Author Archive
Yogi Berra’s Incredible Feat for the Yankees »
The New York Yankees won the 1950 pennant, edging out the second-place Detroit Tigers by three games and the third-place Boston Red Sox by four games. The Yankee scored 914 runs, averaged 5.90 runs a game, batted .282 and hit 159 home runs. They had 687 walks and struck out 458 times, which includes 47 walks and 72 strikeouts by pitchers.Try to [...]
Yogi Berra’s “Bad” 1957 Yankees »
Yogi Berra had a "bad" season in 1957. Fifty-five years later, we realize that Berra had a very good season. How could that happen? In the 21st century, we have sabermetricians that help us evaluate the importance of specific statistics. On Aug. 28, 1957, Berra was quoted by writer Milt Richman as saying that he was having a "lousy year." He was [...]
Tommy Tresh’s Play Made Yankees Fans Remember »
Ralph Terry, relying primarily on a fast ball and slider, had retired the first 17 San Francisco Giants batters. Visions of Don Larsen, who had pitched a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, danced in the minds of New York Yankees fans. But not for long. Giants pitcher Jack Sanford, a right-handed batter who finished his career with [...]
New York Yankees: Bobby Shantz’s Last Pitch »
In 1952, Bobby Shantz won 24 games for the Philadelphia Athletics. He was voted the American League's MVP. The next few seasons, Shantz suffered arm problems, winning only 13 games from 1953-56. Then he was traded to the New York Yankees. On Feb. 19, 1957, in a 13-player trade with the now Kansas City Athletics, the Yankees acquired Shantz, [...]
Andy Pettitte Never Used a Substance Banned by Major »
How many times have we been told that Andy Pettitte used Human Growth Hormone? How many times have we been told that when Andy Pettitte used Human Growth Hormone it was not on baseball's list of banned substances? That's what I thought. The media are famous for telling part of the story. "In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human [...]
Herb Pennock’s Racist Position Didn’t Stop »
When Herb Pennock learned that the Boston Red Sox had traded him to the New York Yankees, he and his wife danced a jig. With the Yankees from 1923-33, Pennock was 162-90 (.643) with a 3.54 ERA, a 114 ERA+ and a 1.335 WHIP. Pennock was never an ace. He lacked a good fastball which forced him to develop three curve balls and to use "junk" and guile [...]
Is Pettitte’s Return Related to Mike Pineda, »
Bizarre is not the right word. Maybe unbelievable is better. Ridiculous describes it best. The New York Yankees have just announced that they have signed Andy Pettitte to a minor league contract with the likelihood that he will pitch for them this season. The contract is for $2.5 million. Pettitte joined the Yankees in 1995, left [...]
Chris Chambliss Punched Some Fans When They Tried to »
"Now I know how Bobby Thomson felt," Chris Chambliss told the media. 25 years after Bobby Thomson hit a home run off Ralph Branca's final pitch of the 1951 season to send the New York Giants to the World Series, Chambliss blasted Mark Littell's first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning into the right-center field seats to send the New York [...]
Alex Rodriguez vs. Graig Nettles for the Best 3rd »
When Alex Rodriguez's and Graig Nettles' New York Yankees careers are compared, my first reaction is that A-Rod is the greatest third baseman in Yankees' history. Rodriguez owes the Yankees six more seasons. The Yankees owe him $180 million. The Yankees traded John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes and Rusty Torres to the Cleveland [...]
John Sterling Was Belittled by Atlanta’s »
From 1982-87, John Sterling worked for Ted Turner's Atlanta Braves, broadcasting the team's games on TBS. Sports editor Buddy McCarter didn't mince words when it came to his opinion of Sterling in a column written in May, 1985. "John Sterling ... has to rank as one of the all-time worst announcers in the game." One of Sterling's favorite [...]