Results tagged ‘ yankees ’

May 6 – Happy Birthday Ivy Andrews

ivy.andrews.jpgThere are not many if any Yankee fans still around who can remember this knuckle-balling right-hander. The best thing about Ivy Andrews had to be his nickname, which was “Poison.” He started his big league career in 1931 when he went 2-0 for New York after being called up from the minors in August of that season. Yankee Manager Joe McCarthy planned on giving the Dora, Alabama native plenty of opportunities the following year but when Andrews came down with a case of lumbago after just four appearances in 1932, Marse Joe started using a rookie named Johnny Allen in his place. Allen became an instant success and Andrews found himself in a Boston Red Sox uniform by early June. He bounced back from his illness to finish that ’32 season with a 10-7 record. When he slumped to 7-13 the following year he was traded to the Browns. In his first season in St. Louis he won just 4 games but three of those victories were complete game shutouts. He then went 13-7 for the 1935 Browns, which turned out to be his best year in the big leagues. The Yankees got him back in 1937 and in that year’s World Series he enjoyed his finest moment in pinstripes. It took place in Game 4 with the Yankees leading the cross-town Giants three games to none and looking for a sweep. McCarthy started Bump Hadley who got hammered for six runs in the second inning. Poison Ivy replaced Hadley and pitched five plus innings of solid relief. Unfortunately, the Yankee lineup took that game off and the Giants came out on top. Andrews played one more year in New York and then spent the next seven in the minors trying to make it back to the big show. He never did.

Also born on this date was one of the first second baseman in New York Yankee history.

Year Tm W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
1931 NYY 2 0 1.000 4.19 7 3 2 1 0 0 34.1 36 17 16 3 8 10 1.282
1932 NYY 2 1 .667 1.82 4 1 3 1 0 0 24.2 20 8 5 0 9 7 1.176
1937 NYY 3 2 .600 3.12 11 5 5 3 1 1 49.0 49 19 17 2 17 17 1.347
1938 NYY 1 3 .250 3.00 19 1 12 1 0 1 48.0 51 25 16 3 17 13 1.417
8 Yrs 50 59 .459 4.14 249 108 84 43 2 8 1041.0 1151 562 479 59 342 257 1.434
NYY (4 yrs) 8 6 .571 3.12 41 10 22 6 1 2 156.0 156 69 54 8 51 47 1.327
SLB (3 yrs) 24 30 .444 4.29 129 58 42 23 0 5 543.2 618 288 259 36 168 127 1.446
BOS (2 yrs) 15 19 .441 4.38 59 36 12 13 0 1 281.2 301 172 137 12 114 67 1.473
CLE (1 yr) 3 4 .429 4.37 20 4 8 1 1 0 59.2 76 33 29 3 9 16 1.425
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/6/2013.

May 5 – Happy Birthday Hideki Irabu

Yankee fans will never forget the hype that surrounded the $12.8 million signing of this huge and mysterious right-hander from Hyogo, Japan. When he won his first major league start impressively, many of us were convinced he was the chosen one. When I saw him for the first time, I remember being surprised by the size of his head and I also remember thinking that if Babe Ruth came back to life as a Japanese male, he’d look like Irabu.

In any event, Hideki did not fulfill the huge expectations of Yankee fans or the Yankee brass. After three OK seasons in the Bronx, which included Steinbrenner’s infamous “fat toad” insult incident, the Yankees sent Irabu to Montreal for Ted Lilly.

If right now someone told Yankee fans that Phil Hughes would finish the current season with a 13-9 record, most of us, including Joe Girardi and the Yankee front office would be extremely pleased. That was Irabu’s record in 1998, his first full season with the team. I know I would  also be thrilled if Andy Pettitte rejoins the Yankees this month and ends up going 11-7 during the rest of the 2012 season. That was Irabu’s record during his second and final full year as a Yankee starter.

