ARE YOU READY FOR THE YANKEES AT FIELD OF DREAMS?

They will come, Ray. They will come.

What's the most amazing thing you've ever heard of? How about the New York Yankees at the Field of Dreams in Iowa.  OH... I am there bitches!

A quick note, and I know many of you already know... next season the Yankees will be playing the White Sox at Field of Dreams. But here are some of the important details. NPR writes:

"If they appear, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and Archibald "Moonlight" Graham will only be there in spirit. But for one night, big leaguers will play baseball at the Iowa farm that was made famous in the beloved film Field of Dreams. 

The New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox will face off at the Dyersville, Iowa, farm next August, Major League Baseball announced Thursday. The game will count as part of the regular season — starting a three-game series between the Yankees and White Sox. 

The two teams will then have one day off as they travel to Chicago to finish out the series. The game is slated for the night of Aug. 13, 2020 — three decades after Field of Dreams debuted in 1989. But Aaron Judge and his fellow MLB stars won't be playing on the same diamond that was created for the Kevin Costner movie. Instead, they'll play at a temporary 8,000-seat ballpark."

And lets be honest... it's just a game once they get started, but damn, what an amazing thing to see and a lot of fun for the fans and the players!  If there's a way... I want to go for sure.

WHY HE WAS NO ORDINARY JOE

SECOND BASE

The best Yankee second baseman may come as a surprise. Others may ask, “Who?” but let me make my case for the best Yankee to play second, Mr. Joe Gordon. #1. Gordon could hit with potent power and field with pure precision. When he retired, despite losing time to serve his country during World War II, his career numbers were among the leaders for second basemen. In 1942, Ted Williams won the Triple Crown (leading the league in homers, RBIs, and batting average) but didn’t win the MVP. Who did? Joe Gordon did. In fact, Gordon received MVP votes almost every season. He also was an All-Star almost every season. For his career, Gordon averaged 26 homers and 101 RBIs per season. Good numbers. But when you consider that a 1940's second baseman put up those numbers, they become fantastic! Interestingly, Gordon played in exactly 1,000 games and got exactly 1,000 hits for the Yankees. Gordon was known as “Flash” due to his favorite comic book character, Flash Gordon. But his ability to amazingly flash the leather should have been the real reason. His defensive abilities at second base were only matched by few to play the position. When “Flash” retired, he ranked 6th in double plays, put outs, assists, total chances, and ranked 7th in fielding percentage.

 

When Joe Gordon came to the Yankees’ Spring Training in 1937, Tony Lazzeri was the starting second baseman. Gordon was especially appreciative and never forgot the way Lazzeri taught him the tricks of the trade. But the writing was on the wall for Poosh ‘Em Up Tony. Lazzeri kept his job for the ’37 season, but was then released to make a place for Gordon. In 1937, Gordon was sent down to the Minor leagues to play for the Newark Bears. This team has been considered the best Minor League team ever and featured 6 future Major League All-Stars. In 1937, the Bears went 109-43, finished 25 ½ games in front of the second-place team, and hit .299 as a team!

  (photo: Corbis) In total, Gordon played in 6 World Series, and won five titles. (He won his last with the Cleveland Indians in 1948.) He was traded from the Yankees to the Indians after the 1946 season for pitcher, Allie Reynolds. Reynolds went on to start for the Yanks, winning 131 games over 8 seasons. Gordon always remembered the lessons taught to him by Tony Lazzeri, so he always helped the younger players breaking into the Big Leagues. But he made his biggest impact by lending a helping hand to Larry Doby (the first player to cross the color barrier in the American League) when he was breaking in with the Indians. After his playing days were over, Gordon became a manager. He was involved in two of the most bizarre baseball business deals while he was managing the Cleveland Indians.

• In late September 1959, Gordon was fired by general manager, Frank Lane, only to be rehired a few days later. Lane said, "I've decided that the best man to replace Joe Gordon was Joe Gordon.” Weird as that was, it got even weirder.


• The next season on August 3, 1960, Gordon, the Cleveland Indians manager, was traded to the Detroit Tigers for their manager, Jimmy Dykes. That is one of the most bizarre trades in baseball history.

