The red-letter day:

1936: Playing in left field,  Joe DiMaggio makes his regular-season debut with the Yankees and has 3 hits, one a triple€š as New York rout St. Louis 14-5 at the Stadium. Joe scores 3 runs and knocks in one. Lou Gehrig and Ben Chapman collect 4 hits each and Gehrig scores 5 runs. New York will win 5 of their next 6 games with DiMag in the lineup. To make room,€š the Yankees waive outfielder Dixie Walker,€š who is hitting .350,€š to the White Sox.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1936/B05030NYA1936.htm

On other 3rds of May…

2012: Mariano Rivera, major league baseball’s all time save leader, suffers a torn ligament in his right knee while shagging fly balls during batting practice before a game with the Royals at Kansas City.   The Yankee closer is carted off the field, and at 42,it is feared that the injury may well be career-ending.

2005: Robinson Cano makes his Major League debut. The rookie’s first appearance is a somewhat downbeat affair, though, as he goes hitless in  three trips to the plate. Meanwhile, Kevin Brown has one of his most inglorious days as a Yankee, surrendering hits to 8 of the first 9 Rays batters he faces at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay will jump out to a 6-0 lead, and then coast to an 11-4 win.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B05030TBA2005.htm

2000: The Major League Baseball Players Association again denies several major-leaguers, including Shane Spencer of the Yankees, admission to the union. The players crossed picket lines during the 1994-95 strike becoming replacement players. These players don’t pay union dues‚ receive full pension benefits‚ and can to use the Association’s grievance procedure. However‚ they do not receive a share of royalties from the sale of baseball merchandise.

1990: Yankee rookie Mike Blowers, handed the starting job at third base, ties an AL record by committing 4 errors at the hot corner in the struggling Bombers’ 10-5 loss to the Indians.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1990/B05030NYA1990.htm

1986: Don Mattingly ties the ML record with 3 sacrifice flies in the Yankees’ 9-4 win over the Rangers.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1986/B05030NYA1986.htm

1965: The Yankees trade John Blanchard (.147) and pitcher Roland Sheldon to Kansas City for catcher John Edwards. Edwards will replace the injured Elston Howard.

1956: Before 45,€š308 at the Stadium,€š Mickey Mantle homers for the third day in a row, but Kansas City hold on to win 8-7. The Mick’s homer in the 5th is followed by blasts from Hank Bauer and Yogi Berra.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1956/B05030NYA1956.htm

1952: The Yankees send promising reserve outfielder Jackie Jensen€š along with outfielder Archie Wilson, pitcher Spec Shea,š and shortstop Jerry Snyder to the Senators for slick-fielding outfielder Irv Noren and infielder Tommie Upton. Shea will have two fine seasons on the hill before going over it,€š while Jensen,€š the former heir to DiMaggio’s spot,š will eventually emerge as a star with the Red Sox. Noren will have his best year in 1954, when the left fielder will be an all-star.

1951: In St. Louis,€š Gil McDougald hits a grand slam and a triple in the 9th€š as the Yanks score 11 runs in the inning to rout St. Louis€š 17-3. McDougald,€š destined to be Rookie of the Year,€š racks up 6 RBIs in the frame. Jackie Jensen follows McDougald’s triple with one of his own,€š then homers after Gil’s GS. Allie Reynolds is the winner

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1951/B05030SLA1951.htm

1950: Yankee hurler Vic Raschi,€š troubled by the new rule that requires a one-second stop before delivery with men on base,€š balks 4 times in one game, a club record and 2 fewer than the single-season record. Nevertheless,€š he wins 4-3€š over the White Sox. He’ll finish the season with 6 balks to tie the since-topped AL mark.

.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1950/B05030NYA1950.htm

1922: New York mayor John F. Hylan orders extensive street closures in the south Bronx, as construction of the future Yankee Stadium begins.

1915: Yankee pitcher Ray Fisher steals home in the 4th inning as New York double up the A’s  8-4.

1912: Trailing the A’s 18-5 going into the 9th at Shibe Park, the last place Highlanders come to life, unleashing a 10-run barrage against Philadelphia pitching. Future Hall of Famer Eddie Plank comes out off the bench to preserve the 18-15 win for the homesiders.

1907: In the ‘How times have changed…’ department: The dilatory tactics of the Highlanders’ Judd Doyle,€š whose well-earned
nickname is “Slow Joe€š”. lengthen a 10-inning game with the Athletics into the first modern major league game running over 3 hours (3 hours€š 7 minutes to be precise) New York win 4-3.

1904: Red Ruffing is born.

The red-letter day:

1939: The end of an era – after carrying out the scorecard to the umpires‚ Lou Gehrig voluntarily benches himself ‘for the good of the team.’ He is batting .143 with one RBI. His consecutive-game streak stops at 2‚130. Doctors will later diagnose Gehrig with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -  he will never play again.

Babe Dahlgren‚ his replacement‚ has a homer and double‚ as the Yankees rout Detroit 22-2.

