Tag: new-york-yankees

Dave Winfield and Ron Kittle Gave Me a Great Birthday Present

It’s very hard to remember Major League Baseball games in the regular season. Sure, no hitters, perfect games and heroic individual offensive displays (think three or four home runs by the same player) are certainly memorable. There are literally thousands of games that I have born witness to either by viewing them or reading about them over the past 44 years. However, there are a handful of contests that stick out to me for extraordinary circumstances. One such game took place on my 14th birthday, June 29, 1987.

Thank you, Dave Winfield. Photo from Sports Illustrated

I had just graduated 8th grade. The New York Yankees got off to a wonderful start to begin the season but in typical 1980’s Yankee fashion, they faltered in the second half. Dare I say that this game on the night of June 29th was the high point of their season? The Yanks beat the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 15-14 but it was how they did it that made it such a classic. Two Yankees in particular gave me a 14th birthday to remember: Ron Kittle and Dave Winfield.

In the top of the first inning, Kittle, the 1983 American League Rookie of the Year for the Chicago White Sox, lifted a fly ball to right field that confounded the Blue Jay outfield. By the time the ball was retrieved and thrown in, Kittle, not exactly a burner, raced around the bases for a two run, inside the park home run. I’m telling you, that play felt like it took five minutes from beginning to end. That gave the Yankees an early 4-0 lead. It was the beginning of a slugfest for the ages as New York tacked on four more runs for an 8-3 lead after two innings. After the Blue Jays scored a run in the fourth inning, the Yanks scored three more times in the top of the sixth for an 11-4 lead. It was then Toronto’s turn to pile on the offense, scoring four runs in their half in the sixth and then pouring on six more to take a 14-11 lead going into the eighth inning. It was then that Winfield delivered the biggest blow, a grand slam that was the difference in the game, ending it at 15-14.

To show you that memories can be fuzzy, I thought this was the game that Yankee closer Dave Righetti, after giving up a late home run, threw the ball over the fence in frustration before being taken out of the game. Alas, that happened in June 1986. Nevertheless, on the day of birthday number 14, Dave Winfield, Ron Kittle and the Yankees gave me a night and a present to remember.

This is the Rivalry I Miss

I am a firm believer, or at least have the perception, that sports were were better when we were younger. Maybe it’s because we had less responsibilities. Maybe it’s because the world was less chaotic. I don’t think I am the only one that feels this way. How many times growing up did we hear our parents say things were better when they were kids? That being said, I always try to conceptualize that instead of saying sports were better when I was younger, I like to say they have evolved. However, I still miss certain things about my baseball childhood.

Chris Chambliss breaks the Royals’ hearts in 1976. Photo from Newsday

This brings me to the rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, who play each other four times in Kansas City this week.

Growing up, I didn’t look at the Boston Red Sox as the Yanks’ biggest rivals. The Yankees and Royals to me was much more intense. New York and Kansas City played each other in the American League Champions Series four out of five years. Though I was too young to actually remember the first three, I knew that whenever they played one another, it was a big deal. Some of their regular season games were on national television. The 1976-1978 ALCS were loaded with memorable highlights such as Chris Chambliss’s series clinching home run at Yankee Stadium in ’76 and the brawl in Kansas City one year later. One of my earliest memories was the 1980 ALCS when the Royals finally slayed the Yankee dragon and advanced to the World Series. I distinctly remember going to bed with the Yankees winning game three only to wake up and find out George Brett smacked a three run homer to give KC the series. To add more gas to the fire, Dick Howser was the Yankee manager in 1980. He was fired by George Steinbrenner after that season and became the Royals’ manager the following season. Howser got the Royals over the hump once and for all in 1985, directing the team to its first World Championship. Of course, who can forget the most famous moment of all in this epic rivalry? That would be Brett’s Pine Tar home run in 1983, that was first disallowed and then allowed less than a month later.

For one of the rare instances over the last 30 years, both teams are playoff contenders at the same time. One big difference between all of those epic clashes years ago and today is the size of the payrolls. In its heyday, there was no talk of big market-small market and luxury taxes. It was just two well-run organizations vying for American League supremacy. I’d love nothing more than to see the Yankees and Royals meet once again this Fall for the right to go to the World Series.

MLB Week Ahead June 3-June 9

We’ve arrived at the first full week of June and London is calling. The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will be playing two games in jolly old England. Here is hoping these Saturday and Sunday contests will be the best the game has to offer. On paper it doesn’t look appetizing as the Phils lead the Amazins’ by 16.5 games in the National League East. However, Philadelphia will most likely be without Ranger Suarez as the Cy Young candidate hurt his pitching hand on a comebacker over the weekend.

The Twins head to Yankees Stadium for a big series vs. the Bronx Bombers. Photo from Fox 9.

Let’s see what else is happening this week.

Series to watch: Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals

Two of the premier teams in the American League square off in Kansas City this weekend. The Mariners, winners of seven of their past eight games, are starting to put distance between themselves and the rest of the American League West. They are four games ahead of the Texas Rangers and took three of four games from the Houston Astros last week, dropping the ‘Stros 7.5 games out of the top spot. The Royals were nearly opposite, going 2-5 last week. KC also has to go on the road for three games in Cleveland against the first place Guardians prior to coming home. Two starts from Seth Lugo and his 1.88 ERA would be optimal for the second place Royals.