Joe Gordon was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee in 2009. His daughter gave his Hall of Fame speech and closed by saying, "He insisted on having a funeral. And as such, we consider Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame as his final resting place to be honored forever." Joe Gordon should also be honored by all New York Yankees fans as the team’s best second baseman.

--Moonlight Graham 

BYB Staff Writer 

WHY LAZZERI IS A BRONX LEGEND

SECOND BASE

"How about 'Once a Yankee, always a Yankee'... There never was anything better than that. You never get over it." --Tony Lazzeri

In continuing the countdown of the top 3 Yankees in each position, we now come to the second best second baseman. It’s Tony Lazzeri. Now many may be surprised to see him at number two. He’s probably the player most fans would name as the best Yankee second baseman. However, there is someone even better for number 1. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s get to "Poosh ‘Em Up Tony".

#2- Tony Lazzeri was Italian and came from San Francisco. He played in the Pacific Coast League. Sound like another famous player? (Yeah, he’ll be on the list, but you’ll need to wait until center field.) But before Joe DiMaggio took over the Bronx, Poosh ‘Em Up Tony was the first Yankee hero for Italian-Americans and helped introduce many to the game of baseball.

Lazzeri was a fan favorite of Italians all over the country, but especially in the Bronx. His nickname, Poosh ‘Em Up Tony, is actually an improper translation of an Italian phrase meaning, to hit it out. The name followed him from his days in the Pacific Coast League. While in the PCL, Tony put up some unreal numbers. How’s this for an unbelievable season? I don’t care what league these numbers are from, these numbers are insane!

• In 1925 with the Salt Lake City Bees, Lazzeri hit .355 with 60 homers, 222 RBIs, 252 hits, 52 doubles, and scored 202 runs. (That was 192 games. Still sick though)

Now, you’d think with those statistics he’d be a lock for the Major Leagues. But unfortunately for Tony, he suffered from epilepsy. The Bees had an agreement with the Chicago Cubs, but the Cubbies thought Tony wasn’t worth the risk. As it turned out, he never suffered epileptic seizures on the playing field, so the public never knew about his condition. The Bombers thought he was worth it and bought his contract for $50,000 plus two players, Frank Zoeller and Mack
Hillis. Lazzeri was well worth it indeed.PLAYING IN THE BRONX: Tony played for what many consider the best baseball team ever, the 1927 Yankees. He batted 6th in the famous ‘27 Murder’s Row line up and is probably the third most well-known player on the team, after Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Tony also played with Joe DiMaggio. With such legendary teammates, it’s easy to understand how Tony can sometimes be forgotten in the list of Yankee greats.

He played with the Yankees from 1926-37 and played sparingly for the Cubs, Dodgers, and Giants for his last two seasons of 1938-39. While with the Yanks, he was considered one of the best second basemen of the era. His 11 RBI in one game is still the American League record.
He was the first player to hit 2 grand slams in one game. Lazzeri is one of only 14 players to ever hit for the natural cycle—hitting a single, double, triple, and homer in that order. He also won 5 World Series with the Yanks.

Lazzeri's numbers have been discussed suggesting they may not be Hall of Fame numbers, but in 1991, he was finally voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee. Over a 14-year career, Lazzeri hit .292 and averaged 111 RBIs per season. 7 of those years were truly outstanding years. However, his longevity as well, was often the debate for whether or not he should get into the Hall.

Lazzeri was known for his clutch hitting, but had 1 bad moment in the 1926 World Series when he left bases full of Yankees loaded against Grover Cleveland Alexander of the St. Louis Cardinals. Lazzeri struck out and eventually the Cards won the World Series when Babe Ruth made the third out in the 9th trying to steal second base.

FACT: That strike out was put on Grover Cleveland Alexander’s Hall of Fame plaque, making Lazzeri the only player, at that time, 1938, to have his name on a Hall of Fame plaque without actually being a Hall of Fame player.

Tony Lazzeri died in 1946 at the age of 42. Some think it was a heart attack. Others think it may
have been an epileptic seizure. Either way, it was tragic.

The New York Times’ Arthur Daley wrote in his column, "Tony was never able to live down that incident. Even in death it's the first thing that comes to mind. His slugging records and home-run achievements invariably are forgotten. No one ever bothered asking him to tell of his sixty homers in the Pacific Coast League the season before he came to the Yankees. Few inquired about his achievement of twice slashing three homers in one game or of walloping jackpot homers at crucial moments, including the World Series. No. Always was his one failure. Never was his brilliant successes."

