Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number One

This is the end of the countdown. Previously I have covered Andy Pettitte's retirement, the Yankees' triple play, Derek Jeter's return from injury, and Ichiro's 4,000th hit.

Number One: Mariano Rivera's Retirement

As I have written about before, Mariano Rivera's retirement was so significant that a street was named after him. Rivera is the best closer of all time. His record of 652 saves will stand for many years. He holds other records such as 952 games finished and 205 ERA+. He will leave a void for the Yankees that will be hard to fill because he will be a first ballot Hall of Famer.

His last game came against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 26. He pitched 1.1 innings in a 4-0 Yankees loss. He was taken out of the game by Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter who walked to the mound instead of Joe Girardi. It was great to see three of the best Yankees of the last decade together in what was the last season for Pettitte and Rivera.

How would you rank the best moments of the Yankees' season?

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number Two

This is the last day of the year, and the top two of my countdown. The previous entries have been the Yankees' triple play, Andy Pettitte's retirement, and Ichiro's 4,000th hit.

Number Two: Derek Jeter's Return From Injury

In a painful year for Derek Jeter, there was one bright spot. On July 28, after injuring his right quad in his first return from the DL on July 11, Jeter came back to play the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. In the first pitch he saw, he swung and homered to right field. The ball traveled 380 feet. It was memorable to see Jeter come back from injury to play in his second game of the year and try to give the Yankees a jolt of energy. 

This energy propelled the Yankees as they won the game 6-5 with Alfonso Soriano hitting a walk-off single. Unfortunately, Jeter only played in fifteen more games the entire season. His first home run turned out to be his last of the year.

Tell me in the comments, what were your favorite moments of the 2013 season?

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number Three

The end of the year is getting closer, and so is the end of the countdown. I have previously covered the Yankees' triple play and Andy Pettitte's retirement.

Number Three: Ichiro's 4,000th Hit

Through thirteen years in the MLB and nine years in Japan, Ichiro has been hitting. He has hit over .300 in eighteen of the twenty-two seasons. On August 21, he recorded his 4,000th hit between the U.S and Japan. This hit came against the Toronto Blue Jays and R.A. Dickey. It was a line drive single past third base and into left field.

To go along with 4,020 hits at the end of the season, Ichiro has blasted 111 MLB homeruns and 118 in the JPPL (Japan Pacific League). Even into his late thirties, Ichiro has a reputation as a fast runner, stealing 472 bases in the U.S. and 199 in Japan. His last forty steal season was in 2011, when he was thirty-seven. He has led the AL in hits seven times, and was first in batting average twice. All of these accolades come together to make him a probable Hall of Famer.

Tell me in the comments, what were your favorite moments of the 2013 season?

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number Four

Yesterday, I covered the Yankees' triple play against the Orioles for the number five spot. Today, I will continue the countdown with number four.

Number Four: Andy Pettitte's Retirement

Andy Pettitte was a great player. His retirement at the end of the 2013 season was a important moment in Yankees history. He contributed to the Yankees as a member of the Core Four and was a part of five World Series Championships. He holds many records, such as being the pitcher with the most wins in postseason history or recording the most strikeouts in Yankees history. One of his greatest qualities was his astonishing durability. Even though he took steroids over a short period of time, his accomplishments of 531 games played and 3316 innings are outstanding. This puts him eighty-seventh on the all-time innings list. Pettitte may even be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but his 3.85 career ERA is mediocre. He will truly be missed by a Yankees team that is in need of leadership and pitching.

Be back tomorrow for part three.

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number Five

Please read yesterday's post for an introduction to the series.

Number Five: Triple play against the Orioles

On April 12, the Yankees faced the Baltimore Orioles in Yankee Stadium. C.C. Sabathia faced Manny Machado with Nick Markakis on first and Alexi Casilla on second. There were no outs with a count of three balls and two strikes. Machado hit a ground ball to Robinson Cano, who threw to Jayson Nix at second for the force out of Markakis. Casilla then tried to advance, but was called out when Kevin Youkilis, after receiving the ball from Nix, throwing it back, and getting it back again, tagged him. With Machado trying to advance, Youkilis tossed the ball across the diamond to first baseman Lyle Overbay. Overbay saw Machado going to second base, and gave the ball to Robinson Cano, who tagged Machado out, completing the triple play. The play was scored 4-6-5-6-5-3-4.  It was the first time the Yankees obtained a triple play since April 22, 2010 in Oakland, and the first at home since 1968.

The next part of the series will come later today or tomorrow.

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013

While this year was a disappointing one for the Yankees, they still had some great times. From triple plays to records to retirements, there were many memorable moments. In the last days until the end of the year, I will countdown the top five. The first post will come later today or tomorrow.

