Results tagged ‘ Ted Williams ’
Jeet, A-Rod reach milestones on same play
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez combined on a couple of milestones in the first inning of Saturday night’s Subway Series game as the Yankees jumped out to a 1-0 lead against the Mets.
Jeter ended a 0-for-17 slump with a leadoff single to center off Mets righthander Dillon Gee, who had trouble with the rubber on the mound and balked Jeter to second. After Curtis Granderson lined out to first baseman Ike Davis, Rodriguez hit a ground single through the middle to score Jeter.
It was A-Rod’s 1,917th run batted in of his career, which tied him with Hall of Famer Eddie Murray for seventh place on the all-time list since RBI became an official statistic in 1920. Rodriguez is only seven RBI behind another Hall of Famer, Jimmie Foxx, in sixth place.
The run for Jeter was career No. 1,800, which placed him above Hall of Famer Ted Williams into 17th place on the all-time list. Next up is No. 16 Carl Yastrzemski, yet another Hall of Famer, with 1,816.
Once a player gets to those levels on these lists, nearly everyone they pass is a Hall of Famer. Except for Pete Rose, that is.
Yankees’ memorable games at Fenway Park
Friday marked the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, so it was appropriate that the Yankees were the visitors as they were a century go in the last season in which they were known as the Highlanders. The Yankees’ public relations staff with the assistance of the Elias Sports Bureau put together the following list of memorable games at Fenway in the American League’s most heated rivalry. Which is your favorite? It is pretty tough to top that 1978 playoff game. On the downside, those losses in Games 4 and 5 of the 2004 AL Championship Series were the Yanks’ worst moments.
January 3, 1920: The Yankees purchase the contract of Babe Ruth from the Red Sox for $125,000 and a $350,000 loan against the mortgage on Fenway Park.
September 28, 1923: The Yankees get 30 hits in a 24-4 victory. The hit total remains the most in a nine-inning game in Yankees franchise history. The run total marks the second highest by the club in a road game and the Yanks’ most at Fenway.
September 8, 1925: Babe Ruth hits his 300th career home run, off Buster Ross in a 7-4 Yankees victory.
June 23, 1927: In an 11-4 Yankees victory, Lou Gehrig becomes the first player in franchise history to hit three home runs in one game against the Red Sox. The feat was matched by Mark Teixeira May 8, 2010 at Fenway.
September 5, 1927: The Yankees lose, 12-11, in 18 innings in the second longest road game in franchise history (in terms of innings played). It was the first game of a doubleheader. The Yanks score two runs in the top of the ninth to send it to extra innings. Both teams score three runs in the 17th. Red Sox starter Red Ruffing pitches 15 innings.
September 24, 1929: On Babe Ruth Day, the Yankees win, 5-3. Ruth has 2-for-3 with a double.
July 3, 1932: The Yankees defeat the Red Sox, 13-2, in the first Sunday game at Fenway. Due to the park’s proximity to a church, the Red Sox had played Sunday games at nearby Braves Field until the law was changed.
June 6, 1934: Myril Hoag becomes the first Yankees player to go 6-for-6 in a 15-3 victory in the opener of a doubleheader. The feat was matched by Johnny Damon June 7, 2008 against the Royals.
September 22, 1935: The Yankees sweep a doubleheader from the Red Sox, 6-4 and 9-0, in front of 47,267 fans – the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game at Fenway Park.
April 20, 1939: The Yankees beat the Red Sox, 2-0, on Opening Day. Red Ruffing throws a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Bill Dickey hits a solo home run. An ailing Lou Gehrig goes 0-for-4 in his final Fenway appearance. Ted Williams has 1-for-4 in his major league debut in the only game to feature both players.
July 9, 1946: In the All-Star Game, Yankees right fielder Charlie Keller hits a two-run home run in the first inning of the American League’s 12-0 victory.
April 18, 1950: On Opening Day, the Yankees overcome a 9-0 deficit to win, 15-10. They score 11 runs (without any home runs) over the final two innings.
April 14, 1955: Elston Howard becomes the first black player in Yankees history, making his major-league debut in an 8-4 loss. Ellie has an RBI single in his only plate appearance.
September 21, 1956: In a 13-7 Yankees loss, Mickey Mantle hits what is considered the longest known homer to straightaway center field in Fenway Park history. The second-inning blow off Frank Sullivan carries approximately 480 feet before striking one foot below the top brick barrier located behind Section 36.
