6/08 in Yankee History

The red-letter day -

2005: In a 12-3 lambasting of the Brewers at Milwaukee, Alex Rodriguez strokes the 400th HR of his career, off Milwaukee starter Chris Capuano. A-Rod becomes the youngest player to date to reach the plateau, and the 40th overall. The milestone is one of the few bright spots on an otherwise ugly 3-9 road trip.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B06080MIL2005.htm

On other 8ths of June…

2007: A poignant moment occurs before a game with Pittsburgh at the Stadium, as the untimely death of Clete Boyer is honored – the ex-Yank third baseman had succumbed several days before when the team was on the road. The contest that follows pits lefties Tom Gorzelanny  and Andy Pettitte against each other, and the Yanks come from behind twice, the first time on a two-run, 6th inning homer by Hideki Matsui . Mariano Rivera replaces Pettitte after eight in a 4-4 tie, and gets the win when Derek Jeter delivers Robbie Cano with a single in the bottom of the 10th.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2007/B06080NYA2007.htm

1999: Having been entrusted with a 5-0 going into the 7th at Veterans Stadium, the Yankee bullpen implodes, as the Phillies come up with 9 runs in  the inning, on their way to an eventual 11-5 victory. Jason Grimsley takes the loss for the Bombers.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1999/B06080PHI1999.htm

1992: Yankee pitcher Steve Howe is suspended from baseball indefinitely after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempting to buy cocaine. It is Howe’s seventh suspension.  Howe will eventually perish in a car accident in 2006.

1986: The Yankees are on the losing end of the longest 9-inning game by time in AL history to date. Baltimore’s Lee Lacy goes 4-for-6 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI as the Orioles double up the Bombers, 18-9. The game features 9 pitchers‚ 36 hits‚ and 16 walks‚ and takes 4:16 to complete.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1986/B06080NYA1986.htm

1980: In the ‘Can’t blame them for trying’ department, they Yankees use their first-round amateur draft pick to select Stanford quarterback John Elway.

1977: Behind a 9-2 victory by Mike Torrez over the Brewers‚ the Yankees move into first place.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1977/B06080MIL1977.htm

1969: 60,096 fans are on hand at the Stadium for Mickey Mantle Day. The Mick’s no. 7 is retired, and he and Joe DiMaggio exchange plaques to be hung on the wall – DiMag’s is a surprise. The team put a fine cap on the day by sweeping a pair from the White Sox, 3-1 and 11-2.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1969/B06081NYA1969.htm

1968: MLB Commissioner William Eckert orders that the Yankees-Angels game scheduled at the Stadium be postponed following the assassination of New York senator Robert Kennedy. The clubs will play a doubleheader tomorrow.

1965: The Yankees participate in the first amateur draft in MLB history. Their first pick is Bill Burbach, a 19-year old pitcher from Dickeyville, Wisconsin. He will have three seasons with the big club, from 1969 to 1971.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B/Pburbb101.htm

1961: In twinbill action at the Stadium, the A’s hit 3 consecutive triples in a 5-run 3rd inning whilst upending the Yankees 9-6 in the nitecap, after dropping the opener  6-1. Moose  Skowron homers in the lidlifter, the 17th straight game in which the Yanks have homered‚ for a total of 32. The Bombers are shut out in the nitecap by KC’s Jim Archer.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B06081NYA1961.htm

1960: Bob Turley tosses a 3-hit shutout against the White Sox‚ and Mickey Mantle adds his 9th and 10th homers of the season. His second homer‚ in the 8th‚ is followed by Roger Maris’s 16th of the year‚ matching his season total last year with KC. It is the first time the M & M Boys have hit back-to back homers.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1960/B06080NYA1960.htm

1952: In the first game of a doubleheader at the Stadium‚ Browns pitcher Tommy Byrne hits a 4t
h inning fly ball behind third that New York’s Gil McDougald chases. A fan catches the ball but the umpire rules interference and calls the batter out. Browns manager Rogers Hornsby‚ coaching third‚ doesn’t disagree. However‚ Browns owner Bill Veeck‚ listening on the radio in St. Louis‚ phones Hornsby and orders him to protest‚ which Hornsby reluctantly does‚ but too late anyway. The Yanks win 5-2‚ then take the nitecap as Vic Raschi shuts out St. Louis. That night‚ Hornsby calls Veeck and tells him to stop meddling‚ a call that will cost him his job.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1952/B06081NYA1952.htm

1951: Before 53‚940 at Comiskey Park‚ Vic Raschi and the Yankees edge the Sox‚ 4-2. Mickey Mantle‚ leading the Yankees with 33 RBIs‚ ties the game with a single and throws out Nellie Fox‚ who tries to score from 3B on Minnie Minoso’s fly to right.

1950: The Yankees score 7 runs in the 6th to beat the Tigers 11-4, though Phil Rizzuto’s record string of 238 errorless chances ends when he fumbles a grounder in the 5th.