Yankees have a chance to acquire Masahiro Tanaka

The Yankees have a chance to sign Masahiro Tanaka after his team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, decided to post him. This gives teams in the MLB a chance to bid on Tanaka. If a team pays twenty million dollars, they will be allowed to negotiate with Tanaka. He was amazing last year, going 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in the regular season. He would be an instant upgrade to any MLB team. Many teams are expected to go after him, perhaps more than half the league. After the Yankees' bad pitching last year, they will want to sign him. This will be a crowded field of bidders, but I am confident that the Yankees have the resources to sign him.

Merry Christmas to all of my readers.

Yankees hire new bullpen coach

After losing Mike Harkey to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Yankees had an opening at bullpen coach. To fill this void they hired Gary Tuck. Tuck was a bullpen coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2007-2012. He also was a player, manager, and scout for various teams over more than thirty years. This brings some much needed experience to the Yankees' bullpen that will help them reclaim their good pitching form.

US Mint to release baseball coins

In honor of the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 75th anniversary the United States Mint will produce coins with a baseball on one side, and a glove on the other. What makes these coins special is that they are curved, a first in US Mint history. The baseball bulges outwards while the glove is drawn inwards. They will be issued in five, one, and half-dollar denominations. The five dollar gold coin will be sold for thirty-five dollars and have a production run of 50,000, the silver dollar coin will be sold for ten dollars each and produced 400,000 times, and the half dollar copper coin will have 750,000 coins in circulation by the end of production. The copper coins will go on sale for five dollars. The coins will go on sale in 2014. These will be great collectibles and unique pieces of US and baseball history.

Yankees to officially introduce Beltran today

After being signed on Thursday, Carlos Beltran will be officially introduced this morning at 11. Beltran will help to replace Robinson Cano and will provide hitting help. Beltran is also a great postseason player who has lots of experience. He was signed for 45 million dollars over three years.

History of the Yankees in 25 objects Part 6

After taking a long break, today is part 6.

Number 6: Babe Ruth's Hall of Fame plaque



Babe Ruth was one of the greatest players in MLB history. From 60 homeruns in a season to hitting 714 in his career to maintain an amazing .342 batting average, he had many great accomplishments. Ruth was not only a great batter, he pitched for eight full season with an ERA of about 2.25. He compiled ninety-two wins over this time period. He also pitched in single games in 1930 and 1933, winning each time.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. His plaque has a simple design, but yet is still beautiful. There is great detail work on his face.

You can find Part 5 of the series here.  

Street in New York is named after Mariano Rivera

After an illustrious career for the Yankees, Mariano Rivera was given one more accolade after a street was named for him. This street was formerly known as River Avenue and is near Yankee Stadium. A vote in city council passed 47-0 in favor. This is a honor that is a testament to the wonderful career that Mariano Rivera had.

What is the longest home run in MLB history?

With Matt Prater setting the all-time NFL record for longest field goal, I think that it is time to see what the longest home run in MLB history is. This record is disputed, since the home run was measured after the fact, but I think that there is enough evidence to declare it the longest in history. This home run was hit by Mickey Mantle on April 17, 1953. The home run was estimated at between 550 and 600 feet. This monumental blast was against the Washington Senators at their home field, Griffith Park. The ball flew out of the park and landed across the street. It was later measured by the Yankees' PR director, Red Patterson. This was a truly monumental home run that will go down in history books for many years.

Yankees lose Cano and Granderson

In one day, the Yankees lost two of their best players. Robinson Cano signed with the Seattle Mariners and Curtis Granderson is now a New York Met. This comes soon after the Yankees made big moves to acquire Kelly Johnson and Jacoby Ellsbury. Johnson is expected to fill in for Cano at second base. This is damaging to the Yankees because Cano was an excellent hitter, much better than Johnson or most other second basemen. But, now with Cano lost, the Yankees should have money to spend on other good free-agents to help them win a World Series.

Yankees sign Ellsbury and Johnson

Continuing their free-agent signings, the Yankees have signed Jacoby Ellsbury and Kelly Johnson. Ellsbury is a former Red Sox player and a center fielder. He batted .298 last year with nine home runs. He also had a good .355 on-base percentage. He is also somewhat young, he turned 30 in September. He will be paid $153 million dollars for seven years. I am hoping that this will not turn into a contract that will hurt the Yankees for years to come. The last few years of the deal might be painful if Ellsbury's production declines.

Kelly Johnson was a less prized free-agent, but still a valuable one. He will be paid three million dollars for one year. He is also a possible replacement for Robinson Cano if needed. Johnson's main asset is his power, he has hit 16 home runs in each of the last two years. This is some much needed power for the Yankees. He is a valuable piece to fill the Yankees' gaps.

Phil Hughes to Twins

Phil Hughes has signed a three year deal with the Minnesota Twins that will pay him eight million dollars a year, for a total of twenty-four million. He will not be missed much by the Yankees after going 4-14 with a 5.19 ERA. This bad performance helped the Yankees miss the playoffs. The signing frees up a spot in the rotation that could possibly be taken by Michael Pineda or a free agent. Overall, this is a good move for the Yankees. They avoided re-signing a pitcher who was horrible for them last year.