YOU'RE GONE!

Does anybody else get excited when a manager gets tossed? Especially when he makes a good scene? I for one do. It’s a part of baseball that has been happening since presumably its inception. Sometimes a manager has to let the umpire know he disagrees and has to back his players. It can get the ball club going and save a player form being tossed. And it is exciting for the fans.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus wasn’t a fan of a called third strike on third baseman Nick Castellanos Monday night and was quickly tossed for arguing balls and strikes. He got his money’s worth though and even left his jacket at home plate in protest of the strike zone as a present for umpire Doug Eddings. The on-field microphones gave us an up close and personal look into the argument, for our amusement.  

Brad Ausmus has officially lost his mind! 😂https://t.co/tPTvYgerkb

— 120 Sports (@120Sports) May 17, 2016

There is a fine line though between getting tossed and making a good argument while getting your team fired up and making an ass out of yourself though. You have to know when to stop.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi got tossed on May 5 over what he deemed as a balk by Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman. Third base umpire Chris Guccione didn’t take kindly to his barking and gave him the heave causing Girardi to get fired up on the field and get into a shouting match with him. While the Yankees would go on to lose that night running their record to 9-16, since the ejection the Yankees have played to a 7-4 record including Monday night’s loss to the Diamondbacks.



While his ejection may or may not have gotten the Yankees going, it is plausible the clubhouse was happy to see their skipper have their back. Players do need that once in a while. It can create team unity and a sense that if the skipper is willing to have your back, you better have his and all 25 men on the roster.

According to totalprosports.com top 15 most ejected managers, former Yankees skipper Joe Torre was ejected 66 times ranking him ninth all time among managers. Torre wasn’t known as a hot head but he did manage 4,329 games so his 66 ejections does make sense.

Billy Martin was known as a hothead and had some good ones over his career. While he was before my time, I’ve heard some stories and seen videos. 

WS1976 Gm4: Martin ejected for arguing in the 9th

Bobby Cox leads all managers with 161 career ejections over 4,508 games. Cox managed for a very long time and was known for getting into it with umpires with whom he disagreed with. 

Number two on the list, while technically not a manager of the Yankees as we know them, did manage the 1901-1902 Baltimore Orioles who moved to New York to become known as the Highlanders before being formerly named the New York Yankees. That manager was John McGraw who was tossed 118 times over 4,768 games.

Former Yankees player and manager Sweet Lou Piniella got tossed 63 times over 3,544 games and when he did, he made it good. When I think of Lou getting thrown out, I think of the dirt kicking and hat coming off. He had some good ones in his day! 

On a comical note, minor league Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman had one of the greatest meltdowns and ejection tirades of all time. This is a fun one to watch! 



A manager getting thrown out of a game is just part of the game of baseball and creates excitement and buzz throughout the stadium while letting the ball club know the manager has their back. Just like fights in hockey, it creates attention and can be entertaining for the audience, whether at home or live at the ball game.

It’s just another part of the game that makes me love baseball!

 --Dan Lucia
BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @DManLucia




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"I'M HERE BECAUSE OF THE NEW YORK YANKEES."

The MLB Hall of Fame. The home of the most talented individuals to have represented the MLB. It just got a whole lot cooler! This year, joining the likes of the great Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig, were Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa, and our own Joe Torre.

Yes, OUR Joe Torre. Torre of Torre's Terrors. The leader of the Elite Five. The manager who led the dynasty. The Torre who opened his speech with "I'm here because of the New York Yankees." Indeed, our Torre.

Torre being inducted into the HOF as manager was perfection to me. He is a hero to me. The captain at the helm when the team won the first world series of my lifetime. He is as big a part of that Dynasty era as Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. And yeah, the Yankees have a long list of impressive managers, but Torre was it for me. You can watch his speech HERE if you missed it.