On July 28, 2011, Hideki Irabu was found dead in his Los Angeles home. He was 42 years-old. Initial reports indicated LA police were treating it as a suicide. Irabu’s wife had recently separated from him and taken the couple’s two young children with her. Former Met Manager, Bobby Valentine, who managed Irabu for one season in Japan, indicated that Irabu liked to drink beer and was at times “his own worst enemy.” The Japanese culture has traditionally treated suicide as an honorable way to die. As a Japanese friend of Irabu told reporters covering his death, “He decided to go to heaven.” I hope he got there. Rest in peace Hideki.

Irabu shares his 5th birthday with this one time roommate of the M&M Boys.

Year Tm W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO WHIP
1997 NYY 5 4 .556 7.09 13 9 0 0 0 0 53.1 69 47 42 15 20 0 56 1.669
1998 NYY 13 9 .591 4.06 29 28 0 2 1 0 173.0 148 79 78 27 76 1 126 1.295
1999 NYY 11 7 .611 4.84 32 27 2 2 1 0 169.1 180 98 91 26 46 0 133 1.335
6 Yrs 34 35 .493 5.15 126 80 28 4 2 16 514.0 547 308 294 91 175 3 405 1.405
NYY (3 yrs) 29 20 .592 4.80 74 64 2 4 2 0 395.2 397 224 211 68 142 1 315 1.362
MON (2 yrs) 2 7 .222 6.69 14 14 0 0 0 0 71.1 99 54 53 12 17 0 60 1.626
TEX (1 yr) 3 8 .273 5.74 38 2 26 0 0 16 47.0 51 30 30 11 16 2 30 1.426
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/5/2013.

May 4 – Happy Birthday Miguel Cairo

miguel.cairo.jpgMiguel Cairo played some very good baseball for the New York Yankees during his 257 game-career in Pinstripes. The Yankees put the guy in some incredibly difficult circumstances but he was unflappable. I believe it was during the 2004 regular season, Cairo’s finest as a Yankee, that he made a play that truly impressed me. He had been playing second base all game long when late in the game he was moved to shortstop. I don’t remember why Joe Torre made the switch but I think it was because Jeter got hit on the hand by a pitch and couldn’t take the field. In any event, the first guy up after Cairo makes the move hits a shot toward short and Cairo made this absolutely awesome play on the ball.

This Venezuelan was one of the most valuable members of that 2004 Yankee squad. He anchored second base but could play and did play every other infield position, plus he hit over .290. He did everything the team asked him to do, he did it well and he often had to do it in the sort of clutch situations that teams in a division race encounter frequently.

So happy birthday Miguel. Every successful team has at least one player who does all the little things well and in 2004, you were that player for the Yankees. If only you could have pitched that 12th inning against Boston in game 4 of that season’s AL Championship series.

Miguel shares his May 4th birthday with this one-time AL Saves leader.

Year Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
2004 NYY 122 408 360 48 105 17 5 6 42 11 3 18 49 .292 .346 .417 .763
2006 NYY 81 244 222 28 53 12 3 0 30 13 1 13 31 .239 .280 .320 .600
2007 NYY 54 121 107 12 27 7 0 0 10 8 1 8 19 .252 .308 .318 .625
17 Yrs 1490 4392 3956 504 1044 193 34 41 394 139 40 243 482 .264 .314 .361 .675
STL (4 yrs) 255 605 545 82 138 31 6 8 67 7 3 31 73 .253 .301 .376 .677
TBD (3 yrs) 389 1483 1355 159 373 59 12 9 116 69 22 77 124 .275 .319 .356 .675
CIN (3 yrs) 263 658 595 72 151 27 4 13 74 11 4 39 86 .254 .309 .378 .687
NYY (3 yrs) 257 773 689 88 185 36 8 6 82 32 5 39 99 .269 .319 .370 .689
CHC (2 yrs) 82 179 152 27 42 4 1 2 10 2 1 18 24 .276 .355 .355 .710
NYM (1 yr) 100 367 327 31 82 18 0 2 19 13 3 19 31 .251 .296 .324 .620
PHI (1 yr) 27 47 45 6 12 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 4 .267 .283 .422 .705
SEA (1 yr) 108 250 221 34 55 14 2 0 23 5 2 18 32 .249 .316 .330 .646
TOR (1 yr) 9 30 27 5 6 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 .222 .300 .296 .596
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/4/2013.