New York bat around in three innings to make it easy for Red Ruffing. Ballyhooed Tiger teenager Fred Hutchinson makes his major league debut and the Yankees light him up for eight runs in 2/3 of an inning. Hutch gives up 4 hits and walks five.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1939/B05020DET1939.htm

On other 2nds of May…

2010: Curtis Granderson is placed on the 15-day disabled list with a groin strain. To take Grandy’s spot, Mark Melancon is recalled from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

2005:  The Yankees shrug off the record-tying 5 strikeouts of first baseman Andy Phillips and beat Tampa Bay at the Trop‚ 6-2.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B05020TBA2005.htm

1995: The Red Sox defeat the Yankees‚ 8-0. Boston score their runs on grand slams in back-to-back innings by former college teammates John Valentin and Mo Vaughn. According to SABR statisticians, it is the first time in Major League history that two grand slams account for all the runs scored in a game. Sterling Hitchcock, who gives up the first of the salamis, takes the loss for New York.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1995/B05020NYA1995.htm

1992: Yankee hurler Scott Sanderson becomes the 12th pitcher in MLB history to surrender 4 homers in a single inning. In a game with Minnesota, he is rocked in the 5th by Shane Mack‚ Kirby Puckett‚ Kent Hrbek‚ and Randy Bush. The Twins will need all the dingers, as they win 7-6.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1992/B05020NYA1992.htm

1984: Don Mattingly collects the only safety for his team as Chicago’s LaMarr Hoyt faces 27 Yankee batters in a 3-0 win. Mattingly’s opposite-field blooper in the 7th inning is followed by a double play.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/B05020CHA1984.htm

1961: The Yankees are hosted for the first time by the freshly transplanted Washington Senators in their new incarnation as the Minnesota Twins‚ and top the new arrivals 6-4. Mickey Mantle’s grand slam in the 10th inning off Camilo Pascual is the big blow. Luis Arroyo picks up the save after the Twins score 2. The Mick’s extra inning salami is the 6th by a Yankee‚ and he joins Wally Pipp (1923)‚ Babe Ruth (1925)‚ Bob Meusel (1929), and Joe DiMaggio and Tommy Henrich (1948).

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B05020MIN1961.htm

1957: In what nearly turns into a TV war‚ the Yankees threaten to broadcast their games nationwide if the National League go ahead with their plans to allow other broadcasts‚ especially those of the Dodgers and Giants‚ into New York territory. The question will become moot at the end of the season when both Senior Circuit clubs announce that they are moving to the west coast.

1954: In the second game of a doubleheader at the Stadium‚ Detroit’s Bill Hoeft pitches a 5-inning one-hitter to win 4-0. A 5th inning double by Andy Carey is the only safety for the Yanks as rain shortens to contest. The hosts took the opener‚ 12-4‚ scoring six runs in the 3rd inning. Allie Reynolds was the winner with six innings of relief.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1954/B05022NYA1954.htm

1946: At the Stadium‚ the Yanks do all their scoring in the 4th to beat Cleveland 8-2. Nick Etten parks a grand slam and then ends the frame by coming up with the bases loaded again and lining into a DP. Spud Chandler wins his 4th straight.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1946/B05020NYA1946.htm

1938: For the second game in a row, Joe McCarthy bats Lou Gehrig in the 6th hole and puts Joe DiMaggio in the cleanup spot. The Yankees edge the host Senators‚ 3-2  – DiMag homers while Gehrig has a single.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1938/B05020WS11938.htm

1923: Before a game with the Senators at Griffith Stadium, Yankees shortstop Everett Scott receives a medal from the American League for playing in his 1,000th consecutive game.

Host starter Walter Johnson will spoil the party, however, by recording his first shutout of the season, 3-0. The whitewash is also the 100th of his Major League record 113.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1923/B05020WS11923.htm

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1920/B05010NYA1920.htm

2004: The Yankees rout the Royals 12-4‚ as Ruben Sierra hits 2 homers and drives in 7 runs.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2004/B05010NYA2004.htm

The O’s and Yankees strand 15 runners in extra innings‚ as both teams squander scoring opportunities‚ and New York survive 4 errors by two second basemen. Jim Mecir strikes out Brady Anderson with the bases loaded in the 10th after going to a 3-0 count. Cal Ripken is lifted for a pinch runner in the 8th – who is promptly picked off – and sits for the last 7 innings‚ the longest stretch he has rested in 2‚180 games.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1996/B05010BAL1996.htm

1992: Early ’70s Yankee utility infielder Celerino Sanchez dies in Mexico City at the age of 48 from a ruptured aneurysm.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sanchce01.shtml

1991: In a game against the Yankees, Oakland’s Rickey Henderson garners his 939th career stolen base in the 4th inning to break Lou Brock’s all-time mark. With Brock standing next to him‚ Henderson modestly proclaims‚ “Lou Brock was certainly a great base stealer‚ but today I’m the greatest of all time.” In another curious tie-in with Nolan Ryan Henderson had been the victim of Ryan’s 5‚000th career strikeout.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1991/B05010OAK1991.htm

1960: The Yankees use three pitchers – Bill Stafford‚ Roland Sheldon and Marshall Bridges – to beat the White Sox 6-1 on a combined two hitter. Chicago’s first hit doesn’t come until the 9th inning when Nellie Fox lines a lead  off base hit.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1962/B05010CHA1962.htm

1956: Mickey Mantle takes Steve Gromek deep in the first inning at the Stadium‚ and New York roll to a 9-2 win over Detroit. Hank Bauer also homers as Whitey Ford hurls his third complete game win of the campaign.

1951: At Comiskey Park, the Yankees’ new phenom Mickey Mantle connects for his first Major League home run, off Randy Gumpert. Minnie Minoso  becomes the first black to wear the White Sox uniform. He plays third base, and‚ facing Vic Raschi in his first MLB at bat‚ slams a homer to straightaway center. The Yanks win 8-3‚ with Mantle collecting 3 RBIs.

