To my handful of loyal readers: 

     I normally maintain this chronicle on a daily basis from Opening Day of the Grapefruit League until the 4th of November, the latest date on which the Yankees have ever played a game. This year, for reasons that I won’t bore you with, I got distracted in late October and never quite got back on track. I’m caught up now, though, so I can write a temporary sign-off.

.      For me, Yankee history has always been primarily a matter of what goes on between the foul lines; anything that happens off the field – trades, birthdays and deaths, etc. – appears on my radar only if the occurrence is on a day when the Yankees still have games to play. I’m sure that the hot stove moves have their historical importance as well, and deserve to be studied, but I choose to leave them to others.

     I never look at the stats page of this blog, so I have no idea how many people visited this year, and since I can literally count the number of comments on the fingers of one hand, I’ve no idea what most of said visitors thought. I hope that someone got something useful out of my work, drawing added inspiration from it during good times, and consolation in the reminder that the team had been there before in bad. 

     Thanks for reading this year, then, and I hope to see you again when Mission 28 resumes in a few weeks.

     Have a good rest of the winter,

     best regards,

    T.Y.D.

The red-letter day -

2009: Back at the Stadium, the Yankees ride 6 RBI from Series MVP Hideki Matsui to Championship No. 27. Homering, singling and doubling for two runs each his first three times to the plate, the first two off Pedro Martinez, Matsui gives Andy Pettite a big lead that will hold up despite a two-run homer by strikeout-prone Ryan Howard in the 6th. The bullpen will hold it from there in impressive fashion, with consecutive strike outs of Chase Utley, Howard, and Jason Werth, the first two by Damaso Marte. The Werth whiff comes courtesy of Mariano Rivera, who wraps things up by getting the last five outs of the 7-3 Yankee win.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B11040NYA2009.htm  

 

On other 4ths of November…

2001: The Yankees suffer one of the most heartbreaking postseason defeats in their history in game 7 of the World Series.  Roger Clemens throws another strong game, and Alfonso Soriano reaches Curt Schilling for an 8th-inning tie-breaking home run. But the game slips away when the rock-solid Mariano Rivera muffs a throw on a bunt in the bottom of the 9th. Randy Johnson gets the win in relief and Luis Gonzalez pokes a broken-bat flare over Derek Jeter to knock in the winning run in the 3-2 victory. Johnson and Curt Schilling share the Series MVP award. 

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B11040ARI2001.htm

1948: Former Yankee outfielder Jake Powell, 39‚ shoots and kills himself in a Washington‚ D.C.‚ police station.
Powell, who had been arrested for writing checks on a false account, was the start of the 1936 World Series, going 4-for-4 in game 1 against Carl Hubbell, and finishing the series with a .455 average and 8 runs.

 

2004: Willie Randolph resigns as a Yankee coach in order to become manager of the Mets.

 

2001: The Diamondbacks even the World Series at 3 games apiece with a 15-2 thrashing of the Yankees in Game 6. Randy Johnson gets the win for Arizona while Danny Bautista drives in 5 runs. Arizona deliver a WS-record barrage of 22 hits‚ and score 8 runs in the 3rd inning, chasing starter Andy Pettitte in the process.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B11030ARI2001.htm

1992; One of the most important trades in recent Yankee history goes through, as Paul O’Neill arrives from Cincinnati in exchange for Roberto Kelly and minor league prospect Joe DeBerry.

 

1982: Early Yankee workhorse pitcher Ray Fisher dies at the age of 95.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fishera01.shtml

1954: The Yankees’ tour of Japan opens in Osaka. The first game against the All-Japan Stars draws a record crowd of 64‚000. Andy Carey belts 13 HRs‚ and Elston Howard bats .468 on the 25-game tour.

 

1942: Yankee second baseman Joe Gordon is voted American League MVP by a margin of 21 votes, even though Ted Williams won the Triple Crown. Moreover, Gordon led the league in  strikeouts‚ GDPs, and errors at his position.

 

1911: Johnny Keane, Yankee manager who presided over the initial phase of the club’s ’60s decline, is born.