May 3 – Happy Birthday Cliff Markle

markleIf you think today’s sportswriters and bloggers can be overly critical of modern day ballplayers, you’re absolutely correct. But its nothing new. Take a look at some of the statements I uncovered about today’s Pinstripe Birthday celebrant in a July 21, 1916 New York Times account of a regular season game between the Yankees and the St Louis Browns: “None of the Yankees was injured yesterday up at the Polo Grounds yesterday but a misfortune came to them when Cliff Markle started to pitch against the St. Louis Browns…Markle seems to be about the only disappointing feature of this year’s Yankee ball club. All the other players have proved better than anyone expected except Markle…The only player who doesn’t seem to approve (of the Yankees being in first place) is Markle…whenever he starts to pitch the home plate simply disappears…As Markle pitched yesterday he had a far-away look, as if pondering where he was going to spend next summer’s vacation…Markle left (the game) with the bases loaded and no one was out when Manager Bill Donovan sent the pitcher word that the next train south left the elevated at 4:20 PM. He also told him if he hurried he might catch it.” Ouch! Imagine if Michael Kay used the above words to describe one of Ivan Nova’s recent starts.

A native of Dravosburg, PA, this right-hander actually attracted the attention of several big league teams after posting a 31-9 record for a Class C minor league team in the Virginia League in 1914, followed by a 19-11 season for a B team in Waco, Texas. He also got off to a strong start with New York, winning both of his decisions at the end of the Yankees’ 1915 season and his first three the following year. On May 6 of 1916,his ERA was a microscopic 1.39. That’s when the curtain started coming down on his big league career. He lost three of his next four decisions including the one described above. In fact, though at first I thought the Times sports reporter was just trying to be dramatically sarcastic, that start against the Brown’s was the last game Markle pitched in the big leagues for the next five years. But instead of taking the elevated train south, he headed north and finished the 1916 season pitching for an American Association League team in Toronto.

His next stop in the big leagues was with Cincinnati in 1921 and ’22 and then two years later he got a final chance with the Yanks but he couldn’t seem to get anyone out. That was his last year as a professional baseball player. He passed away in 1974 at the age of 80.

He shares his birthday with the winningest pitcher in Yankee history and this former back-up catcher.

Year Tm W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO WHIP
1915 NYY 2 0 1.000 0.39 3 2 1 2 0 0 23.0 15 3 1 1 6 12 0.913
1916 NYY 4 3 .571 4.53 11 7 1 3 1 0 45.2 41 26 23 0 31 14 1.577
1924 NYY 0 3 .000 8.87 7 3 2 0 0 0 23.1 29 26 23 5 20 7 2.100
5 Yrs 12 17 .414 4.10 56 21 23 12 2 0 234.2 235 132 107 9 110 90 1.470
NYY (3 yrs) 6 6 .500 4.60 21 12 4 5 1 0 92.0 85 55 47 6 57 33 1.543
CIN (2 yrs) 6 11 .353 3.79 35 9 19 7 1 0 142.2 150 77 60 3 53 57 1.423
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/3/2013.

May 2 – Happy Birthday Bill Piercy

Bill_Piercy.jpgIn Leigh Montville’s book about Babe Ruth entitled, The Big Bam, the author clearly makes the case that when Ruth first became a Yankee in 1920, he was one of the crudest, least mature and most undisciplined human beings to ever wear a big league uniform. He ignored all rules and authority of any kind, doing exactly as he pleased when he pleased. One of the rules he ignored was Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis’ prohibition of post season barnstorming by players who had participated in that year’s World Series. After the Yankees lost to the Giants in the 1921 World Series, Ruth, his Yankee outfield mate, Bob Meusel and today’s Pinstripe Birthday celebrant, pitcher Wild Bill Piercy joined a barnstorming team, flaunting the Commissioner’s edict.