1937: Joe DiMaggio makes his return as a starter after missing six games‚ and strokes three hits against Rube Walberg. New York tip the Red Sox 3-2.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1937/B05010NYA1937.htm

1934: At Washington‚ the Yankees give Danny MacFayden (below) a 3-run lead in the first‚ but he can’t hold it and he leaves in the 7th with the score tied at 3 apiece. New York score 5 runs in the 9th to win it for George Uhle‚ 10-5. MacFayden was making his first start against Washington since June 2‚ 1932‚ when he lost his ML record tying 14th straight game to the Nats.

1932: The Yankees reacquire relief ace Wilcy Moore from the Red Sox.

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Wilcy_Moore_1897

1927: The Yankees ride the Ruth-Gehrig tandem to a 7-3 win over the Athletics. Ruth bangs out a first inning homer off Jack Quinn, and Gehrig hits one off him in the 6th. The Babe comes back in the 8th with another roundtripper‚ this one off Rube Walberg as New York take over undisputed possession of first place.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1927/B05010NYA1927.htm

1919: In Boston’s home opener‚ the Yankees defeat Carl Mays to win‚ 7-3. The Yanks score 4 in the 9th on 2 hits‚ 3 errors‚ a wild pitch‚ and 2 walks. George Mogridge (below) gets the win for New York.

1908: In New York’s 9-4 win over the Washington Nationals‚ Kid Elberfeld is severely spiked in the foot by Bob Ganley, essentially ending the season of the Highlander shortstop. He’ll go to bat just 56 times this year.

The red-letter days:

1939: Lou Gehrig plays the last of his 2,130 consecutive games. The Iron Horse goes hitless in four at-bats against the Senators’ Joe Krakauskas, and is now hitting just .143 on the year. Gehrig will make the trip to Detroit with the team, however. Krakauskas gets the win in the 3-2 Washington victory.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1939/B04300NYA1939.htm

1903: The new American League franchise in New York, the Highlanders, plays its first home game. Hilltop Park opens with an estimated crowd of 16‚000 watching the hosts beat Washington 6-2. Jack Chesbro‚ who lost to the Nats on Opening Day‚ is today’s winner.

The 1903 New York Highlanders

On other 30ths of April…

2003: The Yankees defeat the visiting Mariners‚ 8-5‚ behind Raul Mondesi’s grand slam. Mariano Rivera‚ after a month of injury rehab‚ makes his first appearance of the year‚ giving up a run in the 9th.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2003/B04300NYA2003.htm

1999: The Royals defeat the Yankees 13-6‚ as 2‚500 KC fans protest the wide disparity in baseball payrolls by turning their backs during Yankee at bats‚ and walking out en masse after the 5th inning.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1999/B04300KCA1999.htm

1997: The Yankees get a lead off homer from Tim Raines and 9 strike outs from David Wells  to beat the Mariners‚ 3-2. Joe Torre wins his 1‚000th game while Dennis Martinez takes the loss‚ dropping his record against the Yanks to 2-18. Jay Buhner homers for the M’s in the 9th against Mariano Rivera. Tino Martinez hits his 9th HR in the 8th inning‚ upping his ML-record RBI total to 34 for the month. Martinez will have 40 RBIs in his first 30 games‚ the first player to do so since Roy Campanella in 1953; Campy had 44.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1997/B04300NYA1997.htm

1996: In the longest 9-inning game in MLB history to date – 4 hours and 21 minutes – the Yankees outslug the Orioles‚ 13-10 to disappoint 43‚117 at Camden Yards. The host O’s score 9 runs off starter Andy Pettitte and take a 9-4 lead in the 2nd. New York ties it at 9-9 in the 5th‚ then wins it in the 7th on Tino Martinez’s 3-run shot. Jim Leyritz and Paul O’Neill also homer for New York. The previous record for longest game was 4:18‚ set in a 1962 Dodgers-Giants game.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1996/B04300BAL1996.htm

1988: Dave Winfield drives in his 28th and 29th runs of the season in New York’s 15-3 rout of Texas‚ tying the ML record for RBI in April. Don Mattingly scores 5 runs for New York.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1988/B04300NYA1988.htm

1973: The Yankees have the day off… along with the rest of the Major Leagues. With the exception of the All-Star break and labour disputes, this will be the last time that there is an entirely idle day on the MLB schedule until June 29‚ 1998.

1967: In a doubleheader at the Stadium‚ Mickey Mantle breaks a 1-1 tie in the 10th with a three-run homer off California reliever Minnie Rojas to give New York a 4-1 win. California take the 2nd game 4-2 despite a Mantle pinch double in the 9th inning. His hit gives him 2‚215‚ one more than Joe DiMaggio.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1967/B04302NYA1967.htm

1958: The Yankees go down to their first defeat at home‚ losing to Detroit and Frank Lary‚ 10-1. The Motor City men wallop Whitey Ford for 7 runs in as many innings.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1958/B04300NYA1958.htm

1953: At Chicago‚ the Yankees beat the White Sox‚ 6-1‚ as Mickey Mantle takes Gene Bearden deep. . The ball might not have cleared the fence except for a fan’s interference, and Chi-town skipper Paul Richards protestations about it earn him a shower. Bill Renna adds his first ML homer‚ a triple‚ and single to back Whitey Ford.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1953/B04300CHA1953.htm