July 21, 1961: The Yankees score five runs in the top of the ninth for an 11-8 victory. Johnny Blanchard’s pinch-hit grand slam off Mike Fornieles seals the game.
September 11, 1966: Johnny Miller makes his major league debut, homering in his first plate appearance in the second inning off Lee Stange. Bobby Richardson’s two-run homer in the 10th gives the Yankees the 4-2 victory.
April 6, 1973: The Yankees’ Ron Blomberg becomes the major league’s first designated hitter, batting in the top of the first inning. He walks with the bases loaded off Luis Tiant and finishes the day 1-for-3 with 1RBI in a 15-5 loss.
October 2, 1978: The Yankees defeat the Red Sox, 5-4, in only the second one-game playoff in AL history. Trailing by 14 games in mid-July, Bucky Dent caps the Yankees’ comeback with a three-run, seventh-inning home run.
June 19, 2000: The Yankees defeat the Red Sox, 22-1. Five different Yankees homer in the game, including Jorge Posada, who also scored four runs. The Yankees score 16 runs over the final two innings, including seven in the ninth off Tim Wakefield.
September 2, 2001: Mike Mussina comes within one out of a perfect game before Carl Everett singles with two outs in the ninth.
October 16-18, 2004: The Yankees win Game 3 of the AL Championship Series, 19-8, to go up three games to none. Boston wins the next two nights at Fenway Park with consecutive extra-inning, walk-off victories and goes on to become the first baseball team to overcome a 0-3 deficit in a best-of-7 series.
August 18, 2006: The Yankees and Red Sox play their signature marathon game with the Yanks winning, 14-11, in 4 hours, 45 minutes in the second game of a doubleheader. It marks the longest nine-inning game in baseball history in terms of time.
April 22, 2007: In a 7-6 loss, Yankees starter Chase Wright yields four consecutive home runs in the third inning (to Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek). The lefthander becomes only the second pitcher in major league history to allow four consecutive home runs in an inning, joining Paul Foytak, who did so July 1, 1963 for the Angels against the Indians.
September 28, 2009: On the final day of the season – and what turns out to be his final career outing – the Yankees’ Mike Mussina becomes a 20-game winner for the only time in his 18-season career, in a 6-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader.
Joe D. to be immortalized on special stamp
Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio will be among four Hall of Famers to be honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and be immortalized on 45-cent, First Class Forever stamps. The first-day-of-issue Major League Baseball All-Star stamps dedication ceremony will be Friday, July 20, at the Cooperstown, N.Y., museum as part of the opening day festivities for the four-day Hall of Fame Weekend celebration. The stamps will become available nationwide that day.
Appearing on the MLB All-Stars sheet of 20 stamps in addition to DiMaggio will be Larry Doby of the Indians, Willie Stargell of the Pirates and Ted Williams of the Red Sox. All four Hall of Famers are deceased.
“Some of America’s favorite pastimes come together with these stamps,” U.S. Postal Service Stamp services manager Stephen Kearney said. “Writing letters, collecting stamps, and, of course, playing and watching baseball are all important elements of our nation’s culture and history. We are honored to be able to commemorate four of baseball’s most important players. Fans of these Hall of Famers and their teams will enjoy rooting for them once again by using and collecting these cool stamps.”
The stamps were designed by artist-illustrator Kadir Nelson of Los Angeles and are based on historic photographs. Phil Jordan of Falls Church, Va., served as art director.
Back in lineup, Jorge produces
Guess who was back in the Yankees lineup Saturday? Jorge Posada, who lost his designated hitter job last Sunday night at Boston, was the DH batting eighth against the Rays. Eric Chavez, who had replaced Posada as the Yankees’ DH against right-handed pitching, was in the lineup as well but at third base.
The crowd at Yankee Stadium displayed its approval by showering Posada with applause when he came to bat for the first time in the second inning. Chavez had just fouled out to the catcher with the bases loaded for the first out of the inning. Posada had the crowd on its feel once more when he hit a single into right field that scored two runs.
Chants of “Hip, hip, Jor-ge!” reverberated around the Stadium. They were sounded again in the fourth inning when Posada singled to left-center. There just may still be a place on this team for the popular former catcher.