Landis reacted quickly and harshly. He fined all three players the amount of money they had collected from their 1921 World Series share and also suspended them for the first month of the 1922 regular season. Ruth shrugged off the punishment because he had already become the highest paid player in the game. Meusel was angry but he too would go on to make good money and several more World Series checks in pinstripes. Piercy, on the other hand really got the short end of the stick. Even though he had shown promise as a pitcher by going 5-4 in 1921, Yankee manager Miller Huggins wanted to send a message to Ruth that his childlike behavior would have consequences. He quickly traded Piercy and a couple of other Ruth partying buddies to the Red Sox. The Sultan of Swat, however, hardly noticed his old teammates were missing and he quickly found new ones to pal around with. Meanwhile, Piercy went 16-33 as a Red Sox and was out of the big leagues for good by 1927.

Piercy shares his May 2nd birthday with a Yankee pitcher who’s religious beliefs prevented him from pitching on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons.

Year Tm W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
1917 NYY 0 1 .000 3.00 1 1 0 1 0 0 9.0 9 3 3 0 2 4 1.222
1921 NYY 5 4 .556 2.98 14 10 3 5 1 0 81.2 82 40 27 4 28 35 1.347
6 Yrs 27 43 .386 4.26 116 70 30 28 2 0 610.2 676 364 289 16 268 165 1.546
BOS (3 yrs) 16 33 .327 4.48 82 54 18 21 1 0 429.2 489 269 214 11 201 95 1.606
NYY (2 yrs) 5 5 .500 2.98 15 11 3 6 1 0 90.2 91 43 30 4 30 39 1.335
CHC (1 yr) 6 5 .545 4.48 19 5 9 1 0 0 90.1 96 52 45 1 37 31 1.472
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/1/2013.

April 30 – Happy Birthday Jumbo Brown

brownWhen 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 W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
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
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/30/2013.

April 29 – Happy Birthday Marv Breuer

breuerMarv Breuer thought he had blown his chance to get signed by the Yankees. He was pitching for an unaffiliated D-level team in Rogers, Arkansas in 1934 and Yankee scout Johnny Nee was in the stands for one of the right-hander’s starts. Breuer not only lost the game 7-0, his team was no-hit by the opposing team’s pitcher. At dinner that night, a disappointed Breuer figured it would be the pitcher he faced that day who would be getting a visit from Nee. But when he looked up from his plate, Nee was standing there ready to offer him a Yankee contract. A disbelieving Breuer thought the scout had made a mistake and reminded his unexpected visitor it was the other guy who had thrown the no-hitter. Nee told him “You’ll be pitching in the American League when everyone has forgotten about that no-hitter.”

So Breuer signed on with the Yanks and spent the next six years trying to climb up the crowded ladder of baseball’s best farm system and there were plenty of missteps along the way. His first breakout year came with Binghamton in 1936, when he went 18-9 in the A-level NY-Penn League. But when he was promoted to double A, the following season, his record plummeted to 5-19 and the Rolla, Missouri native gave serious thought to quitting the game.

It was the midst of the Great Depression and Breuer had earned a degree in civil engineering after graduating from high school. Every off-season, he was hired to do engineering work. But he stuck with pitching and when he went 17-9 for the Yank’s, Kansas City Blues farm team in 1939, Joe McCarthy brought him to spring training and announced he would open the 1940 season as a member of the Yankees’ starting rotation.

Now remember, that Yankee team Breuer was joining had won four consecutive World Championships and the pitching staff on their 1939 club boasted seven guys with at least 10 winning decisions. But Lefty Gomez was faltering badly, Red Ruffing was getting old and Spud Chandler was hurting. McCarthy found himself forced to revamp one of the deepest mound staff’s in the history of the game.

It looked as if Breuer was certainly one of the answers as the 1940 regular season got under way. The 26-year-old rookie pitched well and the Yankees won 9 of his first 13 starts. But the tide turned in late July and Breuer started getting hammered. By the end of his first full season in New York, his record was a disappointing 8-9 and his ERA in the mid-four’s and the Yankees finished in second place.

He pitched better in 1941, putting together what would be his only winning season for New York, finishing 9-7 and lowering his ERA by half a run. He then turned in his most memorable moment in pinstripes during Game 4 of that year’s World Series against Brooklyn. McCarthy called on him to relieve starter Atley Donald in the fifth inning with the Yankees trailing Brooklyn, 4-3. He pitched three scoreless innings and New York came back to win the game.

