Welcome to Today in Yankees History
by Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers Sportsbook Poker Slots
Today in Yankees History 9/12/2020
Yankees win on Sac fly in 10th inning by Luke Voit, now 25-21...won 4 in row!
| 1947 | Ralph Kiner hits a record eight home runs in four games, surpassing Tony Lazzeri, who had hit seven round-trippers in four games with the Yankees in 1936. The Pirates outfielder will finish the season tied with a major-league-leading 51 round-trippers with Giants first baseman Johnny Mize.   Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Following his retirement, Kiner served from 1956 through 1960 as general manager of the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres.[1] He also served as an announcer for the New York Mets from the team's inception until his death. Though injuries forced his retirement from active play after 10 seasons, Kiner's tremendous slugging outpaced all of his National League contemporaries between the years 1946 and 1952. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. At the time of his death, baseball writer Marty Noble named Kiner "one of baseball's genuine and most charming gentlemen". Playing career (1946-1955)[edit]Kiner made his major league debut on April 12, 1946, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished the season with 23 home runs, but 109 strikeouts. After the season, the Pirates convinced future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg not to retire. Greenberg gave Kiner hours of instruction,[5] and in 1947, Kiner led the major leagues with 51 home runs while striking out fewer than 100 times.[3] Many of Kiner's homers were hit into a shortened left-field and left-center-field porch at Forbes Field (originally built for Greenberg and known in the press as "Greenberg Gardens"); the porch was retained for Kiner and redubbed "Kiner's Korner".[6] Kiner would later use "Kiner's Korner" as the title of his post-game TV show in New York.[2] In 1949, Kiner topped his 1947 total with 54 home runs, falling just two short of Hack Wilson's then-National League record. It was the highest total in the major leagues from 1939 to 1960, and the highest National League total from 1931 to 1997. It made Kiner the first National League player with two 50 plus home run seasons. Kiner also matched his peak of 127 RBIs. From 1947 to 1951, Kiner topped 40 home runs and 100 RBIs each season. Through 2011 he was one of seven major leaguers to have had at least four 30-HR, 100-RBI seasons in their first five years, along with Chuck Klein, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mark Teixeira, Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard and Ryan Braun.[7][8] Kiner's string of seasons leading the league in home runs reached seven in 1952, when he hit 37. This also was the last of a record six consecutive seasons in which he led Major League Baseball in home runs, all under the guidance of manager Billy Meyer and Pirate great Honus Wagner. He was selected to participate in the All-Star Game in six straight seasons, 1948 to 1953.[9] The equally famous "Home run hitters drive Cadillacs and singles hitters drive Fords," frequently misattributed to Kiner himself, was, by his own account, actually coined by teammate Fritz Ostermueller.[10][11] Footage of Kiner hitting a home run in Forbes Field can be seen in the 1951 film Angels in the Outfield.[12] On June 4, 1953, Kiner was sent to the Chicago Cubs as part of a ten-player trade. The Pirates traded Kiner, Joe Garagiola, George Metkovich, and Howie Pollet to the Cubs in exchange for Bob Addis, Toby Atwell, George Freese, Gene Hermanski, Bob Schultz, Preston Ward, and $150,000.[13] This was largely due to continued salary disputes with Pirate general manager Branch Rickey, who reportedly told Kiner, "We finished last with you, we can finish last without you."[14] Kiner played the rest of 1953 and all of 1954 with the Cubs, finishing his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1955. A back injury forced him to retire at the age of 32, finishing his career with 369 home runs, 1,015 runs batted in and a .279 lifetime batting average.[2] He hit better than .300 three times, with a career best .313 with the Pirates in 1947. Broadcasting career (1961-2013)[edit]
In 1961, Kiner entered the broadcast booth for the Chicago White Sox. The following year, Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, and Bob Murphy began broadcasting the games of the expansion New York Mets on WOR-TV in New York City. The trio rotated announcing duties. Kiner also hosted a post-game show known as "Kiner's Korner" on WOR-TV. Nationally, he helped call the Mets' appearance in the 1969 and 1973 World Series for NBC Radio. He won a local Emmy Award for his broadcasting work.[14] Kiner was known for his occasional malapropisms, usually connected with getting people's names wrong, such as calling broadcasting partner Tim McCarver as "Tim MacArthur" and calling Gary Carter "Gary Cooper".[14] He even once called himself "Ralph Korner".[15] Despite a bout with Bell's palsy, which left him with slightly slurred speech,[16] Kiner continued broadcasting for 53 seasons.[17] Kiner's tenure with the Mets was the third-longest for an active broadcaster with a single team as of his final season. He is the third longest-tenured broadcaster in baseball history, trailing only Los Angeles Dodgers announcers Vin Scully (1950–2016) and Jaime Jarrín (1959–present). His traditional home run call—"It is gone, goodbye," was a signature phrase in baseball. Kiner appeared occasionally on SportsNet New York (SNY) and WPIX, which currently televise Mets games. During these visits (usually once a week), regular announcers Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling made room for Kiner as he shared stories of old-time baseball, as well as the current state of the game. During his final season in 2013, he was the oldest active announcer in Major League Baseball.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Carl Yastrzemski, in a 9-2 Red Sox victory over the Yankees, collects his 3000th hit, an eighth-inning single off Jim Beattie at Fenway Park. After Captain Carl's milestone marker, the game pauses for a lengthy on-field celebration of the historic moment.    
