pitchers during that entire Fall Classic as Hoyt won two complete game starts and Pipgras and Tom Zachary each got one.
He went just 3-3 in 1929 and then bounced back with a 14-11 record in 1930 and a 13-8 mark in ’31. But his control problems continued as he walked over 100 hitters in each of those seasons. Meanwhile, Huggins had tragically died from an eye infection in 1929 and after his successor, Bob Shawkey led New York to a third place finish in 1930, Joe McCarthy had taken over the team. He had stuck with Johnson in his rotation through the 1931 season but he was impressed by a 27-year-old rookie named Johnny Allen during the Yanks’ 1932 spring training camp. When Johnson got off to just a so-so start that year Marse Joe had seen enough. He was traded to the Red Sox on June 5, 1932 and Johnny Allen went on to win 17 games for New York in his rookie season. When Hank Johnson left the Bronx, his career ERA for New York of 4.79 was the highest of any Yankee pitcher with more than 500 innings pitched. It still is today.
Johnson spent the next three years starting and relieving for the Red Sox and continuing to walk too many hitters and allow too many runs. After a horrible three game tenure with the A’s he went back down to the minors to try and find the strike zone. He never did.
When Johnson was a kid, he used to pick oranges out of the groves near his home and try to throw them across Florida’s Braden River. He always credited that activity with giving him the arm strength necessary to pitch in the big leagues.
Johnson shares his May 21st birthday with this former Yankee third baseman and this one-time Yankee back-up catcher.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | NYY | 1 | 3 | .250 | 6.85 | 24 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67.0 | 88 | 58 | 51 | 3 | 37 | 25 | 1.866 |
| 1926 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.000 | |
| 1928 | NYY | 14 | 9 | .609 | 4.30 | 31 | 22 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 199.0 | 188 | 107 | 95 | 16 | 104 | 110 | 1.467 |
| 1929 | NYY | 3 | 3 | .500 | 5.06 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 42.2 | 37 | 28 | 24 | 5 | 39 | 24 | 1.781 |
| 1930 | NYY | 14 | 11 | .560 | 4.67 | 44 | 15 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 175.1 | 177 | 112 | 91 | 12 | 104 | 115 | 1.603 |
| 1931 | NYY | 13 | 8 | .619 | 4.72 | 40 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 196.1 | 176 | 114 | 103 | 13 | 102 | 106 | 1.416 |
| 1932 | NYY | 2 | 2 | .500 | 4.88 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 31.1 | 34 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 27 | 1.564 |
| 12 Yrs | 63 | 56 | .529 | 4.75 | 249 | 116 | 81 | 45 | 4 | 11 | 1066.1 | 1107 | 665 | 563 | 89 | 567 | 568 | 1.570 | |
| NYY (7 yrs) | 47 | 36 | .566 | 4.84 | 157 | 76 | 51 | 31 | 3 | 7 | 712.2 | 702 | 439 | 383 | 56 | 403 | 407 | 1.551 | |
| BOS (3 yrs) | 16 | 15 | .516 | 4.72 | 69 | 37 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 310.2 | 359 | 200 | 163 | 28 | 141 | 145 | 1.609 | |
| PHA (1 yr) | 0 | 2 | .000 | 7.71 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 2.229 | |
| CIN (1 yr) | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2.01 | 20 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31.1 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 1.372 | |
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 19 – Happy Birthday Gil McDougald
The Yankee teams of the 1950s were among the best in the elite franchise’s illustrious history. Managed by Casey Stengel, they won eight of the decade’s ten possible Pennants and six World Championships. One of the key members of those great teams was a Scottish-American infielder, born in San Francisco by the name of Gil McDougald. Signed by the Yankees out of the University of San Francisco in 1948, McDougald tore up Minor League pitching, averaging .340 during his three-year climb through the Yankee farm system. He was brought up to the Bronx in 1951 along with a much more heralded Yankee rookie named Mantle. It was McDougald who won that season’s Rookie of the Year award with a .306 average. In that year’s World Series against the cross-town Giants, McDougald became the first rookie to hit a grand slam home run in Fall Classic history.
Stengel loved McDougald’s defensive versatility and took full advantage of it. During his career in the Bronx, the infielder played 599 games at second, 508 at the hot corner and another 284 at shortstop and was selected as an All Star at all three positions. He had a lifetime batting average of .276 and hit 112 regular season and seven World Series home runs.