Despite hitting 32 home runs this season, Curtis Granderson keeps telling people that he is not a home run hitter. That cuts no ice with Rays manager Joe Maddon, who employed the Boudreau Shift against Granderson in the third inning by having three infielders stationed on the right side of second base (the shift is so named because it was first used by Indians shortstop/manager Lou Boudreau in the late 1940s to combat Red Sox slugger Ted Williams).
Mark Teixeira when batting left-handed is accustomed to seeing the shift against him, but this might have been a first for Granderson, whose speed makes the maneuver questionable because he could easily drop down a bunt to the left side for a hit. Of course, that’s part of the design of the shift, to tempt a power hitter to try to bunt for a single rather than swing for the fences. This did not work with Williams, who kept pulling the ball and finished his Hall of Fame career with a .344 batting average and 521 home runs.
Granderson did not lay one down, either, but swung away and struck out. In the fifth, the Rays used the shift again against Granderson, who pulled a Ted Williams by hitting a home run to right field. That was No. 33 for Curtis, who tied the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista for the major-league lead. Curtis, when a team uses the Boudreau Shift against you, it means you’re a home run hitter!
‘Latino Living Legends’ at Yankees Museum
A special exhibit displaying artifacts from the six living Hispanic players in the National Baseball Hall of Fame was unveiled Thursday night at the New York Yankees Museum Presented by Bank of America inside Yankee Stadium.
Former National League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Orlando Cepeda, one of the “Latino Living Legends,” as the exhibit is titled, was a special guest at the opening ceremony, along with Gabriel “Tito” Avila, the founder and president of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.
“I say thank you to the Yankees,” Cepeda said. “I am proud to be a part of this exhibit with these great players.”
Also featured in the exhibit that was designed by curator Brian Richards and will be on display for the remainder of the season are Cepeda’s fellow Puerto Rican, Roberto Alomar, who was inducted into the Hall Sunday; his former Giants teammate, Juan Marichal (Dominican Republic); Luis Aparicio (Venezuela); Rod Carew (Panama) and Tony Perez (Cuba).
Cepeda, who was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1999, donated a signed San Francisco Giants jersey and helmet and a replica of his 1967 MVP Award. There are also signature jerseys and caps by the other five players.
“It is a true honor to have the ‘Latino Living Legends’ exhibit at Yankee Stadium and for it to be associated with such a prestigious organization”, said Avila, a Bronx native who now lives in San Francisco. “We would like to thank the New York Yankees and Eventus for their efforts in helping us pay tribute to these great players in bringing this exhibit to the fans. This is another step forward towards our goal of having a permanent home for the museum to commemorate Hispanic baseball history.”
Eventus is recognized throughout the industry for developing successful consumer-brand relationships and experiences.
“The New York Yankees are honored to host this exhibit in our iconic Yankee Stadium,” said Manuel Garcia, the Yankees Director of Latino Affairs. “Taking pride in the history of our national pastime is important to us, and being able to highlight the contributions of these Latino Hall of Famers in our Museum is very exciting. The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame and Eventus have done a fantastic job with this important exhibit, and we know our fans will truly enjoy it.”
One of the coolest aspects of the exhibit is a time line of Hispanics’ contribution to baseball over the years featuring Martin Dihigo, Minnie Minoso, Roberto Clemente and Ted Williams, among others. Ted Williams? How many fans know that his mother was of Mexican descent?
Swisher a throwback at leadoff
A lot of people seemed surprised to see Nick Swisher at the top of the lineup Wednesday night against the Rangers, even Swisher.
“I have hit everywhere else in the lineup,” he said before the game. “I might as well bat first.”
As I pointed out in Tuesday’s blog, Swisher seemed a good option in the leadoff spot against a left-handed starter because of his .356 batting average and .438 on-base percentage from the left side. Obviously, manager Joe Girardi felt the same way. Brett Gardner will continue to lead off against righthanders while Derek Jeter is on the disabled list.
Swisher may not realize it, but if he had been around the Yankees in the 1950s he would have been a leadoff candidate for Casey Stengel. The Ol’ Professor liked to use players with extra-base power at the top of the order. His favorites during those years were Hank Bauer, Bob Cerv, Gene Woodling and Tony Kubek.
In fact, when Roger Maris came to the Yankees in 1960 in a trade from the Kansas City A’s that also involved Bauer, Stengel batted Maris leadoff in the first few games. When Maris started hitting balls over fences on a regular basis, Casey eventually moved him into the 3-hole where he went on to the first of two consecutive Most Valuable Player seasons.
