2 Years Ago on Lady At The Bat: An Ode To John Sterling

All this week I have been celebrating five years of Lady At The Bat with re-posts of some of the more than 750 published here about the Yankees, Major League Baseball and my life as a Yankee fan. Today's final look down memory lane is about Yankee radio play-by-play announcer John Sterling. On April 8, 2010 I critiqued his, then, newest home run call, made when Curtis Granderson hit his first Yankee round tripper:

...Sterling's over-the-top home run calls have made him famous (or, infamous, depending on whom you ask). You either love him or hate him. I love him and I love most of his home run calls...Read Entire Post

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Thanks to everyone who has visited the blog over the past 5 years. I am looking forward to posting more about Major League Baseball and, of course, the most successful team in pro sports. Go, Yankees!

2 Years Ago On Lady At The Bat: Remembering Todd Drew

All this week I have been celebrating five years of posting to Lady At The Bat with re-posts of some of the more than 750 posts here about the Yankees, Major League Baseball and my life as a Yankee fan. Today's look down memory lane is a tribute a fellow blogger who passed away two years ago, Todd Drew.  Todd loved his Yankees, but he loved people, too. His blog was devoted to giving a voice to those who had none: people in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. Here is my remembrance of him, on January 19, 2009:

Today is Martin Luther King Day. A year ago on this day I paid my daily visit to Pete Abraham's LoHud Yankees Blog and discovered a new voice in the Yankee blogging community. Well, new to me anyway. Pete was in the midst of his January pinch hitting series, where everyday of the month he puts up a post by a different Yankee blogger. On Martin Luther King Day last year it was Todd Drew's turn.

I didn't know Todd personally, but from what I could tell, he was all about two things: The Yankees and empowering those less fortunate. I believe that was why Pete chose to showcase Todd's post on Martin Luther King Day...Read Entire Post

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The links in the post still work, so feel free to click on them to read Todd's blog and learn more about him.  Thanks for reading.

4 Years Ago on Lady At The Bat: Manny's Departure From Boston

All this week I'm celebrating five years of posting to Lady At The Bat by re-posting some of the more than 750 posts about the Yankees, Major League Baseball and, at times, my life as a Yankee fan. This walk down memory lane would not be complete without a little bit of Yankees vs Red Sox. The following is a post from August 1, 2008, about the end of Manny Ramirez's tenure as a member of the Boston Red Sox:

...the Red Sox clubhouse and front office are both happy that Manny Ramirez is gone. They're happy, but, even more so, they're relieved. They're relived that this cancer is off the team. But while they're both happy and relieved, they should also be ashamed of themselves...Read Entire Post

Thanks for reading!

Happy Black History Month: A Few Words About Bill White

Although Bill White never played for the Yankees, he holds a special place in the team's history. As one of the play-by-play announcers he was at the mic that October afternoon back in 1978 when Bucky Dent hit the shot heard (at least) around the baseball world, the famous 3-run homer that helped catapult the Yankees into the playoffs.

White's call of the home run is legendary. To re-live it, watch the video below, starting at the 1:00 mark:





Before he became one of the Yankee broadcasters, Bill White was a respected first baseman for several National League teams, including the St Louis Cardinals. Later in life he became president of the National League. Most recently, he has authored a book: Uppity: My Untold Story About The Games People Play. I have not read it yet, but I hear it is excellent.

Read about Bill White:

Bill White on Wikipedia

Bill White on Baseball Reference

Happy Black History Month.

5 Years Ago on Lady At The Bat: Roger Clemens & The Mitchell Report

As I mentioned yesterday, this week marks the fifth anniversary of Lady At The Bat. All this week I am revisiting some of the more than 750 posts to the blog. Today I thought I would re-post a December 28, 2007 piece I wrote about Roger Clemens and his appearance in Mitchell Report:

Roger Clemens has ducked the media ever since the Mitchell Report came out. So now that he has "agreed" to be interviewed on "60 Minutes" by his friend Mike Wallace, writers and broadcasters everywhere are filing their 'If I Were Mike Wallace' reports....Here's what I'd ask: Read Entire Post

Enjoy, and, Happy Valentines Day!