(Photo: Corbis)
Remember Yankee fans, and all baseball fans, the players you cheer and boo are professional ballplayers, but they are also people. When you’re at the park, cheer and boo. But if you ever meet a former player, try to focus on all the times the player made you cheer. Fortunately for Poosh ‘Em Up Tony, it seems as time has passed, more people remember the cheers and call Tony Lazzeri the greatest Yankee second baseman... probably because he was.



--Moonlight Graham, BYB Staff Writer

WHY FANS IN THE SIENA COLLEGE POLL ARE MORONS

(photo: Getty)
In a recent Siena College poll, Derek Jeter was named the greatest New York athlete of all-time. As long as the person conducting the poll stuck to the script, this was one of the questions asked:

“Many great athletes have participated in organized sports here in the New York area. Who is in your opinion the single greatest athlete of all-time that played for a New York team or that you associate with sports in New York?”

No disrespect to the Captain, he is loved, a modern day icon, but whomever answered his name for the question above clearly doesn't have a grasp on New York Sports history. Am I wrong? I don't think I'm stepping out of line here.

First off, HERE is the summary of the poll. Check it out.
HERE is the breakdown of their rankings. Check that out too. Then continue reading my rant.When we analyze New York Sports athletes of all time, there’s the obvious of all obvious choices, Babe Ruth. Ruth was a dominant pitcher and then went on to be the most dominant hitter ever. Yeah, and I mean the MOST dominant hitter ever. He had seasons when he hit more home runs than entire teams! That’s not a typo. Babe out homered teams!! He also, and much more importantly, saved baseball from being destroyed by the 1919 Black Sox gambling scandal.
OK, maybe you’re looking for more of an athlete that looks like an athlete. Ever hear of a guy named Jackie Robinson of Brooklyn Dodgers fame? Not only did he break baseball’s color barrier, but he was an excellent baseball player. Also, and not that this was relevant to this poll, but just a fact of his athleticism, during his time at UCLA he was the first athlete in the school’s history to win 4 varsity letters. Robinson lettered in baseball, basketball, football, and track. The Inter-boro Parkway was renamed Jackie Robinson Parkway for a reason.

Again, no disrespect to Derek Jeter, right now, he clearly owns New York, but that's RIGHT NOW. The poll ask OF ALL TIME! If you know your Yankee history, you know he’s not the best ever. To Jeter's credit though, he is close to the greatest in New York, just not number 1.
I seriously question the credibility of this poll.

I started to think… Do people remember baseball history? Of course, current players will rank higher than they should just because they are current. But there has to be more than that.

Maybe we rely too much on the Internet. When prior generations had to come up with an answer off of the top of their heads, they could only rely on the knowledge they had learned... Today, we Google it.

Or maybe it’s the “dumbing down” effect ESPN has had on sports. It’s like if ESPN doesn’t have video of an athlete or an event, it's like that athlete or event didn’t exist. Making SportsCenter is the goal of a lot of athletes. They want to be on the highlight reels. Everything is here and now. History only exists in obscure and seemingly ridiculous statistics. Every game is so completely over hyped. How many times do we hear, “It’s do or die,” when it’s really not. We see so many highlights that when we see a truly great play in person, we lack true appreciation.

From the results of this poll it unfortunately appears that most modern fans also truly lack appreciation for the all-time greats.

If you disagree with me comment, let me know. Shoot me an email at: moonlightgraham.1905nygiants@gmail.com


--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer




Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY WE NEED TO RELAX & ENJOY THE CANO SHOW

SECOND BASE

One complication about making this all-time list is that some players are still playing, and while it is extremely tempting to project career numbers, this simply is not fair. To be fair, you can only

look at the statistics a player has actually accumulated.