He would spend two more years with the team but when it became clear he would never become the 20-game winner the Yankees thought he would, the pitcher nicknamed “Baby Face” quit the game for good and became a civil engineer for the US Geological Survey for the next 31 years. He passed away in 1991 at the age of 76.

Breuer shares his birthday with another former Yankee pitcher and this one too.

Year Tm W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
1939 NYY 0 0 9.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 3.000
1940 NYY 8 9 .471 4.55 27 22 2 10 0 0 164.0 175 89 83 20 61 71 1.439
1941 NYY 9 7 .563 4.09 26 18 4 7 1 2 141.0 131 73 64 10 49 77 1.277
1942 NYY 8 9 .471 3.07 27 19 6 6 0 1 164.1 157 67 56 11 37 72 1.181
1943 NYY 0 1 .000 8.36 5 1 4 0 0 0 14.0 22 16 13 0 6 6 2.000
5 Yrs 25 26 .490 4.03 86 60 16 23 1 3 484.1 487 246 217 41 154 226 1.323
162 Game Avg. 12 12 .490 4.03 40 28 7 11 0 1 226 227 115 101 19 72 105 1.323

April 28 – Happy Birthday Tom Sturdivant

tom.sturdivant.jpgIf you were a bullpen pitcher for the New York Yankees after Game 2 of the 1956 World Series win over the Brooklyn Dodgers, you might have qualified for unemployment checks. Why? Because beginning with Game 3, New York starting pitchers; Whitey Ford, Tom Sturdivant, Don Larsen, Bob Turley and Johnny Kucks became the first and only pitchers in history to toss five consecutive complete games in a Fall Classic.

Sturdivant’s turn came in the fourth game, which he won 6-2. That would be the only postseason decision in the decade-long big league career of this right-hander, who was born in Kansas, on April 28, 1930 and then raised in Oklahoma. The Yankees originally signed him out of high school as an infielder but he didn’t hit well in the minors. When he came back to the organization after serving a year in the military, Sturdivant was switched to pitching. He could throw hard and he developed a signature slithering curve ball that eventually earned him the nickname “Snake.” The Yankees called him up for the first time in 1955 and pitched him pretty much exclusively out of the bullpen. In ’56, Casey Stengel began starting him and he did well enough to become a regular part of that year’s Yankee rotation, winning 16 games. He duplicated that win total in 1957, and his .727 winning percentage that season led the AL. Sturdivant was also one of the league’s best hitting pitchers in the days before the DH took hold. In 1956, this guy hit .313. Stengel absolutely loved him but according to my research could either never remember or pronounce his last name so the Ol Perfessor just took to calling Sturdivant, “Number 47.”

The winning didn’t last long. In 1957 he tore his rotator cuff and although he claimed his arm recovered completely, Sturdivant spent the final six seasons of his career struggling on the mound for six different big league teams. He never came close to being the pitcher he was during those two great years he had for the Yankees.

This former Yankee reliever also celebrates a birthday today.

Year Tm W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
1955 NYY 1 3 .250 3.16 33 1 12 0 0 0 68.1 48 24 24 6 42 48 1.317
1956 NYY 16 8 .667 3.30 32 17 11 6 2 5 158.1 134 63 58 15 52 110 1.175
1957 NYY 16 6 .727 2.54 28 28 0 7 2 0 201.2 170 65 57 14 80 118 1.240
1958 NYY 3 6 .333 4.20 15 10 2 0 0 0 70.2 77 37 33 6 38 41 1.627
1959 NYY 0 2 .000 4.97 7 3 1 0 0 0 25.1 20 16 14 4 9 16 1.145
10 Yrs 59 51 .536 3.74 335 101 99 22 7 17 1137.0 1029 521 473 107 449 704 1.300
NYY (5 yrs) 36 25 .590 3.19 115 59 26 13 4 5 524.1 449 205 186 45 221 333 1.278
PIT (3 yrs) 14 7 .667 3.49 65 23 16 8 2 3 219.1 209 97 85 19 60 127 1.226
KCA (3 yrs) 3 8 .273 4.42 56 6 20 0 0 5 128.1 121 73 63 12 52 84 1.348
NYM (1 yr) 0 0 5.97 16 0 5 0 0 1 28.2 34 20 19 2 7 18 1.430
BOS (1 yr) 3 3 .500 4.97 40 3 14 0 0 1 101.1 106 58 56 16 45 67 1.490
WSA (1 yr) 2 6 .250 4.61 15 10 3 1 1 0 80.0 67 42 41 6 40 39 1.338
DET (1 yr) 1 2 .333 3.76 28 0 15 0 0 2 55.0 43 26 23 7 24 36 1.218
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/27/2013.