1946: The Yankees are no-hit for the first time in their history. Dispelling the rumors that he had lost his fastball after nearly 4 years in the Navy‚ Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians hurls his second career no-no, winning the game 1-0 on Frankie Hayes’ home run in the 9th inning. Ironically, Bill Bevens, who will come within one out of pitching the first post-season no-hitter in history in the following year’s World Series, takes the loss for the Yanks.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1946/B04300NYA1946.htm

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1938/B04300WS11938.htm

1934: Red Ruffing hits a homer in the 9th off Jack Russell to defeat Washington 7-4 and put the Yankees in first place.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1934/B04300WS11934.htm

1918: Despite the failure of the NY State Legislature to approve Sunday baseball‚ it is announced that there will be Major League action on Sunday at the former Federal League Park in Harrison‚ New Jersey. All three New York teams – the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees – will participate. This arrangement would have been in effect last Sunday but the Senators‚ scheduled to meet the Yanks‚ had already scheduled an exhibition game. The Sunday games in Harrison will necessitate the rescheduling of some minor league games from there. The agreement‚ in which the two leagues will pay $10‚000 a year in rent for the park comes about because of the settlement with the Federal League.

The red-letter day:

1901: In its pre-Gotham incarnation as the Baltimore Orioles, the franchise that will become the Yankees (after moving to New York in 1903 and adopting the name of the Highlanders) plays the first game in its history, as the visitors in the Washington Nationals’ home opener. Admiral George Dewey, the hero of the Battle of Manila Bay in the recently ended Spanish-American War, is on hand to watch the home side triumph, 5-2. Bill Carrick gets the win for Washington, with Joe ‘Iron Man’ McGinnity taking the loss for the O’s.

On other 29ths of April…

2006: In a 17-6 win over Toronto, the Yankees became the 15th team to score in every inning in which they batted (excluding rain shortened games). It was the second time in team history (1939) the Bombers scored in every frame, matching the Cleveland Spiders as the only team to score a run in every inning of a full-length game twice in franchise history; the Spiders accomplished the feat in 1889 and 1894. Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi has a homer and 4 RBI and reaches base 4 times, while Johnny Damon scores 5 runs. Reed Johnson gets hit by pitches three times for the Jays. He joins Damion Easley as the only players since 1957 to be hit by a pitch three times in a game twice in their careers.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2006/B04290NYA2006.htm

2002: Darryl Strawberry is sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating the terms of his probation six times.

1985: In Billy Martin’s first game in his latest stint as Yankee manager‚ Larry Parrish belts 3 home runs to power the Rangers to a 7-5 win over the Yankees. It is Parrish’s 4th career 3-HR game but his first in the AL‚ making him only the 5th player to accomplish the feat in each league. The Yanks lose a homer in the 4th when‚ with two men on‚ Bobby Meacham hits a Frank Tanana ball that just reaches the stands. Running hard‚ Meacham collides with teammate Willie Randolph who was returning to first to tag up. Meacham is given a two-run single.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1985/B04290TEX1985.htm

1977: Ron Guidry, making his first start of the year, blanks the Mariners 3-0‚ with relief help from Sparky Lyle. Thurman Munson belts a 3 run homer for New York‚ who move into second  place.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1977/B04290NYA1977.htm

1967: Yankee pitcher Fred Talbot allows two Angel hits in topping California 5-2 at the Stadium. Mickey Mantle‚ playing first base‚ hits a 2-run homer and drives in 3 runs for New York.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1967/B04290NYA1967.htm

1959: At Comiskey Park‚ the Yanks get homers from Mickey Mantle‚ Hank Bauer and Moose Skowron to beat the Sox‚ 5-2.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1959/B04290CHA1959.htm

1945: The Yankees split a pair with the Senators‚ losing the nitecap‚ 2-1 after winning the lidlifter‚ 13-4. Russ Derry hits a pair of homers – including his second grand slam of the season – in the opener‚ and has Joe McCarthy wondering if he has another Babe Ruth.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1945/B04291NYA1945.htm

1939: In the 7th game of the season‚ Joe DiMaggio makes a sharp turn while fielding a liner against the Senators‚ and tears muscles in his right foot. The Yankees lose the game 3-1‚ and DiMaggio will miss the next 35 games.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1939/B04290NYA1939.htm

1938: To the delight of the first Ladies Day crowd ever at the Stadium (according to reports, 4903 women attended) the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-4. Bill Dickey drives in three runs and Lou Gehrig Lou Gehrig, with two singles, enjoys his first two-hit game of the season. He consecutive-game streak reaches 19.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1938/B04290NYA1938.htm

1933: With no outs in the 9th, Washington catcher Luke Sewell makes a double play, tagging out first Lou Gehrig‚ who held up at second to see if a Tony Lazzeri fly ball would be caught‚ and then Dixie Walker attempting to score from first. Lazzeri’s hit is a double but  Joe Cronin’s relay from Goose Goslin allows Sewell to tag the two in succession. The Senators beat the Yankees‚ 6-3.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1933/B04290NYA1933.htm

1911: In the Highlanders 10-6 loss to the A’s‚ New York pitchers Hippo Vaughn and Jack Quinn throw just 7 pitches to the A’s Stuffy McGinnis (below)‚ who collects five singles. Stuffy hits a first pitch 3 times and the second pitch twice.