Baseball history is littered with players that put up Hall of Fame numbers for several years and then just collapse. In fact, as this list now moves to second basemen, two players in recent history come to my mind that have done just that: Carlos Baerga and Edgar Alfonzo. Early in their careers, both looked destined for the Hall of Fame, but both came up way short
of earning a plaque in Cooperstown. Ironically, both played for the New York Mets. Even more ironic, both players through age 27 had very similar career statistics compared to the current Yankee second baseman, Robinson Cano.
(Photo: Daily News)
#3: Now, Robinson Cano certainly has the tools to earn a plaque in Cooperstown, but
let’s give him time to earn it. I’m just being cautious, we know his ability. His 2009 & 2010 seasons were amazing. But in 2008, his numbers were average. Cano is now 28 and is entering the prime of his career. He has the potential to be put up there with the best of the best ever to
play 2nd base. At the end of his career we may be comparing Cano with Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan (annoying he is as a broadcaster, but a great player), and Roberto Alomar. But that's kind of jumping ahead. As of now, he is number 3 on this list.

Second base has always been for the “little brother” of the infield. He may hit for average, but never for power. The arm is weak when compared to the shortstop and third baseman. But Robinson Cano is NOT your father or grandfather’s 2nd baseman.(Photo: Getty)
Cano provides protection in the batting order for Alex Rodriguez, the projected all-time home run king. Cano has a lifetime average over .300 and has averaged over 20 homers and 90 RBIs a season.

His range playing 2nd is outstanding and is only topped by his throwing arm. Frequently today’s players are given the title as “best ever”, but he truthfully may have the “best ever” arm of anyone that has ever played 2nd base.

Robinson Cano was named after another man to play second base in a borough of New York, Jackie Robinson. Cano wears #24, Jackie’s #42 reversed, as a tribute to him. Mariano Rivera currently wears #42 for the Yankees and will be the last player to ever wear #42 in the Major
Leagues. FACT: On April 15, 1997, on the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier, #42 was retired throughout MLB. However, any player currently wearing the number at that time could continue to do so until they retire. Mo is the last left of these players.

(Photo: SI)
I am very interested to see how Robinson responds to carrying more and more of the offensive load as Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Jorge Posada grow older. That is going to be Cano’s true test—how he responds to being “the man”. If he’s half “the man” as his double play partner, he will be quite “the man”. But as for now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the Cano Show.


--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer




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WHY BRONX FIRST BASEMEN WERE CHARACTERS

FIRST BASE: HONORABLE MENTION

Here are a few guys who also played first base for the New York Yankees. Obviously, they are not in my top 3 Yankees fist baseman of all-time, but they are all damn good ballplayers and true characters. They needed to be recognized. Enjoy.

Hal Chase: "Prince Hal" played for the New York Highlanders. (The Yankees were originally the Baltimore Orioles, then the team moved to New York, became the Highlanders, and were then renamed the Yankees.) He was considered the first star of the franchise. Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson called him the best fielding first baseman they ever saw.

Hal Chase was a very good hitter, although you may not know this if you just look at his stats. Hal was known to wager on games, especially ones in which he was playing. He was never
officially placed on Major League Baseball's Banned List but was blackballed in 1921. As with most players that "throw" or bet on games, as he grew older, Prince Hal regretted betting on games.

Wally Pipp: There's some debate as to whether Pipp actually had a headache or whether Yankee manager, Miller Huggins, just wanted to shake up the batting order and chose to put Lou Gehrig in that day. Either way, it's a great story and Lou Gehrig became the Iron Horse because of it. Pipp is quoted as saying, "I took the two most expensive aspirins in history." If you're not familiar with what happened, to put it simply, Pipp was replaced at first base June 2, 1925, with Lou Gehrig. The day before Gehrig came in for Pee-Wee Wanniger in a pinch-hit situation. These 2 important games started Gehrig's 2,130 run.

(photo: Corbis Images)

Joe Pepitone: One year just before Spring Training began, Pepitone bought a car, a boat, and a dog with his signing bonus. He drove all three to Florida. Joe travelled with a bag of hair products, for his toupees. He had two. He called the one he wore under his baseball hat his, "game piece." There are many more stories after he left the Yankees, but unfortunately some of them involve drugs and alcohol.

Steve Balboni: Initially, the Yanks rated Mr. Balboni as a higher prospect than Don Mattingly. But what I love the most about Balboni is that he looked like a softball player you'd see at your town's league, but when he got a hold of one, you knew it was gone for sure. Today, players are in much better shape and it's better for the overall quality of baseball. I don't think we'll see position players looking like softball players again, but it was kind of fun.