April 27 – Happy Birthday Enos Slaughter

enosslaughterfront.jpgBy most accounts, when Enos Slaughter joined the Yankees in 1954, many of his new Yankee teammates weren’t to fond of him. That group included and was probably led by the temperamental Billy Martin, who thought Slaughter ‘s habit of running hard to first on every hit ball and even after bases on balls, was an attempt to show up his teammates. Martin considered Slaughter and for that matter most teammates who had not come up through the Yankee organization, as outsiders who could not be trusted on the field or in the clubhouse. Fortunately for Slaughter, Casey Stengel did not share that sentiment, probably because he was an old National Leaguer himself.

Slaughter explained the real reason he hustled every second while on the field in his autobiography. He was playing on a Cardinal farm team in Columbus, GA in 1932, hitting in the low .200′s and thinking he was going to be released any minute when in between innings during a game, he walked backed to the dugout from his right field position. Burt Shotten happened to be his Manager at the time and when Slaughter finally got to the dugout, Shotten told him if he was too tired to run back to the bench that maybe he was too tired to play in the game. Slaughter said that not-too-subtle hint from Shotten forever changed the way he approached the game. He vowed that he would never ever loaf on a baseball field again and he kept that promise for the next 27 years.

The saddest day of his life was August 11, 1954, the day the Cardinals traded him to the Yankees. He actually burst into tears after hearing the news but not because he had any particular animosity toward the Bronx Bombers.  Slaughter absolutely loved playing in St. Louis and never dreamed getting traded was even a remote possibility.

As hard as it was for him to do so, Slaughter brought all of his experience and enthusiasm for the game with him to New York. From 1954 until he was traded to Kansas City in 1955 and then again after he was reacquired by New York a season later until 1959, Casey used the aging veteran frequently as both a pinch hitter and outfield substitute. He also treated Slaughter as his bench coach. The two veterans would often sit next to each other in the dugout, constantly discussing strategy and possible moves.

Slaughter contributed on the field as well. He was a star in the 1956 World Series, hitting .350 as the Yankees beat Brooklyn. His best regular season in pinstripes was 1958, when he hit .304 in 160 plate appearances. Enos retired after the 1959 season, at the ripe age of 43 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame, 26-years later. He passed away in 2002 at the age of 85.

Year Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
1954 NYY 69 154 125 19 31 4 2 1 19 0 28 8 .248 .386 .336 .722
1955 NYY 10 10 9 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 .111 .200 .111 .311
1956 NYY 24 89 83 15 24 4 2 0 4 1 5 6 .289 .330 .386 .715
1957 NYY 96 255 209 24 53 7 1 5 34 0 40 19 .254 .369 .368 .737
1958 NYY 77 160 138 21 42 4 1 4 19 2 21 16 .304 .396 .435 .831
1959 NYY 74 114 99 10 17 2 0 6 21 1 13 19 .172 .265 .374 .639
19 Yrs 2380 9086 7946 1247 2383 413 148 169 1304 71 1018 538 .300 .382 .453 .834
STL (13 yrs) 1820 7713 6775 1071 2064 366 135 146 1148 64 838 429 .305 .384 .463 .847
NYY (6 yrs) 350 782 663 90 168 21 6 16 98 4 108 69 .253 .356 .376 .732
KCA (2 yrs) 199 570 490 86 148 26 7 7 57 3 69 37 .302 .387 .427 .814
MLN (1 yr) 11 21 18 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 .167 .286 .167 .452
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/27/2013.

April 26 – Happy Birthday Shawn Kelley

shawn-kelleyComing 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 W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
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
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/25/2013.
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