YES, SANCHEZ IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD!

It's time to dispel some inaccurate rumors flying around about Gary Sanchez and whether or not he is eligible for American League Rookie of the Year consideration. It's nearly impossible to find how rumors like these start. My best guess is that it started with a Daily News story entitled "Should Gary Sanchez win Rookie of the Year despite playing fewer than 60 games? THAT’S DEBATABLE". In their defense, if you read the article, they never suggest that he doesn't qualify. Their point was that he may not have played enough this season like some of the other contenders for Rookie of the Year. Now if you only read the title, you may have drawn the wrong conclusion and, well, that's how rumors start.

Let's set the record straight. To be eligible for Rookie of the Year, you have to be a rookie defined as follows:

A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list).Rules, regulations and statistics | MLB.com

His 131st career at-bat took place on September 12 at the Stadium against the Dodgers - ironically, a game I was at! So he is definitely eligible as far as the rules go. The only question remaining is whether or not he'll get the votes from the members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Honestly, I call that a question out of courtesy to the other players having the misfortune of starting their careers in the American League this year. I am sure their prospects looked great in July.

If you take all the players who are considered rookies this year with 100 or more at-bats and start comparing their stats, it's clear who is the top player. His OPS (1.137) is more than 200 points better than second place. His slugging percentage is more than 150 points better than the guy in second. He leads in batting average with .329, better than Derek Jeter's .314 in his 1996 Rookie of the Year campaign. If he had as many at-bats as Trevor Story, who plays in homer-happy Coors Field and leads rookies in home runs, Sanchez would have over 40 home runs by now. NBC Sports' Bill Baer got it right when he said that Gary Sanchez is "running away" with this.

That "if he had as many at-bats" statement headlines the critics' claim that Sanchez doesn't deserve the award because he hasn't had to endure a full season of play. Clearly, baseball recognizes that you cannot give the ROY award to a guy who only played a few games, just like they cannot give the batting title to someone hitting .500 who had only two at-bats and was lucky enough to get a hit. That's why they have the minimums the way they do. If having 130 at-bats takes you out of eligibility as a rookie, it should be enough to warrant consideration.

We'll see what the baseball writers decide. This is a slam dunk. Unless something dramatic happens in the last 10 games of the season, this is a done deal. He will be the 9th Yankee to win the award, joining Jeter, Dave Righetti, Thurman Munson, Stan Bahnsen, Tom Tresh, Tony Kubek, Gil McDougald, and Bob Grim.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

WHEN I LEARNED OF MOOSE SKOWRON

My dad grew up a Yankees fan during some pretty incredible moments.  Not sure if you remember, but my father was an usher at Yankee stadium when he was just 15 years old and saw some good and bad teams during his time as an usher.  Sure, he was working at Yankee stadium, so in between seating guests and shaking his pocket trying to get a tip, he'd snag a few eyefuls as the Yankees took the field.  That for him was one of the good times in his life, making a few bucks as well as seeing guys like the Mick, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford.  Read WHY MANTLE & MARIS ARE STILL INTRIGUING TODAY if you want more insight. It’s personally one of my favorite posts on BYB.

Years later, when I was a kid, I heard all about the guys my dad watched play, even long after being an usher.  But the names weren’t as familiar.  Put it this way, as a kid in New Jersey, hearing names like Bobby Richardson and Tony Kubek didn’t ring a bell.  He’d drop names like Clete Boyer and I'm sure you’d catch me yawning.  I had no idea who these guys were, I was busy watching my guys, The Gator or the Goose…or Thruman Munson.  But I remember 1 guy who I was immediately drawn too.  Not Bill Skowron, but instead... Moose Skowron. Maybe it was the name that I loved or maybe it was the way my dad would describe the way fans screamed his name when he went to the plate... MMMOOOOOSSSSEEE, but as time went on, I noticeably found that my dad clearly had a fondness of Moose, just like he did Mickey Mantle.   

Moose Skowron was a good ballplayer and a loyal Yankee and played 9 years with the Yanks.  He was never considered a mean spirited ball player like you’d hear about guys like Ty Cobb.  In fact, it was the opposite.  Couple that with me learning all about good sportsmanship at a young age, and I was drawn to this guy Moose.  I remember I went through a phase as I got older and would collect certain players until I had as many of their career cards as I could find.  I was able to snag a few Moose Skowron cards at an old coin shop when I was old enough to drive and I’d go from time to time and get whatever I could find. 

It wasn’t easy collecting the top vintage cards like Mickey Mantle or Whitey Ford because of the cost and my lack of funds, so if I could snag a Moose Skowron card from say 1961 (above) and believe me, I was a happy camper.  After all, my dad’s word was law and if Moose was the guy he liked growing up, I’d be in good company.

I remember seeing Moose Skowron at Old Timer’s day last year.  He looked old but he was still bubbly and a happy man.  I remember after I saw him interview, one of my friends texted me and told me he was sick with cancer, yet, he still showed up to Old Timer’s Day.  I was blown away by that.  He always had fight in him throughout his entire career, so hearing he was sick and still at Old Timer’s day didn’t surprise me, in fact, in a strange way, it was probably expected, he was a tough guy and never showed weakness in his entire career. 

Moose Skowron died yesterday. The first thing I did was check out my Skowron baseball collection.  The next thing I did was think about my dad telling me about the great Moose Skowron.  Yeah, it’s true, he was never considered iconic in baseball history, but he’s known by so many because of that amazing nickname.  Moose will always live on in Yankeeland.  Hopefully the Yankees do the right thing and wear an armband to remember a great Yankee, nice man and true fighter. Moose definitely deserves alittle recognition.

My prayers go out to the Skowron family, Mr. Skowron did it his way and that’s what I loved about Moose…it doesn’t get better than that.

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MICKEY MANTLE: NEVER BEFORE SEEN PHOTOS

Ben Cosgrove, the Deputy Editor of Life magazine reached out to Bleeding Yankee Blue this morning to send me the link to some never before seen photographs of Mickey Mantle, who would have been 80 years old today.

Ben writes:
"In 1961, during spring training, LIFE gave 25-year-old Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek a camera and asked him to photograph his teammates: Mantle, Berra, Maris, Ford, and the rest of the players on what would, in time, be seen as one of the greatest teams in baseball history. The resulting photos were never published (see slide 12 in this gallery for a possible reason why). Now, five decades later -- on what would have been Mickey Mantle's 80th birthday -- LIFE.com presents those never-seen pictures, along with Kubek's own insights and memories of the era, the Yankees, and his own stellar nine-year career."


Thank you Life magazine for reaching out and allowing us to link to you today. Click HERE to view these rare photos.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. 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.