Sunday, March 31, 2013

Hall of Fame Profile: George Herman Ruth

From now until June 23rd (Yankees Old-Timer's Day), I will be releasing Hall of Fame profiles for the 21 Major League Baseball players that were inducted as New York Yankees.  The first of which was George Herman Ruth more commonly known as Babe Ruth.



Full Name: George Herman Ruth, Jr.

Born: February 6, 1885  Died: August 16, 1948

Nickname(s): The Babe, The Great Bambino, The Sultan of Swat

Hall of Fame Induction: 1936 (Inaugural HOF Class receiving 95.13% of vote by BBWAA)

Teams Played for: Boston Red Sox (1914-1919), New York Yankees (1920-1934), and Boston Braves (1935)

Retired Jersey: #3 by the New York Yankees


Career Statistics (courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com):

Batting Average: .342 (10th all-time)
On-Base %: .474 (2nd all-time)
Slugging %: .690 (1st all-time)
OPS: 1.164 (1st all-time)
HR: 714 (3rd all-time)
RBI: 2220 (2nd all-time)
Runs: 2174 (4th all-time)
Hits: 2873 (42nd all-time)
2B: 505 (51st all-time)
BB: 2062 (3rd all-time)

WAR: 183.2 (1st all-time)
Strikeouts: 1330

----------------------------------

Babe Ruth was a lefty who wore the #3 (after 1929) as he batted 3rd in the vaunted Murderer's Row for the New York Yankees in 1927 and was almost single-handedly responsible for the increased gate that led to Yankee Stadium being built, hence the name "The House that Ruth Built."  He changed the game of baseball in his day wowing crowds with his towering home runs and winning them over with his charisma.

On January 3rd, 1920, Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees by the Boston Red Sox for $100,000, which would begin an extended period of time known as the "Curse of the Bambino" for the Sox as they won the Series in 1915, 1916, and 1918 and then didn't see World Series champagne again until 2004.  Prior to coming over from the Red Sox, Babe was known more for his pitching as he recorded 89 wins as a starter.  He didn't become an everyday player until 1918 in which he hit 11 home runs in 317 at-bats.  The 1919 season saw Ruth hit 29 home runs, breaking the record that had stood since 1884 of 27 by Ned Williamson of the Chicago White Stockings and more than doubling his career total of 20.

As a Yankee, Ruth flourished as a hitter with 659 home runs, 1959 runs, and 1978 runs batted in.  Along with Lou Gehrig, he was able to appear in 7 World Series winning 4 Championship Rings in 1923, 1927, 1928, and 1932.  His .349 batting average, .711 slugging percentage, and 1.195 OPS for the Yankees are unheard of numbers as he owns the career record for SLG and OPS to this day.  Numbers outside of the triple slash weren't used in his time but his career WAR (wins above replacement) of 183.2 ranks as first all-time and probably will remain so.  The first 2 seasons as a Yankee, he compiled 54 and 59 home runs, respectively, absolutely demolishing his previous record of 29.  His 139th career home run set a new MLB record for home runs occurring on July 18, 1921 and reportedly traveled 575 feet.  It is no surprise that long home runs became known as "Ruthian."

The Yankees moved from the Polo Grounds to the newly minted "House that Ruth Built" in 1923 in which he quickly hit the first home run there against the Boston Red Sox.  That year he batted .393 with 41 home runs en route to the New York Yankees first World Series title.  He batted .368 in that Series with 3 home runs and 8 runs scored.  After "down" years in 1924 and 1925 in which his weight became a subject of concern, perhaps due to his gregarious off-field antics, he returned to the Babe Ruth of '23 in 1926 obtaining a triple slash of .372 / 47 / 146, but ultimately losing the World Series in 7 games to St. Louis.  1927 marked the advent of the "Murderer's Row" in which Ruth and Gehrig's Yankees won a record 110 games and easily took the Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 4 games.  That season Ruth recorded his 60th home run on September 30th which was the Yankees next to last game of the year.  That single-season record stood until Roger Maris broke it in 1961.

Ruth would go on to win 2 more World Series as a Yankee and finished his career with 714 home runs, which would stand as a Major League record until Hank Aaron broke it in 1974.   Who knows how many more home runs Ruth would have hit had he started his career as a hitter instead of a pitcher and not been walked 2,062 times.  In 1935, after a few years of "diminishing stats" only hitting 34 and 22 home runs in 1933 and 1934, respectively, after a successful 1932 campaign, Ruth headed to the Boston Braves where he would retire later that year only hitting 6 out of the park but drawing fans to see Boston's National League franchise.  