Player to watch: Rhys Hoskins

One of the most beloved players in recent Phillies’ history returns to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the last visual of Hoskins in a Philly uniform is him going off the field in Spring Training 2023 with a torn ACL. Now with the Milwaukee Brewers, he is tied for the club lead in home runs with nine. Hoskins has seven hits in his last 20 at bats with six RBI’s. He has been the Crew’s primary DH, helping them open up a seven game lead in the National League Central. Expect a warm ovation and a touching video on Monday night.

Trade Deadline Chatter

Now that the trade deadline is officially next month, talk surrounding potential deals with intensify. However, with so many teams still in realistic playoff contention, any talk prior to June 20 is premature. Even the Oakland A’s, at 24-37 are on the fringes of the Wild Card chase. The early talk asks the question of whether or not Oakland would trade their Rookie of the Year candidate, reliever Mason Miller. Check back in three weeks to see where teams are in the standings.

A Beautiful Day at Yankee Stadium

The Lynch family ventured out for our first baseball game of the year on Sunday, May 19. We saw the New York Yankees take on the Chicago White Sox with the Bronx Bombers looking for the sweep. I would describe the game as a ho hum affair as the Yanks are really good and the White Sox, not so much. New York would win 7-2 thanks to home runs by Aaron Judge and Jon Berti and six solid innings pitched by Carlos Rodon.

It was a picture perfect day at Yankee Stadium. After what seemed to be an endless array of cool and rainy weather, we were treated to a gorgeous, sunny 72 degree day. We sat in Section 331, first row, near the left field foul pole, pretty high up but able to see all the action on the diamond. It really is my happy place: my family with me watching the great game of baseball. Even transportation, long the bane of a sports fan’s existence, was a good time. Taking the train to the Stadium is super quick and convenient and for entertainment, we were treated to a drunk fan passing out on the ride home. The one odd sight, though common in the new Yankee Stadium, is the scores of empty seats as many fans opted to indulge in the restaurants and bars on the lower level. I understand wanting to shelter on a cold day in April but a picturesque Sunday afternoon? No place better than outdoors.

We have two other games to go to on our calendar: Philadelphia at the end of June and Citi Field in mid-July. We hope that, just like the Yankees, the home teams win both of those contests. No matter the result, going to a ballpark with the family is always a beautiful day.

It’s Never Too Early in Baseball

We are already through one week of games in Major League Baseball. If you are like me in New York, you have already seen the Mets rained out three times. The weather has wrecked havoc on teams all up and down the East Coast. That’s baseball life in March and April where the only predicable thing is that the weather stinks. Now is about the time we will start to hear folks stay things like, “there is still a lot more baseball to go so don’t panic” or, “it’s still way too early in the season for X”

Oh really?

At 0-8 and with no Sandy Alcantara, it is already late for the Marlins. Photo from Yahoo Sports

Tell that to the Miami Marlins who are 0-8 as I write this. No matter how you thought the Marlins would fare in 2024, 0-8 is already too big a hole to crawl out from. To boot, their first four games were at home. It is already late for them. Even if they play .500 ball over the first half of the season, they are still eight games under .500 and most likely out of playoff contention. At this point, with no Sandy Alcantara, do you see Miami being even a .500 club? Conversely, the New York Yankees had perhaps the best start of any team in baseball. They went 6-1 against two of the premier squads out there, with all games away from home. Beginning a season as the Yanks have done can carry a team all the way to a division title. This is not to say New York will win the American League East as the defending champion Baltimore Orioles will have plenty to say about that. However, the odds are long that the Yanks will miss the postseason for the second consecutive year.

I know, there are over 150 games remaining in the Major League Baseball season. There is still much drama left for all teams, even for the Marlins. However, just know that even though we are early in this campaign, it is getting really late for Miami.

New York Yankees: New Hope, New Look

Things have certainly started off swimmingly for the New York Yankees. They have won their first three games of the season against the rival Houston Astros. Making it sweeter is the fact all of the victories have come at Minute Maid Park. After the Easter Sunday finale, it’s off to Arizona for three games against the National Champion Diamondbacks. What a start for the new look Bronx Bombers if they can go, say 5-2 against two of the best teams from 2023. It will certainly set the Yanks up for a season that will make memories from last year’s mediocre campaign disappear quickly.

Oswaldo Cabrera rocking at the plate and rocking new threads. Photo from Yahoo Sports.

Two of the new arrivals into the Bronx have paid immediate dividends. Juan Soto is already 6 for 12 and saved the opening win with a throw to snuff out the game tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Marcus Stroman did not allow an earned run in six innings on Saturday. Returning youngster Oswaldo Cabrera already has two home runs and six RBI’s in three games. His play means that DJ LeMahieu can take all the time he wants to come back from his foot injury. There is another change New York has made not affecting the field of play that makes me smile.

The new road uniforms are a great look. For a team that hasn’t changed their uniforms much over the last one hundred years and are steeped in tradition, these grays are fantastic. They remind of the road uniforms that Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle once wore. Soto’s home run in that classic gray could have been Lou Gehrig going the opposite way in 1931 vs. the Philadelphia Athletics. Not all uniform changes are for the better. Changing the design of an iconic uniform such as the Yankees’ can be a tricky proposition. No need to worry. The updated look is a home run.