On the 1st of November down through the years…

2009: With the Yanks up 2 to 1 in games in the World Series, CC Sabathia outpitches Joe Blanton through 7 2/3 innings when Chase Utley closes the score to 4-3 with a home run. Joba Chamberlain strikes out two in the 8th, only to have Pedro Feliz tie it with a two-strike homer of his own. Johnny Damon takes over at that poin – battling to a two-out single in the 9th, he steals second and continues onto third when the shifted Phillies infield fails to cover. Following a hit by pitch, doubles from  Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada plate three off Brad Lidge, and Mariano Rivera closes out the 7-4 Yankee win.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B11010PHI2009.htm

2001: Deja vu all over again…

In an amazing case of history repeating itself‚ the Yankees again come from 2 runs down with 2 outs in the 9th inning to defeat the
Diamondbacks‚ 3-2 in 12 innings.Byung-Hyun Kim is  again victimized‚ this time by Scott Brosius 2-run home run in the 9th. Alfonso Soriano’s single wins it in the 12th. Steve Finley and Rod Barajas homer in the 5th for Arizona’s runs.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B11010NYA2001.htm

1979: After a disappointing fourth place finish, the Yankees begin their offseason wheeling and dealing. In separate transactions, they Yanks acquire outfielder Ruppert Jones from the Mariners, and catcher Rick Cerone and pitcher Tom Underwood from the Blue Jays, giving up 7 players‚ including popular first baseman Chris Chambliss, shortstop Damaso Garcia, outfielder Juan Beniquez and pitchers Jim Beattie and Paul Mirabella. Chambliss will be with the Blue Jays for a month before they swap him to Atlanta.

1978: Ron Guidry is the unanimous choice for the AL Cy Young Award. The southpaw led the league in wins 25)‚ percentage (.874)‚ shutouts (9)‚ and ERA (1.74).

1974: ‘Bullet’ Joe Bush, who won 19 games for the Yankees first World Championship team in 1923, dies at the age of 81.

 

…and on the 2nd:

2009: The Yankees threaten a big come-from-behind win before falling 8-6 to the Phillies at Citizens’ Bank Park in game 5 of the World Series. After the home team jump on A.J. Burnett  for six runs through six outs, the bullpen hold the home team in check until Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez hit solo homers in the 7th. They will make all the difference, as the Yanks score three in the 8th on Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez doubles and one more in the 9th to forge the final score

.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B11020PHI2009.htm

 

1995: A new era begins: the Yankees name Joe Torre as their new manager‚ replacing Buck Showalter.

 

1964: The CBS purchase of the Yankees goes into effect, precipitating a sharp decline in the club’s fortunes afield. The neglect-driven decline will not be reversed until George Steinbrenner’s consortium buy the team in 1973.

 

1960: Roger Maris edges out Mickey Mantle for the AL’s Most Valuable Player award‚ 225 votes to 222‚ the second-closest vote ever‚ after the Joe DiMaggio-Ted Williams race in 1947

.

66-year-old George Weiss resigns his position as general manager of the Yankees.

 

Former Yankee shortstop Everett Scott ,who had the only Major Leagues’ only  1,000 + consecutive games played streak until Lou Gehrig, dies at the age of 67.

The red-letter day -

2001: Derek Jeter becomes ‘Mr. November.’

     In a thrilling contest‚ the Yankees defeat the Diamondbacks‚ 4-3 in 10 innings‚ to tie the World Series at 2 games apiece. Tino Martinez’s 2-out‚ 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th ties the game‚ and Derek Jeter’s blast in the bottom of the 10th after midnight wins it for New York. Both homers come off Byung-Hyun Kim, who relieved Curt Schilling in the 8th inning. Mariano Rivera gets the win in relief for the Yankees.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B10310NYA2001.htm

On other 31sts of October…

2009: Andy Pettitte survives a three-run Philly uprising in the 2nd inning in an 8-5
Yankee win in Citizen’s Bank Park in Game 3 of the World Series. The Yanks rally for five runs off Cole Hamels in
the 5th and 6th. The big blow for the Yanks is a two-run homer by A-Rod off a Fox Sports camera hanging over the right field fence. The call, which comes after the first use of instant replay in Series history, goes in the Bombers’ favour. Nick Swisher doubles and homers, and even in an NL, non-DH park Hideki Matsui pinch-hits a homer in the top of the 8th.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B10310PHI2009.htm

1960: Mike Gallego (shown here with Jim Leyritz giving pointers to recently signed draft pick Derek Jeter), Yankee utility infielder of the early ’90s, is born, Happy 50th, MG!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gallemi01.shtml

1957: Yogi Berra tells the Daily News that the Yankee front office returned the money collected in fines to the players involved in the ‘Battle of the Copacabana’ (see May 16th).

1948: Mickey Rivers is born. Happy 62nd to Mick the Quick!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rivermi01.shtm