THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF A BITTERSWEET SEASON

It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the most recent Yankees dynasty began its incredible ride. The 1994 season was the first season for the Yankees in recent memory when they finished first in their division after a terrible stretch of years where they struggled even to be competitive.

Buck Showalter, in the third season of his tenure as the Yankees manager, was finally realizing success with his rebuilding efforts with the Yankees. Working with GM Gene Michael, they traded for talent like Paul O'Neill and Jim Abbott the year before. They acquired veteran talent like Jimmy Key, Wade Boggs, and Steve Howe through free agency. They also recognized the value in their farm system, developing rookies like Bernie Williams, Scott Kamieniecki, and Gerald Williams.

Jimmy Key was the outstanding ace of the pitching rotation. Through 113 games, he posted a record of 17-4 with a 3.27 ERA. He came in second in the Cy Young voting, and sixth in the A.L. MVP voting. He had 18 quality starts out of 25. He was the most significant contributor to the success of this team.

Paul O’Neill, at age 31, provided the most firepower from the lineup. He led the league with a .359 batting average. He led the team in home runs (21), RBI (83), and tied for the lead in runs scored with Danny Tartabull (68). The team had five everyday players hitting .300 or better, which included Paul O’Neill, Wade Boggs (.342), Don Mattingly (.304), Luis Polonia (.311), and Mike Stanley (.300). All this helped the team come in first in the league in OPS (.836) and second in the league in runs scored (670) and batting average (.290).

It is hard to appreciate, in retrospect, how much excitement this team generated for the fans. New York Yankees baseball had fallen into major disrepute, and the fans stopped coming to the games. Through the second week of August, Yankee Stadium attendance was just less than 1.7 million. To put that in context, this year Yankee Stadium attendance passed 1.7 million in attendance on July 2. Nevertheless, this was the first time that the Yankees would finish first in the division for the first time in 14 years. It was only the second time in those 14 years that they finished with a W/L percentage above .600.

There was also heartbreak that year. In spite of their success, the season tragically ended on August 11 due to the baseball players’ union strike. Compounding the tragedy was the fact that for the first time in a long time, the Yankees were legitimate contenders. They had a division lead of 6.5 games, and were a virtual lock for the playoffs. The AL West leading Texas Rangers were 10 games below .500. Hard to believe, but true. The expected wildcard would have been the Cleveland Indians, against whom the Yankees had swept all nine games. They were 2-4 against the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox, but they had only faced the Jimmy Key once (which the Yankees won) and they drew the bottom of the rotation in both series. A World Series was within their grasp.

As I said earlier, it is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the recent magic started. Despite the strike and the frustration, they proved to themselves and to the world that they had a strong team and they could win. They would eventually win it all in 2 years, and would start the storybook dynasty of the late 90’s. Good times.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

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REMEMBERING WHEN BOB WICKMAN WAS A "THING"

During the early 1990’s, the Yankees struggled mightily. Because of George Steinbrenner’s suspension for baseball, the Yankees high-spending days went on pause. As such, they were not competitive, except for the fact that they had some high-value rookies coming up through their farm system. Since they were not after high-priced stars, they were able to hold on to their rookies. 

By 1992, the Baby Bombers – as they were affectionately called – started coming up through the ranks. It was this batch of rookies that would later include names like Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and JorgePosada. Nevertheless, in 1992, one of their rookies began paying immediate dividends – pitcher Bob Wickman.

Bob Wickman, who suffered an accident as a child and lost part of his index finger on what would be his pitching hand, found success in pitching in part due to his injury. It turned out that the short finger allowed his to generate strong sinking action on his pitches. He spent two years in the minors before he was traded to the Yankees in exchange for second baseman SteveSax. He spent the majority of 1992 playing for the Columbus Clippers, compiling a 12-5 record with a 2.92 ERA before being called up to the majors. From his major league debut on August 24 through the end of the season, he had a 6-1 record over eight starts, and finished the season with three consecutive wins. That would matter next year, when he started the season winning his first 8 decisions. The only Yankee ever to have a better start to a pitching career than Wickman, with his 14-1 record, was Whitey Ford – who started with a 16-1 record. He also held an 11-game win streak that was the best at the time since Ron Guidry’s 12 consecutive wins back in 1985. In 1992, those stats were important. Wins were hard to come by, and a Yankees pitcher that could do that was a much-needed sign of hope.

