Early Innings
July 24
Bobby Murcer R.I.P.
My nephew and in-laws were in from Philly for the July 24, 1999, tilt against the Indians, and we were all hoping for a win, but we must have hoped too hard. The Yanks spanked Mark Langston for nine runs on 10 hits into the fifth, and finished up with a 21-1 victory. Hideki Irabu was masterful on one evening he didn't need to be. It was the most runs the Yanks had scored since 1962, as Chili Davis went 5-for-6 with six rbi's. Jorge Posada had four hits as well.
On July 24, 1992, Commissioner Fay Vincent announced that George Steinbrenner could once again take active control of the team effective March 1, 1993.
I guess it was a good day on July 24, 1983, or at least so we thought when we retired for the evening after an apparent Yankee win over the Royals in the "Pine Tar Game." George Brett was called out for having too much pine tar on his bat, negating the home run off Goose Gossage that the Royals thought had given them the lead. Later, American League President Lee MacPhail broke all precedent by overruling his umpires and reinstating the home run in a review of the game (not that I'm bitter about it, no, really). Mr. MacPhail apparently decided to ignore the precedent set when Yankee catcher Thurman Munson was called out on the same ruling about a decade earlier (not that I'm claiming that the team benefitting from the rulebook had any bearing on the ruling or anything, oh no, not that at all — wink, wink).
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For July 23 history, click here.
For July 22 history, click here.
| The View From Box 622
Second-Half Sizzle?
Bronx, NY, July 20 — Famously, a squirrel cavorted on the right-field foul pole last August as Andy Pettitte was pitching the Yanks to a win in a sweep of the Red Sox. The "Dog Days of August" have not arrived in the 2008 baseball season yet, but it could hardly have been hotter as the Yanks swept the A's 2-1 behind Pettitte Sunday afternoon. But don't take my word for it; we spied what could have been the same squirrel scurrying for the shade under a car in Parking Lot 8 after the game. more...
The light colors come from the huge flag in center and the 2008 All Stars lined up beyond the basepaths on the first and third base side, but the stars of Tuesday's pregame festivities were the semicircles of darker-clad Hall of Famers assembled at each of the bases, in the outfield, around the pitching mound, and in the catchers' box behind home plate (the only group that falls beyond this photo's edges). Shortly, Yankee Hall members Reggie Jackson, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and Goose Gossage would join in throwing out ceremonial first pitches.
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