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | Both New York teams host their rivals in close pennant races, thanks to a rare oddity of scheduling that has the clubs playing at home on the same day. On Baseball Thursday in the Big Apple, the Mets go into first place with a 7-6 victory over the Cardinals at Shea Stadium, and the second-place Yankees beat the Blue Jays in the ballpark in the Bronx, 7-5, cutting Toronto's lead to a game and half. |
| 1996 | With two home runs and a single, Bernie Williams collects eight RBIs, helping the Bronx Bombers defeat Detroit, 12-3. The Yankee center fielder will celebrate his 28th birthday tomorrow, hitting .305 for the eventual World Champs.      
Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. A center fielder, Williams was a member of four World Series championship teams with the Yankees. He ended his career with a .297 batting average, 287 home runs, 1,257 runs batted in (RBI), 1,366 runs scored, 449 doubles, and a .990 fielding percentage. He was a five-time All-Star and won four Gold Glove Awards, a Silver Slugger Award, the American League (AL) batting title in 1998, and the 1996 AL Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award. Known for his consistency and postseason heroics, Williams is one of the most beloved Yankees. The team honored him by retiring his uniform number 51 and dedicating a plaque to him in Monument Park in May 2015. Williams is widely regarded as one of the greatest switch-hitting center fielders in Yankee history. Williams is also a classically trained guitarist. Following his retirement from baseball, he has released two jazz albums. He was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2009 Career perspective[edit]
As of 2013, he holds the career postseason record for runs batted in (80). He is also second all-time for postseason home runs (22), doubles (29), total hits (128), total bases (223), and runs scored (83), and third in post-season games played (121). Standing on Yankee all-time lists as of the beginning of the 2008 season:[24]
Williams appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2012. He received 55 votes for 9.6%. The next year, Williams received 19 votes (3.3%). Since he received votes on fewer than 5% of ballots, Williams will not be eligible to appear on future ballots.[25] The Yankees announced in May 2014 that they would honor Williams with a plaque in Monument Park during the 2015 season.[26] On February 16, 2015, the Yankees also announced that they would be retiring Williams' number 51.[27] On May 24, the Yankees unveiled Williams's plaque and retired his number in a ceremony at Yankee Stadium.[28] Music career[edit]A classically trained guitarist, Williams plays and composes music with influences that include jazz, classical, pop, Brazilian, and Latin sounds. Following his career with the New York Yankees, he studied guitar and composition for a year at the State University of New York at Purchase in preparation for his album, Moving Forward. Williams signed with Paul McCartney's publishing company, MPL Communications,[29] and his major label debut, The Journey Within, was released on June 22, 2003.[30] In addition to playing lead and rhythm guitar, Williams composed seven songs for the album. Tracks like "La Salsa En Mi" and "Desvelado" mix his love of jazz with Latin rhythms. The first single was a remix of his "Just Because", featuring David Benoit. Other highlights include Williams' heartfelt tribute to his father, "Para Don Berna", a reworking of the Baden Powell song, "Samba Novo", and "La Salsa En Mi", featuring background vocals from 2003 Grammy Award winner Rubén Blades and salsa legend Gilberto Santa Rosa. Also joining Williams is an all-star ensemble of musicians including multiple Grammy-winning banjo player Béla Fleck, keyboardist David Sancious, percussionist Luis Conte, bassist Leland Sklar, guitarist Tim Pierce, and drummers Kenny Aronoff and Shawn Pelton, among others. Williams' second major album, Moving Forward, was released on April 14, 2009 under the Reform Records label. The album features fourteen tracks and includes some collaborative tracks with other artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Jon Secada, and Dave Koz.[31] Williams was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Moving Forward.[citation needed] In 2010, Williams participated in the World Rhythms Tour with Basia. On July 18, 2010 he performed at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games opening ceremony.[citation needed] In July 2011, Williams' book, Rhythms of the Game, co-authored by Williams, Dave Gluck and Bob Thompson, with a foreword by Paul Simon, was to be published by Hal Leonard Publishing.[32] Williams was featured on the November/December 2011 cover of Making Music to discuss his life and career in music.[33] Williams received his Bachelor of Music from the Manhattan School of Music on May 13, 2016. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa becomes the fourth major leaguer to hit 60 home runs in a season when he blasts a seventh-inning three-run shot off Milwaukee's Valerio de Los Santos in a 15-12 victorious slugfest at Wrigley Field. The Chicago right-fielder joins Babe Ruth (1927 Yankees), Roger Maris (1961 Yankees), and Mark McGwire (1998 Cardinals) in reaching one of baseball's most cherished milestones. |
| Sammy Sosa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Sosa with the Baltimore Orioles in 2005 | |||
| Right fielder | |||
| Born: November 12, 1968 San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| June 16, 1989, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 29, 2007, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .273 | ||
| Hits | 2,408 | ||
| Home runs | 609 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,667 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican American former professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox, Sosa joined the Cubs in 1992 and became regarded as one of the game's best hitters. Sosa hit his 400th home run in his 1,354th game and his 5,273rd at-bat, reaching this milestone quicker than any player in National League history. He is one of nine players in MLB history to hit 600 career home runs.[1]
In 1998, Sosa and Mark McGwire achieved national fame for their home run-hitting prowess in pursuit of Roger Maris' home run record. With the Cubs, Sosa became a 7-time All-Star while holding numerous team records. He finished his career with stints with the Baltimore Orioles and the Rangers for a second time.[2] With the Rangers, Sosa hit his 600th career home run to become the fifth player in MLB history to reach the milestone.
Sosa is second all-time in home runs among foreign-born MLB players and is one of only three National League players since 1900 to reach 160 RBIs in a season (2001). He is also the only player to have hit 60 or more home runs in a single season three times.
In a 2005 congressional hearing, Sosa—through his attorney—denied having used performance-enhancing drugs during his playing career
No comments:
Post a Comment