Two line drives had tremendous impact upon McDougald’s career. The first came off the bat of Yankee teammate, Bob Cerv during batting practice before a game in August of 1955. McDougald was standing near second base and the ball struck him in the left ear. Even though no one realized it at the time, the resulting damage caused a gradual hearing loss that resulted in McDougald being almost completely deaf early on in his retirement years. In 1957, another line drive, this one off McDougald’s bat, hit Cleveland Indian pitching sensation, Herb Score square in the face. Score was never again the same pitcher and McDougald later admitted that the incident impacted his play as well.
After the Yankees suffered their heartbreaking loss to the Pirates in the 1960 World Series, the front office informed Gil that he would not be protected in the upcoming AL expansion draft. McDougald decided to call it quits at that time. He died in November of 2010, at the age of 82.
Gil shares his May 19th birthday with this one-time Yankee catcher and this former Yankee starting pitcher.
| Year | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | NYY | 131 | 473 | 402 | 72 | 123 | 23 | 4 | 14 | 63 | 14 | 56 | 54 | .306 | .396 | .488 | .884 |
| 1952 | NYY | 152 | 633 | 555 | 65 | 146 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 78 | 6 | 57 | 73 | .263 | .336 | .369 | .705 |
| 1953 | NYY | 141 | 614 | 541 | 82 | 154 | 27 | 7 | 10 | 83 | 3 | 60 | 65 | .285 | .361 | .416 | .777 |
| 1954 | NYY | 126 | 474 | 394 | 66 | 102 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 48 | 3 | 62 | 64 | .259 | .364 | .416 | .780 |
| 1955 | NYY | 141 | 615 | 533 | 79 | 152 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 53 | 6 | 65 | 77 | .285 | .361 | .407 | .768 |
| 1956 | NYY | 120 | 518 | 438 | 79 | 136 | 13 | 3 | 13 | 56 | 3 | 68 | 59 | .311 | .405 | .443 | .848 |
| 1957 | NYY | 141 | 625 | 539 | 87 | 156 | 25 | 9 | 13 | 62 | 2 | 59 | 71 | .289 | .362 | .442 | .804 |
| 1958 | NYY | 138 | 578 | 503 | 69 | 126 | 19 | 1 | 14 | 65 | 6 | 59 | 75 | .250 | .329 | .376 | .705 |
| 1959 | NYY | 127 | 481 | 434 | 44 | 109 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 34 | 0 | 35 | 40 | .251 | .309 | .353 | .661 |
| 1960 | NYY | 119 | 387 | 337 | 54 | 87 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 34 | 2 | 38 | 45 | .258 | .337 | .401 | .737 |
| 10 Yrs | 1336 | 5398 | 4676 | 697 | 1291 | 187 | 51 | 112 | 576 | 45 | 559 | 623 | .276 | .356 | .410 | .766 | |
May 18 – Happy Birthday Reggie Jackson
I remember it was the middle of the work week because I called in sick the next day. The Yankees were playing the Dodgers in the sixth game of the 1977 World Series at Yankee Stadium. It had been a crazy season because of Billy Martin’s intense dislike for Reggie Jackson. Reggie wasn’t an easy guy to warm up to if you didn’t have a microphone in your hand but every manager in baseball would have loved to had him sitting in the middle of their lineup back then. Every manager except Martin that is. The mercurial skipper and outspoken slugger despised each other.
In any event, on that night over thirty years ago, I witnessed one of the greatest World Series performances in the history of the Fall Classic. After walking on four straight pitches in his first at bat Jackson hit the next three pitches he saw that night from three different Dodger hurlers, for home runs. Bam. Bang. Boom. His last shot was the most prodigious, soaring high into the Bronx nighttime sky to straightaway center field onto the famous black tarp that provided the hitter’s background at the old Stadium.
I will never forget Jackson’s glee as he circled the bases after that third blast. How he patted the back of the helmet of on deck hitter Chris Chambliss as he crossed home plate and bounded down into the steps of the Yankee Stadium dugout being congratulated by teammates who both loved and despised him, including Manager Martin.
It was one of the great moments in baseball history, made even more intense by the Martin – Jackson feud and the fact that the always over-dramatic Howard Cosell was in the TV booth. After that game was over I could not go to sleep. It had been sixteen years since the Yankees won their last World Series and for a time there in the late sixties I didn’t think I’d ever see them win another one. But loud brash number 44 took care of all that with three swings of the bat. Reggie, who was born in Wyncote, PA, turns 67 years old today. Nicknamed Mr. October for his ability to dominate games in the postseason (Jackson played in five World Series during his career,) Reggie ironically shares his birthday with a catcher who literally seemed to disappear when his Yankee teams played in World Series.