1906: The New York ban on Sunday baseball is temporarily lifted and the Highlanders and Philadelphia A’s play a benefit game for the victims of the San Francisco earthquake‚ raising $5‚600. The 2 teams also work out a deal: the Highlanders get speedster Danny Hoffman (below) in exchange for the rights to OF Dave Fultz‚ who did not play last year. The 31-year-old Fultz quit to practice law and will stay quit.

1902: Baltimore Orioles infielder John McGraw is hit by pitches five times, but home plate umpire Jack Sheridan  refuses to allow him to take first base. In the 9th inning, McGraw is hit for the last time and sits down in the batter’s box in protest. AL President Ban Johnson  will suspend McGraw for five games.

2007: With one more Yankee starter felled one batter into the game (Jeff Karstens has a fibula fractured by a line drive back into the box off the bat of Julio Lugo), Joe Torre goes to the bullpen for a long shot. Kei Igawa suprises everyone, turning in his finest performance to date. Igawa stills the Sox on two hits over six innings, and the Yanks win 3-1, Jorge Posada’s two-run homer providing the margin of victory.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2007/B04280NYA2007.htm

1996: The Yankees top the Twins‚ 6-3‚ as Mariano Rivera pitches the last 3 innings for the win. Rivera has now thrown 9 hitless innings over his last three outings. Paul O’Neill‚ leading the A.L. in hitting‚ robs Paul Molitor of a homer in the 7th and then clouts one of his own. The Yankees pull ahead of Baltimore in the A.L. East.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1996/B04280NYA1996.htm

1985: After the Yankees lose to the White Sox 4-3 on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 9th‚ manager Yogi Berra is replaced by Billy Martin‚ who begins his 4th term in the job. The bad news is delivered to Yogi by pitching coach Clyde King‚ and a furious Berra vows to never set foot in Yankee Stadium as long as George Steinbrenner is the owner.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1985/B04280CHA1985.htm

1969: Fritz Peterson shuts out the Red Sox‚ 1-0‚ stopping Boston’s team homer streak at 11 games and a record 27 blasts.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1969/B04280NYA1969.htm

1953: A wild brawl occurs after the Browns’ Clint ‘Scrap Iron’ Courtney lines a ball off the right field wall and comes into to second spikes high on Phil Rizzuto in the 10th inning at St. Louis.

In the fracas‚ umpire John Stevens dislocates his collarbone. Six players are fined for their actions. Courtney was retaliating after being
knocked over in the top of the 10th when Gil McDougald scored the go-ahead run in an eventual 7-6 Yankee win. New York took a 5-0 lead on a 3-run homer by Mantle off Bob Cain in the 3rd‚ a moon shot that cleared the left field wall of the newly renamed Busch Stadium. The Browns tie the game at 6-6 to set the stage for the free-for-all that ends with a shower of bottles from angry fans. Outside the stadium‚ the Yankees need a police escort to board their bus. Courtney will be fined $250 for the fisticuffs‚ with five other players receiving lesser fines. The total of $850 in fines is the most ever for a brawl.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1953/B04280SLA1953.htm

1950: The Yankees sell outfielder Dick Wakefield to the White Sox for OF John Ostrowski and cash. Wakefield‚ a hot hitter in 1943 who has since lost his sparkle‚ refuses to report unless the Sox restore a $5‚500 salary cut inflicted by the Yankees. Wakefield says the Yankees talked him into signing for $17‚500 with the “guarantee” that he’d earn $5‚000 as a World Series share. New York refuse to return Ostrowski and the Sox refuse Wakefield’s request. Happy Chandler rules in favor of the Sox and Ostrowski and Wakefield return to their teams.

1938: With 2 on and no out in the 9th‚ Yankee backup catcher Joe Glenn becomes the first Major League player in the 20th century to hit into a game-ending triple play, lining out to Jimmie Foxx who then starts the 3-6-3 triple killing. Red Sox pitcher Lefty Grove is the happy beneficiary‚ winning 6-1 over Lefty Gomez.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1938/B04280NYA1938.htm

1935: Pedro Ramos, a late season acquisition in 1964, and a key contributor out of the bullpen to the Yankee pennant drive that year, is born. Happy 78th, P.R.!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramospe01.shtml

1930: ’50s Yankee pitcher Tom Sturdivant, member of three pennant winners and one championship club, is born.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sturdto01.shtml

1926: The A’s Lefty Grove strikes out 11‚ but loses to Sam Jones and the Yankees‚ 3-0. Grove will win his next four against New York.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1926/B04280NYA1926.htm

1925: Clarence ‘Cuddles’ Marshall, the Yankee starter in the first night game ever played at the Stadium (a 2-1 loss to the Washington Senators on May 28th, 1946) is born.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshcu01.shtml

1921: Senators steal. Sam Rice, Duffy Lewis  (below) and future Yankee skipper Bucky Harris pull off a triple steal in the 1st, but Bomber bats are the difference as the Yanks win‚ 9-5.