Despite being asked to keep his speech to 10 minutes, the old Yankees skipper went on for 28 minutes. Not at all complaining though. He entertained with stories of his time with the Yankees. He forgot to mention George Steinbrenner, and was very upset by the fact (HERE). "I missed mentioning the most obvious guy in the world... It was so obvious that I was going to do it that I went right passed it  -- the whole Steinbrenner family.  It's the proudest time in my whole career and I feel terrible that I omitted that." 

Still, it was an incredible speech to me. He recounted stories of his time with the Yankees. Mentioned players whom he managed, and even confirmed that they do practice the flip play, despite a certain non-believers thoughts on it. He thanked Don Zimmer, crediting him for making him the manager he was. And he thanked us, the Yankee fans. Saying "You have turned New York City into a small town for me." 

All the 2014 Hall of Fame inductees have earned a spot in there. But Torre holds a special spot for me. He is to me what Billy Martin is for the older generation, and what Joe Girardi will be for my children. One day I will visit Cooperstown with my grand kids, and I will be able to say "This manager we have... he will never be like Joe Torre.  Now THAT was a manager. I miss him."

Congratulations to all the 2014 inductees, and a special BYB congratulations to Torre! You the manager!

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804

 
  

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3 GUYS THAT DESERVE THE HALL OF FAME NOD

Today was a better day than expected in the Hall of Fame voting.  I am thrilled with the news that Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas are being elected into the Hall of Fame.  3 guys that deserve it and no complaints from me.  If I was a voter, I would have voted for the same group, and would have liked to have seen Craig Biggio in place of Glavine this year. No matter, Biggio will most likely go in next year.  Still, for the first time in a long while, I feel like the right guys were voted in.  The full list is HERE.

There really isn't much more to report.  It's a good day in baseball and I'm happy for those guys.  As my buddy said to me today, "Maddux and Glavine were a great 1,2 punch and deserved to go in together."  I can appreciate that.

Add to it the fact that Bobby Cox has been elected in as well (with Torre and LaRussa), and Frank Thomas growing up in Atlanta... good for the state of Georgia, my goodness.  As Thomas said today on MLB Network, the whole city of Atlanta will be in Cooperstown that weekend.  That's pretty cool.

Anyway, congrats to the winners.  Hey Biggs... next year, for sure pal.

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fasted growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

TODAY SHOULD BE A GREAT DAY FOR BASEBALL!

But it won’t be. Today is the day the 2014 inductees to the Hall of Fame will be announced. The Veterans committee already voted and they elected Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, and Joe Torre. I can’t think of 3 more deserving candidates!

Well today isn’t about them. And it’s not about the players on the ballot. Today is about the self-righteous baseball writers. The Hall is voted upon by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. This is when these “experts” decide who is deserving enough to be enshrined. What makes them experts? Is it because they write about the game? I write about the game and I’m not a member of the BBWA and I’m not allowed to vote. Is it because they get paid and are “professionals”. That’s idiotic!!

We all know some of these writers have agendas. They want to make a name for themselves. They’ll all do something so for the next week we’ll talk about them instead what really matters; the players themselves!

We’ve all heard about the writers who won’t vote for people in their first year of eligibility because no one deserves that distinction. Are you kidding me? Who made you God? If someone is the best player of their era, (hello Mariano Rivera) you put them in as soon as possible!

MLB.com posted their writers’ ballots Tuesday night. Sixteen of them voted for Greg Maddux. One of them, Ken Gurnick, did not. Instead, Gurnick has voted to make this about him.

Greg Maddux is probably the best pitcher I’ve seen in my lifetime. Gurnick only voted for Jack Morris. Morris was good, but I’m not sure he was ever dominant like Maddux was. Gurnick’s explanation, “As for those who played during the period of PED use, I won’t vote for any of them.”

Really? You’re going to throw out 20 years of players? Most people agree the PED Era began in the late 80s. Jack Morris pitched until 1994. So, I’m pretty sure Jack Morris pitched during the PED era. Not to mention all the things guys were taking during the 70s that only a few people talk about (Remember greenies? How about “leaded and unleaded” coffee?) Also, just because someone played during that time makes them guilty? Nobody has ever even whispered Greg Maddux and PEDs. Can we, as baseball fans, vote to take away your voting rights?