| Year | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | NYY | 146 | 606 | 525 | 93 | 150 | 39 | 2 | 32 | 110 | 17 | 74 | 129 | .286 | .375 | .550 | .925 |
| 1978 | NYY | 139 | 581 | 511 | 82 | 140 | 13 | 5 | 27 | 97 | 14 | 58 | 133 | .274 | .356 | .477 | .834 |
| 1979 | NYY | 131 | 537 | 465 | 78 | 138 | 24 | 2 | 29 | 89 | 9 | 65 | 107 | .297 | .382 | .544 | .926 |
| 1980 | NYY | 143 | 601 | 514 | 94 | 154 | 22 | 4 | 41 | 111 | 1 | 83 | 122 | .300 | .398 | .597 | .995 |
| 1981 | NYY | 94 | 382 | 334 | 33 | 79 | 17 | 1 | 15 | 54 | 0 | 46 | 82 | .237 | .330 | .428 | .758 |
| 21 Yrs | 2820 | 11418 | 9864 | 1551 | 2584 | 463 | 49 | 563 | 1702 | 228 | 1375 | 2597 | .262 | .356 | .490 | .846 | |
| OAK (10 yrs) | 1346 | 5432 | 4686 | 756 | 1228 | 234 | 27 | 269 | 776 | 145 | 633 | 1226 | .262 | .355 | .496 | .851 | |
| CAL (5 yrs) | 687 | 2721 | 2331 | 331 | 557 | 87 | 6 | 123 | 374 | 14 | 362 | 690 | .239 | .343 | .440 | .782 | |
| NYY (5 yrs) | 653 | 2707 | 2349 | 380 | 661 | 115 | 14 | 144 | 461 | 41 | 326 | 573 | .281 | .371 | .526 | .897 | |
| BAL (1 yr) | 134 | 558 | 498 | 84 | 138 | 27 | 2 | 27 | 91 | 28 | 54 | 108 | .277 | .351 | .502 | .853 | |
May 17 – Happy Birthday Del Webb
Most of the Yankees’ most successful (World Series-winning) owners were born with silver spoons in their mouths. That’s certainly the case with the Steinbrenner brothers, Hank and Hal who inherited the team from their father and with “the Boss” himself, who’s dad left him the American Shipbuilding Company. Jacob Ruppert’s dad gave his son a thriving beer brewery. The spoon in Dan Topping’s mouth when he was born was actually made of tin because his grandfather on his mom’s side was one of the largest owner of tin mines in the entire world.
The only Yankee owner to win a World Series who wasn’t born with money was Topping’s partner, Del Webb. Webb entered this world on May 17, 1899 in Fresno, California and actually started out wanting to be a ballplayer. He quit high school to become a carpenter’s apprentice and play semipro baseball. In his late twenties he came down with typhoid fever and moved to Phoenix, AZ because doctors told him the drier climate would help him recover from the dreaded disease. He brought his tool-box with him to his new desert home and started his own one-man construction company. He might not have made it as a baseball player but he grew that little construction company into one of the largest and most diversified construction, real estate development and property management firms in the country. When WWII broke out, he got the contract to build the infamous Poston War Relocation Center, the Arizona-based internment camp that was home to 17,000 Japanese Americans. His company, Del Web Corporation, built and managed huge retirement communities, resort hotels, major league ballparks and Las Vegas casinos.
On January 26, 1945, Webb and Topping along with Larry MacPhail Sr. purchased the Yankees from the estate of Ruppert for $2.8 million. The plan was for Webb and Topping to treat the purchase as an investment and rich man’s hobby and let MacPhail run the thing. But when legendary Yankee skipper, Joe McCarthy quit because he couldn’t stand his new boss and his successor, Bill Dickey did likewise, Topping and Webb bought out MacPhail and took full control of the franchise.
Webb often said his most significant contribution to the team was convincing Casey Stengel to leave his job as a manager of the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League to become Yankee skipper in 1949. Stengel’s successor as New York manager, Ralph Houk absolutely adored Webb and the feeling was mutual.
Topping and Webb maintained ownership of the franchise for two decades during which the Yankees captured fifteen pennants and ten world championships, still the most successful twenty year period in the club’s history. They sold it to CBS in August of 1964 for $11million. Del Webb had become an extremely wealthy man by knowing when to buy and when to sell a property and he certainly made the right calls when he decided to purchase and then dump his Yankee shares. He died from lung cancer on July 4, 1974. Married twice he had no children. In 2001, the Del Webb Corporation was purchased by a company called Pulte Homes.
Webb shares his birthday with this former Yankee DH and this former Yankee pitcher.
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