That May 14, 2017, was both Mother’s Day and the one selected by the former Yankee captain to be Derek Jeter Day in the Bronx, seemed pretty fitting, though some grumbled that the ceremonies were to be held before the ESPN Sunday night game, and not the more traditional day game for such honors. Little did we know that, following a rainout the day before, it would become a day/night doubleheader, with the ceremonies coming before game 2. In game 1, it was still early enough in the 2017 season that, given his troubles starting the season before, fans were concerned about a poor Luis Severino start, although the team came back strong to defeat Houston 11-6 in that game. Once a hit by pitch and five third-inning singles drove Luis from the mound vs the Astros down 3-1, he was relieved by another pitcher who (along with Sevy, as it would turn out) would have a stellar season, newly promoted Chad Green, who would hold the Astros through 3.67 frames while the Yanks took a 4-3 lead, fall behind again, but then happily storm back with a six-run inning. Continue reading
History Highlights for March 22
The lead March 22 story for Yankee fans is the 1972 trade of Danny Cater and Mario Guerrero to the Red Sox for Al “Sparky” Lyle. Not only would Sparky post a 57-40 record with 141 saves in six years for the Yanks, he played on three World Series teams (two wins) and won an American League Cy Young Award. The manager of the Somerset (N.J.) Patriots in the independent Atlantic League for years, Lyle still has an association with the team. Cater, meanwhile, notched 14 homers and 83 rbi’s in three years for the Red Sox, resulting in a far from even swap.