So, these are my first basemen honorable mentions, true characters of the Yankees lost in the shuffle of life, but never forgotten on Bleeding Yankee Blue. My features on the greatest Yankees second baseman are coming, look for it here.

What do you think so far? Let me know.



--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer

WHY GEHRIG BLEEDS BLUEST

FIRST BASE

"He was a symbol of indestructibility - a Gibraltar in cleats."
-Jim Murray, columnist

#1 Henry Louis Gehrig. The Iron Horse. The top ranked Yankee first baseman is no surprise.

Just how all-time great was Gehrig? Consider a player that averaged these numbers each season during his career: 70 runs, 20 doubles, 6 triples, 19 homers, 75 RBI. Admittedly, it’s not super impressive, but it’s solid. As long as he hit for a decent average, you’d take those numbers. So what do those numbers have to do with Lou Gehrig? Well, those numbers are Gehrig’s average numbers per season CUT IN HALF!!!!

This is Lou’s AVERAGE season: 141 runs, 204 hits, 40 doubles, 37 HR, 149 RBI
AVERAGE season: 149 RBI. Did you see that? Unreal, right? Plus, 113 walks, 59 strikeouts. Compare that to today’s power hitters. He also has a .340 AVG, .632 Slugging PCT.

For his career he was on base 45% of the time. Just how good is that? Since 1900, only 2 players have been better, Babe Ruth & Ted Williams. It’s that great.

And guess what? I haven’t even mentioned 2,130 consecutive games. Winning the Triple Crown in 1934. Most career Grand Slams: 23. In 7 World Series, his teams won 6 titles. The American League record of 184 RBI in a season. Hitting 4 homers in a game. And keep in mind
one very large point when you consider his career numbers. He put up all these numbers batting after Babe Ruth for most of his career. In 1931 when he drove in 184 runs, Babe Ruth drove in 163. So Ruth drove in 163 runs before Gehrig even got the chance to bat. Amazing!

"Gehrig never learned that a ballplayer couldn't be good every day."
-Hank Gowdy, contemporary player of Gehrig

When looking at his amazing consecutive game streak, probably the most interesting challenge to keep his streak alive occurred in 1935. If you’ve been reading my Yankee Countdown, you’ll remember the name Carl Reynolds. Read it HERE. He was the player that Bill Dickey slugged after a hard play at the plate. Reynolds was a big guy like Gehrig. On a bang-bang play at first base, Reynolds crashed into Gehrig. Lou had to leave the game with injuries to his shoulder. He needed to be out a few days, but the next game was postponed by rain, and the Bombers then had an off-day, and by then, Gehrig had all the time he needed to heal.

But those 2,130 consecutive games were truly more about being tough than being lucky. During his streak he played through a broken thumb, broken toe, back spasms, and concussions. Near the end of his playing days, doctors X-rayed his hands and found 17 different fractures that
he played with through his career.

FACT: Hard to believe, but true. In 1925 the Bombers offered to trade him to the Boston Red Sox for Phil Todt. The Red Sox turned down the trade.

"I would not have traded two minutes of the joy and the grief with that man for two decades of anything with another."
-Eleanor Gehrig, Lou’s wife

Unfortunately and tragically Gehrig got sick. Very sick. He was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was so respected and admired, the normal five year waiting period for the Hall of Fame was waived for him. He was the
first player in baseball history to ever have his number, 4, retired. Numbers were originally used to show the player’s position in the batting order. This is why Lou wore #4. No one wore #4 before him. Uniforms had been used sporadically in baseball history, but the Bronx
Bombers were the first team to permanently use numbers. His #4 is the only number to only be worn by one player. (If you ever see video of Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, July 4, 1939, Gehrig quickly puts down all of the gifts given to him. He simply didn’t have the strength to
hold up the items.)

"He doesn't need tribute from anyone. His life and the way he lived were tribute enough. He just went out and did his job every day." -Bill Dickey

Compare all the first basemen throughout baseball history and you will easily see that Gehrig was the all-time greatest.


--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY NICKNAMES SUCK TODAY

One thing that jumped out at me recently was the current Yankees lack good nicknames, and it's not just a Yankees problem, it's a baseball problem across the board, with very few exceptions.