A week after joining his 1927 teammates in honoring a dying legend on Lou Gehrig Day: July 4th, 1939, Ruth was inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame class in Cooperstown, New York nearly 3 full years after being elected along with 4 other members.  In 1948, Babe Ruth would get his own day commemorating the 25th anniversary of the House that Ruth Built making his final appearance at Yankee Stadium after battling cancer.  The frail and weak Ruth made his way onto the field using a bat as a cane and addressed the crowd.  The Yankees retired his #3 that year to join the #4 of Gehrig.  Ruth to this day is known as one of the if not the best hitters of all-time and deservedly so.


Sources

1. Baseball-Reference.com: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml
2. Wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth
3. www.baberuth.com
4. Pictures sourced from FanPix.net and WikiPedia.org (Babe Ruth Day-copyright 1948 World Wide Photos)

Yankees Finalize Their Opening Day Roster


The 2013 baseball season officially starts tonight with the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers playing the first game of the season with the Yankees starting their season tomorrow at 1:00 pm at Yankees Stadium against the Boston Red Sox. We finally know, with the Clay Rapada designation, the final roster for the season. Here it is:


STARTERS

 CC Sabathia
 Hiroki Kuroda
 Andy Pettitte
 Ivan Nova
 David Phelps
BULLPEN 

 Mariano Rivera
 Dave Robertson
 Joba Chamberlain
 Boone Logan
 Shawn Kelley
 Cody Eppley
 Adam Warren
CATCHERS

 Francisco Cervelli
 Chris Stewart
INFIELDERS

 Lyle Overbay
 Robinson Cano
 Kevin Youkilis
 Eduardo Nunez
 Jayson Nix
 Travis Hafner
OUTFIELDERS

 Brett Gardner
 Ichiro Suzuki
 Vernon Wells
 Ben Francisco
 Brennan Boesch
15-DAY DISABLED LIST

 Phil Hughes
 Derek Jeter
 Mark Teixeira
 Curtis Granderson
60-DAY DISABLED LIST

 Cesar Cabral
 Michael Pineda
 Alex Rodriguez

Yankees Designate Clay Rapada For Assignment


In yet another shocking turn of events in the Yankees bullpen and on their 40 man roster the Yankees have announced that they have designated left handed reliever Clay Rapada for assignment. This move was made to make room on the 40 man roster for Lyle Overbay. Rapada has been battling shoulder bursitis in his left throwing shoulder all spring but there is no way, in my opinion, he gets past a team like the Washington Nationals and clears waivers.

Off Day Notes: Rapada, Wells, Overbay, 25 Man Roster

It's the day before Opening Day and the Yankees are putting the finishing touches on their roster by once again cutting and adding players. Here are the moves the Yankees made today.

1. The Yankees have designated Clay Rapada for assignment to make a spot for Lyle Overbay on the 40-man roster. I knew the Yankees had to make a move to put Overbay on the roster, but I didn't see Rapada getting the boot, especially since the Yankees only have one lefty in the bullpen. This could be a way to get Rapada back into the minors like with the David Adams scenario or this is a goodbye to the side arming lefty. Still, I didn't see this coming. Rapada released a statement via tweets after his DFA:


2. Vernon Wells changed his number before tomorrow. 56 originally belonged to Tony Pena so Vernon Wells will now wear #12.

3. The Yankees have finally released their 25-man roster. Here's the roster for tomorrow:

ROTATION
52 CC Sabathia
18 Hiroki Kuroda
46 Andy Pettitte
47 Ivan Nova
41 David Phelps

BULLPEN 
42 Mariano Rivera
30 Dave Robertson
62 Joba Chamberlain
48 Boone Logan
27 Shawn Kelley
38 Cody Eppley
43 Adam Warren

CATCHERS
29 Francisco Cervelli
19 Chris Stewart

INFIELDERS
55 Lyle Overbay
24 Robinson Cano
36 Kevin Youkilis
26 Eduardo Nunez
17 Jayson Nix
33 Travis Hafner

OUTFIELDERS
11 Brett Gardner
31 Ichiro Suzuki
12 Vernon Wells
45 Ben Francisco
22 Brennan Boesch

15-DAY DISABLED LIST
65 Phil Hughes
2 Derek Jeter
25 Mark Teixeira
14 Curtis Granderson

60-DAY DISABLED LIST
71 Cesar Cabral
35 Michael Pineda
13 Alex Rodriguez

Happy Easter From The Greedy Pinstripes


We just wanted to take a second to wish a Happy Easter to everyone out there that reads our blog. Thank you and we wish for you to have a good, happy, and safe Easter holiday. Enjoy!