By the way, if I had a vote mine would consist of:

• Greg Maddux, most dominant and feared pitcher I’ve ever seen.

• Frank Thomas, amazing power and one of the best hitters of the 90’s. Amazing Eye. Read ALEX RODRIGUEZ PROVES MY CASE.

• Mike Mussina, like Maddux, not overpowering but an amazing pitcher who knew how to get it done.

• Tom Glavine, probably won’t get in this year, but should go in with Maddux because they are the best 1-2 combination I can remember seeing. In a three game series, having to face them back-to-back…brutal!

All first year ballots! Suck on that BBWA.

--Lem Allen, BYB Contributor

Email me at: bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fasted growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

TORRE ELECTED TO THE HALL & I HAVE A STORY FOR YOU

So today was an interesting day in Baseball. 3 managers, Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Tony LaRussa were voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame... Unanimously.  But there is one guy in that group that I've been rooting for for a long, long time and it's because of my grandfather that I did it. More on that in a second.

As Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk writes of Mr. Torre: "Joe Torre was also unanimously elected. His Hall of Fame resume comes from both his playing and his managing exploits. The National League MVP in 1971, Torre was one of the more underrated players from the sixties and seventies. Of course he wouldn’t be entering Cooperstown if it weren’t for his years as a manager, in which he won four World Series titles and six pennants — all with the Yankees — in 29 seasons. Overall he was 2,326-1,997 record managing the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees and Dodgers."

Now, I remember when Joe Torre became the manager of the New York Yankees.  He was crucified by the press, the fans, whomever. He was "Clueless Joe." The bottom line was the Yankees needed a shake up. Buck Showalter's time was up, we didn't make it to the World Series in 1995 and George Steinbrenner hired Joe.  I remember calling my Grandmother to tell her the news.  Why? Well, years before I was talking with her about baseball and players and Joe Torre's name came up.

You see, I'm a baseball card collector and I usually picked up Yankees and Mets cards showing my allegiance to New York.  I pulled a Torre as a Met manager that day I was in my grandmother's kitchen. I brought my cards everywhere and whenever I stayed with my grandmother, my binder went with me.  My grandmother looked at it and said, "Your grandfather was a big Torre fan."

I never forgot that and I made it a point, even though my grandfather was years deceased, to pick up most of Torre's cards, his playing days, even to this day as a manager.

But the day it was announced that Torre was hired, I called my grandmother.  The phone rang, and a now much older woman answered the phone.  I remember I had to repeat my name that day because she had a hard time hearing who it was.  I proceeded to tell her about the news, Joe Torre was the new Yankee manager.  I was excited.  I think I was more excited about the connection with my grandfather being a fan or something.  But I remember she paused and said, "Your grandfather would have liked that."  At the moment of newspapers calling Mr. Torre "Clueless Joe", I pledged to root for Joe Torre... because my late grandfather loved him. Hey sometimes that's all it takes.

Who would have thought Joe would have been so successful and proved the doubters wrong. Well, Joe obviously did, because when the papers printed "Torre has no idea what he's getting into", the reality was, he did.  He was confident he would succeed. That was his goal. Believe, and anything you do can be accomplished.  Torre was a successful ballplayer and a great manager as well and I am thrilled for him, for my late grandfather and even my now late grandmother for his success.  You see, with baseball, it's about connections and moments for me.  With almost every pitch or player, there's something that connects to my life and I carry it with me all the time.  I can remember alot in my life and somehow there's always a baseball connection.  Joe Torre is one of those connections.

I could not be happier for this man. I'm thrilled and I'm not the only one.  Right now my grandfather, a tall man with a gentle demeanor about him is standing and applauding and he's smiling saying under his breath...  "You did it Joe... you did it."

Congrats sir, you've made many, many Yankee fans proud.

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