Barry Wilner - Pinstripes and Pennants: The Ultimate New York Yankees Fan Guide

By Barry Wilner

Pinstripes and Pennants: The Ultimate New York Yankees Fan Guide 2019 by Press Room Editions. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Edition

First Printing, 2019

Book design by Sarah Taplin

Cover design by Sarah Taplin

Photographs : Julie Jacobson/AP Images, cover (left), cover (bottom right), 4, 8; Seth Wenig/AP Images, cover (top right); AP Images, 10, 18, 21, 22, 25, 31, 32, 36, 40, 43, 63, 71, 88, 94; Murray Becker/AP Images, 16, 92; Chris Bernacchi/AP Images, 27; Duane Burleson/AP Images, 28; Kyodo/AP Images, 38, 47; John Rooney/Images, 45; Chris OMeara/AP Images, 48; JCH/AP Images, 52; Bill Kostroun/AP Images, 55, 82; Mark Lennihan/AP Images, 56, 96, 105; Richard Drew/AP Images, 60; Harry Harris/AP Images, 65; Winslow Townson/AP Images, 72; Abe Fox/AP Images, 75; Ray Stubblebine/AP Images, 79; Charles Krupa/AP Images, 8687

Design Elements : Pixabay

Press Box Books, an imprint of Press Room Editions.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018952197

ISBN:

978-1-63494-059-7 (paperback)

978-1-63494-071-9 (epub)

978-1-63494-083-2 (hosted ebook)

Distributed by North Star Editions, Inc.

2297 Waters Drive

Mendota Heights, MN 55120

www.northstareditions.com

Printed in the United States of America

Chapter 1

Jeters Farewell

Derek Jeter was always calm in the most pressure-filled times. So it was strange to see how he reacted after his final game at Yankee Stadiumone of the most memorable moments in the history of Americas winningest franchise.

It was sort of an out-of-body experience, Jeter said. It was a weird range of emotions. I was just trying not to cry.

Lots of people at the stadium were shedding tears on the night of September 25, 2014, when Jeter played before them for the last time. His two decades as the New York Yankees shortstop were filled with success: Rookie of the Year in 1996, 14 All-Star Game appearances, five Gold Gloves, and, most notably, five World Series championships.

Phil Rizzuto

Derek Jeter wasnt the first great Yankees shortstop. Phil Rizzuto was nicknamed Scooter, and he lived up to the name. He scooted along the left side of the infield, gobbling up ground balls and spearing line drives at shortstop. And he scooted around the bases as he scored 877 runs in 13 seasons, ending in 1956.

But the Hall of Fame player was even more popular as an announcer. He often bragged about scooting from the broadcast booth to beat the traffic before the game ended. Among his favorite shticks were calling people huckleberries when they made errors; yelling holy cow when something wild happened; and speaking about his fear of lightning or his favorite restaurants.

Yankees fans ate it up.

On this night, even though it had been raining during the day, fans filled Yankee Stadium to say goodbye to one of the remarkable careers in modern sports. Many carried banners praising The Captain, with one sign saying Thanks 2 You, with the teams logo surrounding the 2 for Jeters jersey number. Another offered Derek, Thanks For Being The One We Could Always Turn 2.

As had become commonplace during his long career, Jeter did not disappoint.

Playing against the Baltimore Orioles, Jeter had a double and two runs batted in (RBIs). The Yankees were winning 52 when he took his position at shortstop in the top of the ninth. If that had been it, Jeter would have given the fans a typically memorable last game. The teams plan was indeed to remove Jeter, allowing for a standing ovation that might have lasted until October. Jeter knew that, and he could be seen wiping tears from his eyes during the inning.

Ive done a pretty good job controlling my emotions, Jeter said. I try to hide them. I try to trick myself into not feeling those particular emotions. Today, I wasnt able to do it.

But Jeters career wasnt over quite yet. Yankees closer David Robertson couldnt protect the lead. Soon the score was 55 heading into the bottom of the ninth, with Jeter due up third. That meant the Yankees faithful would get to see one more at-bat.

Jos Pirela led off with a single, and pinch runner Antoan Richardson was bunted to second. Up stepped Jeter, with the ground seeming to shake as everyone in the stands rose to their feet and cheered. Players in both dugouts stood by the railing to watch. What they saw was the stuff movies are made of.

Jeter swung at the first pitch from Evan Meek, using that inside-out swing that helped him to a career .310 batting average. The ball rocketed into right field, and Richardson stormed around third base. For a moment, all eyes turned away from Jeter to see the play at the plate.

SAFE!

As Yankees broadcaster John Sterling screamed Yankees win to his listeners, Jeters teammates streamed out of the dugout. Former teammates had joined the team in the dugout. Among them were former manager Joe Torre and the other three members of the Core FourMariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettittewith whom Jeter had won four World Series.

Short of clinching a championship, rarely if ever was there such a wild scene in the ballpark in the Bronx. And it was far from over. After being mobbed by the other Yankees, Jeter paid tribute to the fans. He waved as he walked around the infield before stopping atwhere else?the shortstop part of the dirt.

Jeter kneeled, and he prayed.

I basically just said, Thank you, Jeter explained, because this is all I ever wanted to do. Not too many people have the opportunity to do it. It was above and beyond anything I dreamed.

Jeter then decided to play designated hitter, not shortstop, in the Yankees final series at Boston. His reasoning made sense.

Ive only played shortstop for my entire career, he said, and the last time I want to play it is tonight.

Chapter 2

The Early Days

When the New York Yankees joined the American League (AL) in 1903well, they really didnt. At least not as the Yankees.

The teams history actually began two years earlier, in 1901 in Baltimore. When that team folded after two seasons, new owners stepped in. Some say the owners bought the team and moved it to New York. Others say they created a new team. Either way, a new major league team began play in New York in 1903, but it still wasnt called the Yankees. In fact, the team didnt have an official nickname right away.

Locals began calling them the Highlanders, because the team played games at Hilltop Park in upper Manhattan. Also, team president Joseph Gordon liked the reference to the British military unit known as the Gordon Highlanders. Soon enough, the team was officially the Highlanders.

Early on, Hilltop Park was basically a dump built near a swamp. For a while, it didnt even have grass in the outfield. The ballpark was not a comfortable place to watch baseball. Fans in those days were allowed to stand in back of the outfielders and even in foul territory, so approximately 25,000 people could watch big games.