But back to the Yankees for a moment. John Sterling says Swishalicious, but it was never his invention. The nickname started when Swish was back in Oakland and it just stuck. But it has mixed reviews probably because Sterling hijacked it. Some people love it, some hate it, but everyone knows who Swishalicious is.

Other than that, all the Yankees nicknames for example, are based on their actual names. A-Rod. Tex. Mo. I personally blame this on ESPN’s Chris Berman who made his career on the nicknames, and nothing else. The dude's not talented. But my point is, nicknames today just aren't good, not like they were back in the day.For example, I recently wrote about the 2011 Yankees and 1980 Phillies comparison a few days ago. You can read that HERE. Just look at the nicknames on this 1980 Phillies team. There was "Charlie Hustle", which was Pete Rose, "The Bull", who was Greg Luzinski. How about "Secretary of Defense" who was Garry Maddox. Even Bake McBride, whose real name was Arnold. The Yankees back in the day had great ones as well. "Mr. October" was Reggie Jackson. There was Rich "Goose" Gossage. Ron Guidry had 2, "Gator" and "Louisiana Lightning". Oh and Bucky Dent was actually Russell, just so you know.See what I mean? Today's nicknames are much much worse. Jimmy Rollins today is "J Roll". Really? Roy Halladay is "Doc". Is that supposed to be cleaver? I think perhaps, the best nickname of this generation would have to go to Shane Victorino, also known as the "Flyin' Hawaiian." Oh yeah and Derek Jeter has 2 unique ones that work depending on the season. During the year it's "The Captain", Playoff time, it's "Mr. November". Love that.

And what about the Yankees classics. Back in the day there was "Babe", real name, George Herman Ruth. "The Iron Horse", real name, Lou Gehrig. Even Joe Dimaggio was "Joltin' Joe". How do you not like Joltin' Joe? It's a classic! You just can't top that. The nicknames early on topped today's nicknames for sure.

All I can say is that today's baseball world needs to be more clever and make it fit. That's all I'm saying...and damn you Chris Berman!

As for now, I’m sorry to say, Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away...



--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY THESE SIMILARITIES ARE PROMISING

It’s Spring Training time, and for baseball fans, that means a whole lot of “What if…” and “How are we gonna do this year?” Of course, no one knows. Nobody’s played in any real games yet and we're just stretching it all out. Yet, we watch every game, or read about it, even though we know nothing counts. We just want to talk baseball. Opening Day is almost here!

So it got me to thinking. What team in recent history reminds me most of this current Yankee team? My conclusion was the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies. Now, keep in mind in the 1980's sluggers were winning home run titles with 36 home runs. So, my goal was to find a relatively
recent team that is very similar, on paper of course, to the 2011 New York Yankees. Some
positions don’t perfectly match, but I think you’ll get my point. And besides, it was kind of fun, so check it out:THE ACE: A well-established left-handed ace- CC Sabathia / Steve Carlton

THE LEAGUES BEST PLAYER: Both play third base- Alex Rodriguez / Mike SchmidtTHE SPARK PLUG: Team Leader. Singles hitter. Run scorer- Derek Jeter / Pete Rose

POWER HITTING: Mark Teixeira (better glove) / Greg Luzinski (nicknamed "The Bull")

SPEEDY CENTER FIELDER: Curtis Granderson (More Power) / Gary Maddox (Better Defense)HITTING & AVG: Robinson Cano (More power) / Bake McBride (More Afro)

SPEEDY SLAPPY: Brett Gardner / Larry BowaSOMETIMES GOOD: A.J. Burnett / Dick Ruthven- Some years were very good. Some weren't.

YOUNG WITH POTENTIAL: Phil Hughes / Bob Walk

THE CLOSER: Mariano Rivera / Tug McGraw I'm not comparing careers here, Mo wins hands down, but in 1980, Tug McGraw was great. I mean, Mariano great.

The best part of this analysis is... The 1980 Philadelphia Phillies were Champions of Baseball. How's that for a comparison?

So, tell me what you think?


--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY TIES NEED TO BE BROKEN

FIRST BASE

If there’s one thing that baseball fans hate, it’s a tie. A baseball game can never end until one team has safely touched home plate more than the other. In every play, you’re safe or you’re out. Every pitch is a strike or a ball. Quite simply, you win or you lose… you NEVER tie.