1949: Yankee knuckleballer Tommy Byrne walks 13 Tigers in 11 innings‚ a franchise record, and the most passes handed out in a Major League game since 1935. Dick Weik will match it in September and‚ as a Brown‚ Byrne will actually top it in an extra-inning game in 1951. The second-place Tigers manage just 4 hits‚ but finally score with 2 out in the 11th to win‚ 3-2. Virgil Trucks gives up 3 hits in the win. The Yankees pitching staff will surrender 812 bases on balls this year‚ the second-most of any team in MLB history (the record is held by the 1915 Philadelphia A’s, with 827).

Tommy Byrne

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1949/B06080DET1949.htm

1942: Despite 2 homers by Jeff Heath and 5 hits by Ken Keltner‚ the Indians lose 11-10 to the Yankees in 11 innings. Tom Ferrick’s wild throw to third allows Joe DiMaggio to score the winning run. Joe Gordon singles in the 10th to extend his hitting streak to 25 games‚ and Buddy Hassett’s 2 singles extends his string to 20.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1942/B06080NYA1942.htm

1941: Bill Dickey pulls off the only unassisted double play of his career in the first of two with the Browns. The Yankee catcher snares Bob Swift’s pop foul along the first base line and tags first to double off the straying runner‚ Johnny Berardino.

The Yanks sweep the Browns‚ 9-3 and 8-3. Joe DiMaggio collects 7 RBIs on the afternoon‚ with 2 homers in the opener and 2 hits in the nitecap. He has now hit in 24 straight. From today’s second game to July 26th‚ Joe will jolt 11 homers without striking out.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1941/B06081SLA1941.htm

1939: Joe DiMaggio leads New York to a 7-2 win over the White Sox by hitting a single‚ double‚ and his 2nd homer of the year. Joe is now hitting .464. Lefty Edgar Smith takes the loss for Chicago while rookie Atley Donald wins his 6th without a loss. New York’s record against southpaws is 15-4.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1939/B06080CHA1939.htm

1935: In the opener of a doubleheader with Boston‚ Lou Gehrig is 3-for-3 with 4 RBIs to lead New York to a 13-6 win. The Iron Horse collides with Carl Reynolds on a play at first and leaves the game with arm and shoulder injuries. He does play in game 2‚ however, a 4-2 Boston win. Lefty Gomez walks 8 and wild pitches home 2 runs to help lose his 7th.

.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1935/B06081BOS1935.htm

1933: Welcome to the Big Leagues:  A’s reliever Bobby Coombs gives up a homer to his first ML batter (an understandable rookie mistake, since the batter is Babe Ruth)‚ but Jimmie Foxx homers in his first 3 at bats‚ all off Lefty Gomez‚ as the A’s outscore the Yankees 14-10. Foxx had homered his last time up the previous day to give him an MLB record tying 4 consecutive homers. He is the first to achieve the feat in the 20th century – the last man to go long four times in a row was Bobby Lowe, in 1894. Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth homer for New York‚ with the Babe’s landing across the street from the right field fence. Losing pitcher Wilcey Moore gives up 6 runs in the 8th. Art Mahaffey is the winner.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1933/B06080PHA1933.htm

1927: Tony Lazzeri belts three homers in the Yankees’ 11-inning‚ 12-11 win over the White Sox. Tony’s first 2 round-trippers come off Red Faber‚ and his third is a 2-run line drive in the 9th inning off George Connally that ties the game.

The Yanks were behind 11-6 going into
the 9th inning. New York win it in the 11th after Cedric Durst triples‚
Lazzeri is intentionally walked‚ and Ray Morehart singles over Bill
Barrett’s head in right field.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1927/B06080NYA1927.htm

1926: In Detroit‚ Babe Ruth launches a homer run that reportedly carries 626 feet, in an 11-9 Yankee slugfest over the Tigers. The shot‚ off the Bengals’ Lil Stoner‚ lands at the intersection of Cherry Street and Brooklyn Avenue‚ two blocks from Navin Field. The youngster who retrieves the ball sells it back to the Babe for $20.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1926/B06080DET1926.htm

1921:Babe Ruth is  arrested for speeding, fined, and held until 4:00 pm. Dressing at the stationhouse in a uniform brought to him, he follows a police escort to the Polo Grounds, enters the game with the Yanks losing toCleveland 3-2, and watches as the home team rally in the bottom of the 9th for a 4-3 win.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1921/B06080NYA1921.htm

1911: The peculiar early baseball practice of the ‘courtesy runner’ comes into play in a 7-2  loss by the Highlanders to the White Sox at Hilltop Park . When New York pitcher Russ Ford beans Sox shortstop Roy Corhan,  Ping Bodie, already in the lineup, runs for Corhan. In the bottom of the frame‚ Bodie returns to center field. with Jesse Tannehill moving from first to short. Pitcher Doc White ends up playing first base.