Behind the music: The 2013 Yankees walk-up songs

600full


When the baseball season starts, fans usually go to the ball park in order to take in nine innings of glorious baseball. As much as I enjoy going to the ball park to hear the crack of the bat, the fans cheering loudly and the food, I usually love going to the ball park in order to listen to the walk-up music of the Yankees. Music is one of my biggest passions, and to me the Yankees have done more than play great baseball over the years; they've also introduced me to new music and have filled up my iTunes with songs that I listen to on a consistent basis. Since Opening Day for the Yankees is tomorrow, I went on the Yankees website, found the list to some of the Yankees walk-up songs and took a listen to them, introducing myself to the different types of music that our players listen to.


1. Brennan BoeschBrennan Boesch didn't waste any time in choosing his songs for the 2013 season as he went and chose two songs for his walk-up music. The first song was "Sail" by Awolnation. When I first took  a listen to the song, I found it intimidating in a good way. It's not as intimidating as Evan Longoria's walk-up song (which is arguably one of the best walk-up songs in the Major Leagues), but it makes you think that something big is coming. The second song that Boesch chose was "We'll Be Fine" by Drake. This is one of those songs that has you nodding your head while Boesch comes to the plate. Boesch hasn't played a real game for the Yankees yet, but if I must applaud him on one thing, it's his good taste in music.


2. Brett GardnerI have to admit that before I started watching Gardner play baseball, I did not listen to country music; at all. But in 2011, Gardner had "Dirt Road Anthem" by Jason Aldean as one of his walk-up songs and ever since then, half my iTunes is consumed with country music. This year, Gardner went with "Hell On Wheels" by Brantely Gilbert which is another great country song. Now, let's hope that Gardner's 2013 season is as dynamite as his walk-up song choice.


3. Chris StewartChris Stewart is close to having one of the best walk-up songs on the Yankees if he only played the first twenty seconds of the song over the P.A. Stewart's song choice is "Forsaken" by Skillet and if there's one thing I must say, is that the guitar riffs were amazing. I wouldn't normally listen to music like this, but after today now I would. Now, all he has to do is play on a consistent basis so I could heart this song over and over at the ball park. I wouldn't mind paying money for that.


4. Curtis GrandersonWe all remember the famous video where Curtis Granderson was picking his at-bat music and then almost cried when he chose "Friday." Well, maybe all those hours of going through his laptop did the Grandy Man some good. His walk-up song (when he comes back) is none other than "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See (Instrumental)" by Busta Rhymes. Not too fond of the lyrics, but I do love the beat, so a smart move by Granderson in just using the instrumental.


5. David RobertsonWe all know that David Robertson is an Alabama boy. He was born in Tuscaloosa and he is constantly helping his hometown with High Socks For Hope. So it doesn't surprise me that his walk-up song is the awesome "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It's actually a good thing I know about this now because I made a deadly mistake in asking my Twitter followers last season what D-Rob's walk-up song was. Let's just say they weren't too happy with me during the game when they found out I seriously didn't know. Well, I know now and it's an awesome song. I'm looking forward to the 8th inning where I could sit back and listen to the tune that introduces us to the Yankees favorite set-up man.


6. Derek JeterThe Captain won't be there on Opening Day for us to hear his walk-up music but he made sure that he chose a song. I'm not too fond of rap music but, "Otis" by Jay-Z and Kanye West was a decent choice by Jeter. It would be nice to hear it at Yankee Stadium when The Captain returns, but in the meantime I guess the closest we can hear this song is on Youtube (and on iTunes if you have it already).


7. Hiroki KurodaHiroki Kuroda has some great taste in music! Kuroda's walk-up music is "The Whip" by Locksley and when I heard it for the first time, I heard some influence of 'The Beatles' in the chorus of the song. It's nice that Kuroda was able to take us back to the good music--without actually taking us all the way back to the 1960's.


8. Ivan NovaAh, is there nothing better than listening to some awesome Spanish music at Yankee Stadium? That's what Ivan Nova introduced to the fans when he made his walk-up choice "Marta La Reina" by Antony Santos. This is one of those songs where you can't help but get up from your seat and start dancing. According to the Yankees website, I don't think it's available for purchase but they have the song on Youtube where you can hear it over and over and over. It's actually a great song to hear on a Sunday morning (with your headphones on).


9. Mariano RiveraMariano Rivera's song choice is as fitting as his role on the Yankees. When the Yankees have a lead and they go to the 9th inning, Mariano Rivera comes in the game and puts it to bed, dubbing him "The Sandman." Rivera's song choice is the best song choice by far on the Yankees with "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. The guitar riffs in the song are simply amazing and when Yankees fans hear it, they can't help but get excited, knowing that the greatest closer of all time is coming in to make the opposing team's offense go to sleep. Yankees fans better soak in all of "Enter Sandman" that they can this season, since Rivera plans on retiring at the end of the season. I know I'll soak up every moment.