The red-letter day:

1947: Today is Babe Ruth Day at all Major League parks. A crowd of 58,339 at the Stadium honour the ailing slugger. A frail Babe, choking back tears, tells the “kids of America” that “the only real game in the world is baseball. In this game you have to come up from youth. You’ve got to start way down at the bottom if you’re going to be successful like those boys over there.” pointing to the Yankee dugout. “There’s so many lovely things said about me, I’m glad I had the opportunity to thank everybody.” The program was broadcast nationwide and piped into all the ball parks. Ruth receives a bronze plaque with his image on it from the AL: the NL’s gift is a leather book with signatures of all the players in the league. The Yankees lose to Sid Hudson and the Washington Senators 1-0, but move into first place as the White Sox lose two. Hudson scores the only run after singling.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1947/B04270NYA1947.htm

On other 27ths of April…

2012: ’50s and early ’60s Yankee great Bill ‘Moose’ Skowron dies at the age of 81.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Bill_Skowron

1996: David Cone misses his first scheduled start in 9 years owing to a numbness in his pitching hand that will eventually turn out to be the result of an aneurysm. Dwight Gooden fills in capably with six innings of 5-hit, 1-run ball, but the bullpen will come up short, surrendering 4 runs in the 9th to the visiting Twins, who win 8-6.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1996/B04270NYA1996.htm

1993: Jimmy Key holds the Angels to one hit in pitching the Yanks to a 5-0 victory. A 6th inning single by Gary DiSarcina is California’s only safety.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1993/B04270CAL1993.htm

1981: The Cubs trade catcher Barry Foote to the Yankees for minor leaguer Tom Filer and cash. Foote was 0-for-22 with the Cubs this year.

1977: The Yankees obtain pitcher Mike Torrez from the A’s in exchange for pitcher Dock Ellis, infielder Marty Perez, and outfielder Larry Murray. Torrez will have a fine season in New York before signing with Boston as a free agent.

2009: Boston complete a three-game sweep with a 4 – 1 victory over the Yankees, the 10th consecutive victory for the Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury pulls off a straight steal of home against Andy Pettitte  in the 5th inning in the game’s key play. Justin Masterson  has now won both of his starts in place of the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B04260BOS2009.htm

2007:  The best-laid plans… Owing to a shortage of healthy arms, the Yankees bring youthful righty Phil Hughes up from AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre a year earlier than they would have liked and start him against Toronto in the Bronx. A.J. Burnett and Vernon Wells join forces to beat Phil though, the former by blanking the Yanks on four singles over seven, and the latter by collecting three of the six hits the rookie allowed in five innings. Wells in walked his last two at bats for a perfect day at the plate, and the Blue Jays won 6-0.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2007/B04260NYA2007.htm

2006: At the Stadium, Tampa Bay beat the Yankees 4-2 despite setting a team record by walking 14 batters. The most generous among the 5 hurlers who take mound for the Rays is Seth McClung, who issues 7 free passes. It is the first time a team has walked 14 and won a game of 10 innings or less since April 26, 1993, when Philadelphia did it over 10 innings against San Francisco.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2006/B04260NYA2006.htm

2005: The Yankees pound the Angels‚ 12-4. Alex Rodriguez strokes 3 HRs and a single for NY‚ and becomes the 11th player in history to drive in 10 runs in a game.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B04260NYA2005.htm

1997: The Yankees beat the White Sox by a score of 10-2 as DH Cecil Fielder gets 5 hits‚ including 2 doubles and a homer.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1997/B04260NYA1997.htm

1996: Former Yankee pitcher Milt Gaston dies at age 100. Gaston was a promising prospect in the organization in the early 1920s, but was traded away following his rookie year with the Yankees in 1924. He went on to play for 5 teams in the 1920s and 1930s and had 18 Hall of Fame teammates and managers‚ more than any player in history.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gastomi01.shtml

1995: Despite an attendance of just 6‚300 at the Yanks pre-game workout‚ 50‚245 fans show up for the opener‚ the smallest opening day crowd at the Stadium since 1990. The Yankees start with a win‚ 8-6‚ over the Rangers‚ as Jimmy Key goes 5 innings to pick up the win. It is his 3rd straight opener and his Opening Day record is 6-0. Kenny Rogers is the loser‚ giving up 4 runs in 3 innings‚ including a homer to Danny Tartabull. Bernie Williams also homers.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1995/B04260NYA1995.htm

1974: In what is dubbed the Friday Night Massacre, the Yankees trade four pitchers, including Fritz Peterson and Steve Kline, to the Indians for first baseman Chris Chambliss and hurlers Dick Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw.

1961; Roger Maris hits his first HR of the ’61 campaig,n off Paul Foytack of Detroit‚ and Mickey Mantle adds round-trippers from both sides of the plate (for the 8th time)‚ as New York wins 13-10 at Tiger Stadium. Mantle’s 2nd homer‚ a 2-run shot off Hank Aguirre‚ snaps a 10-10 tie in the 10th.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B04260DET1961.htm

1959: Surprising Baltimore sweep a pair from the Yankees‚ coming from behind to score 2 in the 9th and win the opener‚ 5-4‚ and scoring in the final frame of the nitecap to win‚ 3-2. The O’s use 6 pinch hitters in the opener‚ while New York use 4 for a combined new ML mark. Hoyt Wilhelm goes the distance in the nitecap‚ but his knuckler proves elusive for Gus Triandos‚ who ties the ML record with 4 passed balls. Ray Katt‚ who was the lone holder of the record‚ also caught Wilhelm.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1959/B04262NYA1959.htm

1955: Bob Turley of the Yanks fires a one-hitter‚ fanning 10 in handing a 5-0 defeat to the White Sox, with Sherm Lollar’s single in the 2nd as their lone hit.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1955/B04260CHA1955.htm

1940: Red Rolfe has nine assists for the Yanks at third base against Boston‚ but the Red Sox win 8-1.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1940/B04260BOS1940.htm