Swisher did not lead off the game with a hit, but he reached base his next two times up with a double and a walk.
Jeter’s replacement at shortstop, Eduardo Nunez, homered in the fourth inning. It was Nunez’s second homer of the season. He now has as many long balls in 62 at-bats as Jeter had in 262.
The Captain will not accompany the Yankees on their trip to Chicago and Cincinnati for inter-league series against the Cubs and Reds. Jeter will go to Tampa for rehabilitation on his right calf strain. His stint on the DL means Jeter won’t be able to add to his inter-league record for hits of 362. DJ is not in danger of being passed. He is 52 hits ahead of the second place guy, who just happens to be teammate Alex Rodriguez.
A-Rod showed off some fine baserunning in the fifth inning as the Yankees took a 5-4 lead. On first base after a one-out walk, Rodriguez avoided being tagged by second baseman Ian Kinsler on Robinson Cano’s groundout and was able to get to second base. That made it possible for him to score on a single to left by Andruw Jones. Josh Hamilton made a strong throw to the plate, but A-Rod beat it with a good slide.
The run was the 1,799th of Rodriguez’s career. It tied him with Hall of Famer Ted Williams for 16th place on the all-time list.
Shift deviation
The Yankees displayed an interesting variation on the old Lou Boudreau Shift in the sixth inning Tuesday night. When he was the shortstop-manager of the Indians in the late 1940s, Boudreau devised the shift against Ted Williams by stationing three infielders to the right side of second base because the Splinter was such a dead pull hitter.
The shift has become commonplace in the game. Yankees fans surely remember that it was used regularly against Jason Giambi. The Yankees also use it regularly against Jim Thome. But here was the twist in the Yankees’ deployment against White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn. They kept shortstop Derek Jeter to the left of second base and moved third baseman Eric Chavez to the right. Normally, the shortstop moves right to leave the third baseman to cover the left side.
I hadn’t noticed it until Dunn hit a foul ball that fell in front of the third base dugout with Jeter giving chase. I thought it was weird that Jeter came so close to catching the ball, since I assumed Jeter was all the way on the other side of second base. I looked around for Chavez and noticed that he was where I thought Jeter had been.
It is an intriguing concept. It sort of makes sense to leave the shortstop in his usual spot, but I checked with a lot of my colleagues in the press box and none could recall having seen that alignment before. I later learned that some other clubs such as the Rays and Red Sox have used the same maneuver.
Don Larsen has company
Props to Roy Halladay, who had the greatest post-season debut in history by throwing a no-hitter for the Phillies over the Reds Wednesday night in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, but Don Larsen still stands alone.
Doc’s no-no was the continuance of a season of dominance that made him the favorite for the National League Cy Young Award to go with the one he collected in the American League for the Blue Jays in 2003. Halladay threw a perfect game during the regular season, so he joined four other pitchers with two no-hitters in the same year.
The list includes Allie Reynolds, who did it for the Yankees in 1951. Yogi Berra told me his most embarrassing moment was when he dropped a foul pop by Ted Williams that would have been the 27th out of the second of the Chief’s no-nos. Williams fouled up the next pitch, and this time Yogi caught it.
Reds lefthander Johnny Vander Meer was the first pitch with two no-hitters in the same year, 1938, and they were back-to-back. Tigers righthander Virgil “Fire” Trucks did it the year after Reynolds, 1952, which was quite a feat for a pitcher whose record that season was 5-19. Of course, any list of no-hitting pitchers usually includes Nolan Ryan, who pitched the first two of the seven in his career in 1973. I worked in Detroit at the time and covered the second one, at Tiger Stadium, grateful that it was a Saturday day game, and I didn’t have to deal with deadline pressure.
Halladay is only the second pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a post-season game. I don’t mean to take anything away from the performance – the Doctor operated magnificently – but it was not the equal of Larsen’s gem that occurred in the ultimate post-season round, the World Series, and was perfect as well. Halladay came within one out of what would have been his second perfect game this year, but that one walk was enough to drop him a notch below Larsen.
Larsen’s 97-pitch surgery of a powerful Dodgers lineup in Game 5 of the 1956 Series remains the finest single effort for a pitcher in baseball history. For one night, Roy Halladay came awfully close to matching it.
Jack O'Connell
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