Bleeding Yankee Blue: CHECKING IN ON JAY BELL & THE TAMPA YANKEES

Saturday, December 16, 2017

CHECKING IN ON JAY BELL & THE TAMPA YANKEES

(Mark LoMoglio)

For my next installment through the Yankee farm system, I head down to Tampa, Florida where we find the High-A Tampa Yankees led by Manager Jay Bell. Though they fell in the championship to the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Tampa Yankees had one a hell of a season finishing with a league-best 85-50. This piece discusses the final game and just how great things went:

Domingo Acevedo ©Mark LoMoglio/Yankees

"Despite falling short of repeating as North Division Champions, the T-Yanks enjoyed a historic 2017 season. The Yankees tallied a franchise-record 85 wins and Tampa pitchers collected 1,215 strikeouts to break the FSL single-season record. The T-Yanks look forward to returning to action in 2018."

Because of their season, Jay Bell was named the FSL Manager of the Year. You gotta love that.

"Jay Bell earns 'Manager of the Year' after guiding the T-Yanks to a first-half North Division Title, with a record of 39-31.

Tampa has also clinched the second-half of the North Division, with a record of 40-18 as of August 28th. It is the first time the Tampa Yankees have ever won both halves of the FSL North Division."

Though there was no championship this was a well-deserved honor for Jay as he works his way up the ladder. To be honest, I really thought he might have had a chance at being the next Yankee manager after Joe Girardi left. I know it sounds nuts, but Bell has the experience. Regardless, congratulations to Jay and the rest of the crew in Tampa.

Stephen Tarpley ( Rick Ferry)

By the way, this is the last piece I'll ever write on the Tampa Yankees, as they no longer exist. They seem to have had a name change in Tampa, and starting in 2018 they will now be known a the Tampa Tarpons. You can read that HERE. Here's some info on that...

"When the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees takes the field for the 2018 season, it will mark the return of Tarpons baseball to the Florida State League after a 30-year absence. The Tampa Tarpons played in the league from 1957 through 1987, winning titles in 1957, 1959 and 1961."

I love tradition of old team names are finding their way back. It just shows how rich in history baseball truly is.