1936: At Boston‚ the Red Sox score six runs in the bottom of the first inning‚ but the Yankees rebound with 7 in the 2nd. New York hold on to win‚ 12-9. Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig trade homers while Frank Crosetti is 5-for-6 and Bill Dickey 4-for-6.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1936/B04260BOS1936.htm

1931: Yankee right fielder Dusty Cooke separates his shoulder diving for a fly ball off the bat of Ossie Bluege of Washington‚ and first baseman Lou Gehrig winds up chasing the ball‚ which becomes an inside-the-park home run. With Babe Ruth sidelined‚ the shorthanded Yankees send pitcher Red Ruffing to the outfield. The game’s most significant play comes when, with Lyn Lary on base, Gehrig’s drive into the Washington center field stands bounces back and is caught by center fielder Harry Rice. According to the rules‚ this is a home run‚ but when Lary sees Rice catching the ball‚ he thinks it is the final out of the inning. Unnoticed by Joe McCarthy‚ doubling as the third base coach this day, Lary heads for the dugout after rounding third. Gehrig circles the bases‚ but he is called out and gets credit for a triple instead of a HR and loses 2 RBI. As a result Gehrig will end the season tied for the HR title with Babe Ruth at 46 and will have ‘only’ 184 RBI (still the AL record). The Yanks also lose the game‚ 9-7‚ and McCarthy will do no more on-field coaching this season. Gehrig’s triple also means that at the year’s end the majors will collect 1‚070 triples‚ one more than the two leagues will total in homers (1‚069). It will be the last season to date that this has happened. For Cooke‚ the injury ends his season at 27 games played and a .333 batting average. The mishap will cut down his effectiveness and after just 3 appearances the following year‚ he will
be traded to Boston.

The 1931 Yankees

1916: Fritz Maisel  does his part to keep the score down by getting thrown out 3 times trying to steal against the A’s. The Yanks still win‚ 9-0.

1901: The visiting Boston Americans play their first game‚ losing to Baltimore (soon to become the New York Highlanders)‚ 10-6.  The Baltimore side are taking their major league bow as well. Iron Joe McGinnity strikes out 9 in the win‚ and Mike Donlin cracks two triples off losing pitcher Win Kellum.

2009: David Robertson is recalled from AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre to stay.

2001: Scott Brosius connects for a solo homer, but it is not enough to offset the five unearned runs that result from the usually sure-handed third baseman’s two errors, as the visiting Mariners sail past the Yankees 7-5.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B04250NYA2001.htm

Elsewhere, Babe Ruth’s all-time record for walks falls to San Diego’s Rickey Henderson, who draws a free pass in the 9th inning from Philadelphia’s Jose Mesa for the 2‚063rd of his career.The Phillies defeat the Padres‚ 5-3.

1997: The White Sox belt the Yankees‚ 9-3‚ scoring 4 runs off reliever David Weathers in a third of an inning. Weathers‚ with 7 blown saves‚ will be ‘designated for reassignment’ tomorrow.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1997/B04250NYA1997.htm

1982: All of 14 games into the season‚ George Steinbrenner fires manager Bob Lemon and replaces him with Gene Michael‚ the man Lemon had replaced the previous September

1980: Making his first appearance in Minnesota since his fight with a marshmallow salesman there the previous autumn‚ on-again off-again Yankee skipper and now A’s manager Billy Martin has to be restrained by umpires from attacking a fan who was pelting him with marshmallows during the Twins’ 10-3 victory.

1967: Whitey Ford beats the White Sox 11-2 at the Stadium, giving up 8 hits to go 2-1 on the season. It will be his last major league win.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1967/B04250NYA1967.htm

1933: Russ van Atta makes a spectacular debut in the Yankees’ 16-0 pasting of the eventual AL pennant-winning Senators‚ getting 4 hits while pitching a 5-hit shutout.

Future Yankees pilot Casey Stengel is the only other player to have made his major league debut with 4 hits. Van Atta will post a 12-4 record for the season‚ bat .283‚ but will injure his left index finger in December while rescuing a cocker spaniel from a house fire. His only career shutout is today. The game is marred by a 20-minute bench-clearing free-for-all in the 4th inning started when Ben Chapman slides into second and spikes second baseman Buddy Myer. Myer invited the spiking by deliberately stepping on Lou Gehrig’s
foot at first a few days earlier. Chapman‚ Myer‚ and Earl Whitehill are suspended 5 days and fined $100 each.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1933/B04250WS11933.htm

1931: With 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th‚ Boston’s Urbane Pickering swipes home with the winning run against the Yankees to give the Red Sox a 5-4 victory. Playing without Babe Ruth‚ the Yanks manage just 6 hits‚ 3 by Lou Gehrig.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1931/B04250BOS1931.htm

1921: In New York‚ Washington’s Walter Johnson survives a first inning solo shot by Babe Ruth to top Carl Mays‚ 5-3‚ for his 307th career win‚ breaking Eddie Plank’s AL mark.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1921/B04250NYA1921.htm

1916: At the Polo Grounds‚ Boston’s Babe Ruth goes 10 innings to defeat the Yankees‚ 4-3 in his first start against his future club. The Babe gives up 2 earned runs on 8 hits‚ but is hitless at the plate.

1904: New York Highlanders pitcher Jack Chesbro posts the first of what will be 41 wins on the season, a post-1900 major league record that still stands.