However, on the extremely rare—almost never—occasion when a tie occurs, baseball magic happens.

Most recently, the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers finished tied with the same record in 2009. Remember that classic back and forth one game playoff? If you saw it, you’ll never forget it.

How about in 1951? The New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers season ending tie was finally “resolved” with Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard ‘Round the World.

And of course, 1978. The Yankee and the Red Sox classic one game playoff when Bucky Dent hit the ball over the big green wall and effectively ended the Red Sox season and sent them spiraling downward for almost a decade.

#3. That’s how close it is between the #3 of my First basemen countdown. Yankee first basemen, Bill “Moose” Skowron and Tino Martinez are so close in so many categories, except 1. Follow me through:

These are the actual career Yankee numbers for both players:Both won 4 World Series with the Yankees. And their World Series numbers are just as close. (I only compared World Series numbers because when Moose played, there were no playoffs unless two teams tied at the end of the regular season.)

Both batted 5th in the batting order. Now Tino did bat clean up sometimes, but was probably more comfortable where he hit most, batting fifth. Moose batted fifth for his Yankee career.

Both played most of their games with the Yanks, but did play a substantial amount of games for other teams. However, both made their name with the Yankees.

So, based on everything I just showed you, and if I had to choose just 1, I would officially give it to Tino Martinez for this reason: He replaced Don Mattingly AND became a fan favorite himself.

When Mattingly played, Yankee fans loved him. They still do. So replacing him was not going to be easy. No one was going to just come in and take Donnie Baseball’s position without some hazing. Especially if they came from the same Seattle Mariners team that knocked Donnie out of the 1995 playoffs.
On top of that, Tino had a horrible start to his first season in the Bronx. Yet Tino persevered, took the hazing, never became bitter, and not only won over the fans in the Bronx, but became a fan favorite. I'm NOT claiming that in his day Moose wasn't as loved by the Yankee faithful. Just that Tino had to do a little more to earn his Yankee love.


--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY GOD MADE YOGI A YANKEE

CATCHERS

“Why has our pitching been so great? Our catcher - that's why. He looks cumbersome but he's quick as a cat." — Casey Stengel

1. Yogi Berra. Berra was short, ugly and the best Yankees catcher ever, bottom line. He won 3 MVP's in 1951, 1954 and 1955 and 4 times he finished 4^th or better in the MVP voting. He never led the league in any offensive category. Not once in his career. Interesting stat, right? In fact, during his 3 MVP years, only one time was he even close to winning any batting statistic. It was 1954 when he lost the RBI title to Larry Doby by one RBI, 126 (Doby) to 125 (Berra).

HITTING: Yogi had no strike zone. This was not due to his physique and the fact that he would swing at any pitch at any time. So he’d strike out a lot, right? Wrong. Five seasons he had more home runs than strikeouts. And in those seasons, he hit 25 or more home runs. For his career, Yogi Berra hit 358 HR's and struck out 414 times.

But, despite not posting monster numbers, he still was considered the most important player in the league. And here's something you probably didn't know. For a while, Yogi batted fourth in the lineup, behind Mickey Mantle. Yeah, the stubby little catcher and provided protection for the strongest and biggest of Yankees.

CATCHING: The greatest catcher in Yankees history may have been the greatest left fielder in Yankees history had it not been for the help he got from Bill Dickey. Early in his career, there was a lot of doubt about Berra’s catching ability, especially his inability to throw runners out. But Dickey taught Yogi the tricks of the trade. Yogi may have never possessed a cannon for an arm, but he learned to call an excellent game.

Up until the 1920's, the stolen base was a HUGE offensive weapon. However, in the 1920's up to the 1960's, the home run became a more important offensive weapon while the stolen base decreased in value. Once pitching started to dominate the 1960's, the stolen base returned. But by then, Yogi’s catching days were over.

So why do I have Yogi at number one? Winning. Berra played 18 seasons for the New York Yankees. In 14 of those seasons, he played in the World Series. His teams won ten. He’s won more than any player in baseball history.

Casey Stengel described Berra and his luck by saying, "He'd fall in a sewer and come up with a gold watch." That was Yogi. Sure there’s some truth to Casey’s quip. There was the luck of playing at a certain time and playing for a great team. It’s the age old question of whether the moment makes the man or the man makes the moment. I don’t know the answer to that question, but what I do know is this, you win year after year after year by being the best and learning how to win. You MUST learn how to win. You don’t win all those World Series by luck.