5 Years Ago on Lady At The Bat: Memories Of Scooter

Five years ago this week, on Valentines Day 2007, this blog, Lady At The Bat, was born. A short post about the start of Spring Training that week has evolved into over 750 posts about the Yankees, Major League Baseball and, at times, my life as a Yankee fan.  This week I'm taking a look back at some of those posts, and I invite you to do so as well. First up, a post from August 14, 2007: My reaction to the death of 'The Scooter,' Phil Rizzuto:

...When I heard today that Rizzuto had passed away at the age of 89, I started thinking about all the years I listened to Scooter and his partners on 1010 WINS (and later 770 WABC) and watched them on WPIX Channel 11 (for a while, known as 11 Alive!). Everyone knows Scooter was a real character...Read Entire Post

Happy Black History Month: A Look Back At Bob Watson

Today, when most Yankee fans hear the name Bob Watson, they think of the man who was the team's General Manager in 1996, the year they won their first World Championship since 1978.  But there is more to him than that.

Many years ago, in the early 1980s, Watson was the Yankee First Baseman. He began his career with the Houston Astros. In 1993 he became the first African-American General Manager in Major League Baseball, when he was hired to run the Astros.

Bob Watson retired in 2010 after serving as MLB's VP of Rules and On-Field Operations, but fans should never forget the pioneer he was.  Click on the links below to learn more:

Bob Watson Wikipedia Page

Bob Watson at Baseball Reference

Bob Watson Retirement Article

Happy Black History month!

Happy Black History Month: Remembering Elston Howard

With today being the beginning of Black History Month, I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on what this month means to me as a Yankee fan. It didn't take me long to come up with a very special person in Yankee history: Elston Howard.

As most Yankee fans know (or, should know), Elston Howard was the first African-American player to don the Yankee pinstripes. He made his debut with the team on April 14, 1955 and, in 1963 he won the AL MVP. He is a part of the long line of great Yankee catchers, starting with Bill Dickey and continuing with Yogi Berra, Thurman Munson and Jorge Posada.

Though I recently celebrated my 50th birthday, I am not old enough to have seen (or, to have remembered seeing) Howard play. After reading about him, I wish I had. I was going to post a YouTube video about him but, unfortunately the site has no such video about this important person in pinstripe history. Anyway, if you are lacking in knowledge about Elston Howard, these links will help get you up to speed:

Elston Howard Wikipedia Page

An Unofficial Yankee Website's Elston Howard Page

Elston Howard's Baseball Reference Page

Happy reading and, again, happy Black History Month!

Jeter and Rivera: The Breakthrough Two

Ever since the news came down a few weeks ago that Jorge Posada was going to announce his retirement, I have been trying to figure out what to call Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, the two remaining members of the Core Four.  Well, I think I have figured it out.

People have been coming up with names that just don't sit right with me. My cousin Eddie felt that the name was staring me right in the face: "The Remaining Two."  To me that sounded like the other two had died. Someone else said to just call them "Jeter and Mo." That reminded me of Curly and Mo! Michael Kay asked for suggestions on his show yesterday and the winner appeared to be "The True Two." Are Posada and Pettitte false? Or, fake?

I decided this morning to try to nip this thing in the bud. I thought about what the criteria should be for choosing the name and came up with 1) It has to rhyme with "two" and 2) It has to define what Jeter and Mo (and Posada and Pettitte) were to the recent Yankee dynasty: cornerstones. Foundations. Beginnings. They were groundbreaking. What word should I choose?

Breakthrough! I believe that is the word. So, from now until one of the two retire, I will refer to Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera as the Breakthrough Two.

Sound good? Then, help me get the word out about it! Pass it on. I just hope the Breakthrough Two have good years and don't end up as the Terrible Two.

Go, Yankees!

For Jesus (Montero), No Room In The Inn

I arrived home from work last night to an explosion on my Twitter timeline. Everyone was tweeting about the big trade that went down, sending Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi to the Mariners for Michael Pineda and Jose Campo. Shocked and saddened, I expressed my feelings as best I could by tweeting: "Did the Yankees really just ruin my weekend?"

I really felt that way, but then I got a chance to sleep on it. I woke up this morning feeling somewhat better about it because I saw it differently: Jesus Montero was expendable.

Just as there was no room for the original Jesus thousands of years ago, for Jesus Montero, there was no room in the inn. The Yankees didn't have a position for their top prospect. If there was room for him, I am pretty sure he'd still be a Yankee today. Instead, he heads to that northwest manger where he'll play everyday. Will he save the soul of the Mariners? I believe he will. Their offensive soul anyway.

Goodbye, and thank you, Jesus.