(In Photo with CC Sabathia: Bob Wickman)

Wickman finished the season with a 14-4 win-loss record and a 4.63 ERA that included 19 starts and 22 relief appearances. From mid-July of that year on, he worked primarily out of the bullpen as a middle reliever and a backup closer to Steve Farr and Steve Howe. He continued in this role through the middle of 1996, when the Yankees traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a package the brought lefty specialist and Braves-killer Graeme Lloyd to the Yankees. Having been on the active roster in 1996, the Yankees awarded him a World Series ring. He went on to pitch 11 more seasons for the Brewers, Indians, Braves, and Diamondbacks. He became a full-time closer in 1998 for the Brewers, compiling 267 career saves, including a league-leading 45 in 2005. He only appeared in five post-season games, for the 1995 Yankees and the 2001 Indians, never advancing past the first round but also never charged with a run. He appeared in two All-Star games – in 2000 and 2005. He finished out his career at the end of the 2007 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After his major league career, Bob Wickman went on to do some local high school baseball coaching for the River Valley High School baseball team in Madison, Wisconsin. While he was with the Yankees, he was a stalwart in the bullpen at a time when we sorely needed pitching. He was part of the construction crew that included Mike Stanley, Jim Abbott, Pat Kelly, and Scott Kamieniecki, which helped build the dynasty of the 1990’s. Though he never played in a World Series with us, his contributions are still greatly appreciated.

 
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

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WHY BERNIE WILLIAMS STILL SWINGS FOR THE FENCES

(Photo credit : Bill Menzel)

This past Saturday night I had the privilege to attend the annual charity gala for the Hillside Food Outreach. I was a guest of one of Bleeding Yankee Blue’s faithful readers, Doc Haveron. This amazing organization helps our less fortunate neighbors in Westchester and Putnam Counties in New York and Fairfield County in Connecticut. This charity is special to one of our Yankee heroes, Bernie Williams. And let me tell you, Bernie isn’t just a famous face...Bernie is involved! And if it's important enough for Bernie, it should be important to the rest of us as well.

Of course Bernie brought along some of his friends such as former Yankees’, Jim Leyritz, Charlie Hayes, Hensley Meulens, Scott Kamieniecki, Chad Curtis, Roberto Kelly and Ralph Branca. This year’s guest of honor was Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.

(Photo credit : Bill Menzel)

WFAN’s Sweeny Murti hosted a little chat between Bernie and Donnie. The former teammates traded stories and talked about the respect each had for the other. Bernie admitted to being in awe the first time he met Mattingly (much like me.) Mattingly talked about Bernie’s laid-back approach to the game.

(Photo credit : Bill Menzel)

He also talked about what it's like managing the Dodgers and having Kelly and Meulens, who both are coaches for the San Francisco Giants, in the opposing dugout. (Meulens jokes around and Roberto Kelly is so focused, he doesn’t acknowledge Mattingly). I could’ve listened to the stories for hours. As a fan of all these guys when I was a kid, this was a dream come true. Even my wife who isn’t much of a baseball fan thought the whole experience was pretty great.

But back to the Cause. At the event, we we’re introduced to two people who have benefited from Hillside. These are people who live right in our communities and are struggling to make ends meet. With the help of others, Hillside makes sure these people don’t go hungry. For more information or to donate yourself, you can visit: http://hillsidefoodoutreach.org

(In Photo: Charlie Hayes, Lem Allen, Hensley Meulens)

The gala was a great night for an even greater cause. I was honored to have been a part of it. Kudos to Bernie and to Hillside Outreach. Still swinging for the fences while making us all open our eyes, and our wallets to help others in need.

-- Lem Allen, BYB Freelance Writer
bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com

WHY IT'S A BERNIE WILLIAMS EVENT YOU CAN'T MISS

I believe in important causes and when there is one I really like, I tell you about it. Most of the time it involves the New York Yankees, but sometimes it doesn’t. This one does and it’s going to be huge. Why? Because Bernie Williams is involved and the cause is something you should be apart of.

The event is called Neighbors Helping Neighbors Benefit by the Hillside Food Outreach and it’s being held at the Matrix Conference Center Saturday night in Danbury Connecticut. It's the 10th Anniversary of this special event. The official information is below:

In a nutshell, Hillside was created to help provide and deliver food for people in need in Westchester and Putnam counties near Bernie Williams home in New York.

This event has activities and auctions as well as Yankee superstars like Don Mattingly and Scott Kamieniecki and “Bam Bam” Meulens… remember him? Sounds like fun. Personally, that’s a pretty nice perk, especially for attending such an important cause. If you want to try to attend, tickets are still available. You need to call 914-747-0095 and hopefully you’ll be able snag some seats.

Look, I have no dog in this hunt. I’m not associated with this in any way, but I know a good thing when I see it and if Bernie’s attached, believe me, it’s a good thing. But the most important thing is the cause. If you believe in this cause and want to go and help people in need, contribute and meet some Yankee stars, please call and try to attend. No doubt you’ll have a real good time.

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