Yogi ended his career in a perfectly “Yogi” way. In his final game, Yogi played all 9 innings as catcher… for New York Mets. Wait… it gets even better. The opposing team’s catcher? Joe Torre!

HONORABLE MENTION

Elston Howard. Unfortunately, baseball’s color barrier existed. but, it was beginning to be eliminated by 1947 with Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby. In 1955, the Yankees picked Elston Howard to be the man to break the Yankee color barrier. You don’t just pick any player to do this. His career numbers are very good and he should be pointed out. Interestingly enough, even though Howard is best known as a catcher and played more games at catcher than any other position, he only played 100 or more games at catcher for 5 of his 14 season.

Footnote: One thing I’d like to avoid is listing reasons why a player(s) did not make the list. Inevitably, you wind up tearing apart a player and his career. HOWEVER, once the top 3 are rated, if you’d like to make the case for a player you feel should be on this list, please do. I’d enjoy reading your comments.



--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer



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WHY DICKEY PAVED THE WAY

CATCHERS

"Bill Dickey isn't just a catcher, he's a ballclub."

--Dan Daniel, Dean of American Baseball Writers

#2. Bill Dickey. Probably the most tragic aspect about Mr. Dickey is that for being such a great ballplayer and New York Yankee, his career and achievements get completely overshadowed and lost. Most glaringly, on the wall of retired numbers, Dickey is the other #8, yet, he was before the other #8 and proved his worth every day on the field. But with the lineup he was surrounded by, how could he possibly compete with the batting feats of his teammates, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio?

One of the facts on Dickey’s plaque at Cooperstown reads: Holds numerous World Series records for catchers, including most games, 38. Dickey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1954. But by 1956, the record for most World Series games belonged to his successor, Yogi Berra.

Dickey never won an MVP, but finished runner-up in 1938. Dickey finished 8^th place or better in the MVP voting 5 times. The reason I feel that high finishes in the MVP voting are important is because it shows that the baseball writers of that time valued his season. In 1938 for example, Dickey finished second. So, according to the baseball writers of that time, only one other player was more valuable to his team’s success. In 1936 & 1937, he finished 5^th. This means only 4 other players throughout the entire league were more valuable to their teams. My point is, he may not have ever won the MVP, but it's still very impressive.

• CHARACTER. If a man is judged by the friends he keeps, Bill Dickey’s best friend on the New York Yankees was Lou Gehrig.. Although Dickey never officially succeeded Gehrig as Captain of the Yankees, he was considered to be the leader of the team.

• ABILITY. Dickey's Yanks won 7 out of 8 World Series titles throughout the 1930's and early 1940's. He was an eleven time All-Star. Over a 17-year career, Dickey batted .313 and averaged 109 RBI a year. His career high batting average of .362 in 1936 remained the highest batting average for a catcher until Joe Mauer batted .365 in 2009. He was a difficult batter to strike out. He averaged just 26 strikeouts per season. That's amazing if you think about it. In 1935, with 491 plate appearances, Dickey struck out an amazingly low 11 times. That’s 40.7 at-bats per strike out!

• THE MASTER. Dickey was masterful at handling a pitching staff and had an amazingly accurate throwing arm. He caught a record 100 games for 13 consecutive seasons. In 1931, he became the first catcher in baseball history to not allow a passed ball. Although very talented as a hitter and catcher, Dickey preferred catching the ball over hitting it. He is quoted as saying, "I loved to make a great defensive play. I'd rather do that than hit a home run."

In 1932, Carl Reynolds of the Washington Senators crashed into Dickey on a play at home. The Yankee catcher thought Reynolds was overly aggressive and slugged him, breaking his jaw. Dickey was fined $1,000 and suspended for a month. (Remember the name, Carl Reynolds. He almost snapped one of the most legendary Yankee streaks.)

According to Dickey himself he said: "A catcher must want to catch. He must make up his mind that it isn't the terrible job it is painted, and that he isn't going to say every day, 'Why, oh why with so many other positions in baseball did I take up this one.'"

--Moonlight Graham, BYB Staff Writer

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.