1883: Russ Ford, pitcher for the Highlanders/Yankees from 1909 to 1913, is born.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fordru01

The red-letter day-

1917: In front of 3‚219 fans‚ Yankee lefty George Mogridge pitches a no-hitter against the Red Sox, the second no-no in franchise history, and the first at Fenway Park, for a 2-1 New York win.

It is the second of what will be an AL record five no-hitters in a season. The Yankees score on 2 walks‚ an error‚ and a sacrifice fly off Dutch Leonard. This will be the last no-hitter by a Yankee lefty until Dave Righetti’s in 1983.

On other 24ths of April…

2012: The game between the Yankees and the Rangers  features a duel between two Japanese free agents, Hiroki Kuroda and Yu Darvish. Darvish gets the upper hand, pitching 8 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out 10 in leading Texas to a 2 – 0 win.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2012/B04240TEX2012.htm

2009: At Fenway Park, Mariano Rivera  is charged with a rare blown save  in the first matchup between the Yankees and Red Sox  this season. With two outs in the 9th inning, Rivera gives up a two-run home run to Jason Bay to tie the score 4 – 4. Kevin Youkilis  homers over the Green Monster  in the 11th for a 5 – 4 Boston walkoff win.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B04240BOS2009.htm

2003: The Angels hand Andy Pettitte and the Yankees a 6-2 loss. It is the first defeat of the year for a NY starting pitcher‚ ending their
ML-record streak of starters going 16-0 to begin the season.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2003/B04230ANA2003.htm

2001: As the American League celebrates its 100th anniversary, ‘Ichiromania’ arrives the Bronx. The newly signed former Orix Blue Wave star makes his Yankee Stadium debut, with fans of Japanese extraction jamming the stands, including an enterprising crew of six bare-chested young men with I-C-H-I-R-O on their fronts and S-U-Z-U-K-I on their backs. But it is Mariners; shortstop and catcher Tom Lampkin who do most of the damage off Roger Clemens, driving in two runs apiece off the Yankee fireballer in a 7-5 Seattle win.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B04240NYA2001.htm

1998: Yankee Stadium is cleared to reopen‚ so a series that was originally scheduled to be in Detroit opens in New York. Darryl
Strawberry homers to complete a 4-run rally in the 1st in the Yankees 8-4 win. David Cone earns the win‚ his 150th‚ over Greg Keagle. It is also Cone’s 11th consecutive win over Detroit.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1998/B04240NYA1998.htm

1995: Darryl Strawberry is sentenced to 6 months of home confinement on tax evasion charges. He must also pay the government $350‚000 in back taxes.

1992: Former Yankees vice president Leonard Kleinman drops his $30 million lawsuit against baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent. The suit had been one of the obstacles standing in the way of George Steinbrenner’s reinstatement with the Yankees.

1965: Former Yankee third baseman/DH Mike Blowers in born. Happy 48th to M.B.!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blowemi01.shtml

1962: Mets manager and former Yankee skipper Casey Stengel is fined $500 by Commissioner Ford Frick for allowing his picture to appear in a beer ad.

1960: The Yankees score 8 runs against the Orioles before the first out is made‚ tying an AL record set by Cleveland July 6‚ 1954‚ also against Baltimore. Included in the opening New York salvo are a 3-run homer by Elston Howard and a follow-up jack by Tony Kubek. The Orioles respond with grand slams by Albie Pearson and Billy Klaus in the 8th and 9th‚ but New York hold on for a 15-9 triumph.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1960/B04240NYA1960.htm

1957: At the Stadium‚ Mickey Mantle drills an 8th inning solo shot off Baltimore’s Connie Johnson to give the Yankees a 3-2 win. He scored earlier on a Yogi Berra homer.

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http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1957/B04240NYA1957.htm

1946: Clark Griffith, the Yankees’ first manager, and his one-time ace Jack Chesbro are among 11 new  inductees into the Hall of Fame.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Griffith

1940: At Philadelphia‚ the Yankees whip the A’s‚ 9-4‚ behind Red Ruffing. Master deceiver Frankie Crosetti pulls off his sixth
successful hidden ball trick in the majors when he nabs the A’s Al Brancato.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1940/B04240NYA1940.htm

1938: Goose Goslin’s pinch-hit homer is the fifth of his career‚ for a new AL record‚ but the Yankees beat the Senators 4-3.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1938/B04240NYA1938.htm

1937: In Boston’s home opener‚ the Yankees tie the Sox on Tony Lazzeri’s 8th inning homer‚ then score a pair in the 10th on George
Selkirk’s triple. Twinkletoes is out trying to swipe home. The Sox come back for a run in the 10th‚ but the Yankees win‚ 6-5.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1937/B04240BOS1937.htm

1923: President Warren G. Harding attends the game at Yankee Stadium and sees Babe Ruth hit a HR in a 4-0 win over the Senators‚ as Sad Sam Jones pitches the first shutout in the new park.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1923/B04240NYA1923.htm

1920: The Yankees Carl Mays pitches 10 innings in beating the Philadelphia Athletics‚ 3-2. Mays allows 6 hits in winning his 6th
straight over the Mackmen.

1909: Sidelined much of April with the flu‚ Walter Johnson makes his 1st appearance of the year. He ‘should’ve stood in bed’, as the
Highlanders rough him up for 6 runs before he is lifted in the 3rd. Behind Joe Lake‚ New York roll to a 17-0 win over Washington‚ a club
record shutout loss for the Nationals. It will be tied by the Yankees in 1920.