10. Mark TeixeiraIf there's anyone that we can count on to take us back to when rap music was at it's best, it's Mark Teixeira. His song choice "It's Tricky" by Run D.M.C  is a great way to pay a homage to rap at it's finest. Of course, we expect nothing less of Teixeira since he has been famously known of using classics from the Twisted Sisters in the past. But Teixeira didn't stop there. His second song choice was "This Town" by O.A.R. which is one of my favorite songs. Teixeira hit a home run with his song choices and I can't wait until he gets back on the field so we can hear it blaring from the P.A speakers.


11. Phil HughesPhil Hughes's walk-up song is pretty vague. There's no artist next to his song choice "Tomorrowland" so I did a search on Youtube and it sounds more like Hughes is ready for summer in a club than ready to play baseball. If this is his song, I'm not too fond of the techno-beat, but I can see it getting fans excited.


12. Robinson CanoRobinson Cano simply outdid everyone when it came to choosing songs. He didn't choose two songs, he went the extra mile and chose three! His first song was "El Que No Aguante La Presion" by Secreto El Biberon which is a great song choice. It reminds me of summer like Hughes's song choice, but Cano's song reminds me more of running through fire hydrants that have water coming out of them than the club. Cano's second song choice was "Me Kitee" by Black Point. Again, it reminded me of  summer. Cano's last song was "Te Prendo" by Chimbala. As far as Spanish songs go, all three of Cano's song choices hit it out of the ball park. Simply great. If his goal was to get Yankees fans on their feet while he comes to bat, he succeeded.


13. Vernon WellsI'm not a fan of rap music, but if you choose a song with Dr. Dre and Eminem, then you are in my good graces for the entire season. And that's exactly what Vernon Wells did by choosing "Forgot About Dre" by Dr. Dre & Eminem. The beat is fantastic and this was when rap was still at it is greatest. It's great that someone chose a throwback song, and now I will await his arrival to the plate just to hear this awesome song.


The Yankees choosing their own walk-up music is a way for them to connect to their fans. It shows fans what kind of music their idols like and in their own way, they introduce you to music you may have never heard of before. The Yankees are always winners in the fans eyes, but they've become more than. They're role models with impeccable taste in music. So the next time you go to the ball park, open your ears when your favorite Yankee goes to the plate. You just might have a new favorite song that you'll want as soon as you get home.

Trenton Thunder Roster Finalized


With not many surprises here and an "All Prospect" kind of outfield the Yankees Double A affiliate the Trenton Thunder's roster has been finalized. Check it out!

C - J.R. Murphy
C - Kyle Higashioka

C - Tyson Blaser

1B - Kyle Roller
2B - Jose Pirela
SS - Walter Ibarra
3B/LF - Rob Segedin
INF - Kevin Mahoney
INF - Reegie Corona


OF - Tyler Austin
OF - Slade Heathcott
OF - Ramon Flores
OF - Neil Medchill
OF - Shane Brown


SP - Nik Turley
SP- Francisco Rondon
SP - Matt Tracy
SP - Caleb Cotham
SP - Zach Nuding


P - Jeremy Bleich
P - Aaron Dott
P - Shaeffer Hall
P - Tommy Kahnle
P - Kelvin Perez
P - Josh Romanski
P - Graham Stoneburner
P - Branden Pinder

P - Ryan Pope

2013 Predictions : Derek Jeter Potential Milestones


Derek Jeter has been on an all out assault on the all time hits list and 2013 looks to be no different then 2012 was. As long as Derek Jeter fully heals from this ankle injury that ended his season prematurely in 2012 and continues to defy age, logic, and mother nature I think we will see Derek Sanderson Jeter rewriting history more then a couple times this season. Let us take a closer look:


  • Derek Jeter is a mere 11 hits behind 9th place Eddie Collins on the all time hits list. Jeter is also a meager 15 hits behind Paul Molitor for 8th place on the all time list. Jeter is 115 hits behind Carl Yastrzemski for 7th place on the all time list for hits. Honus Wagner is only 116 hits in front of Jeter for 6th place all time on the hits list. Tris Speaker is only 210 hits ahead of Derek Jeter for 5th place on the all time list. All of these men are within striking distance of the captain in 2013. We do not use Cap Anson's 3435 hit total as a correct total because walks used to be counted as hits back in the early 1900's. 

  •  Derek Jeter is 17th on the all time list for hit by pitches with 163 in his career. I am not sure if this is really supposed to be a good thing or not but Derek stand 2 HBP's behind Kid Elberfield for 16th place and 4 HBP's behind Alex Rodriguez for  15th place. Hopefully this is one milestone that Derek does NOT reach.

  • Derek Jeter sits 40th on the all time list in games played with 2585 games played. I know this may be a tall task but if Jeter plays 150 games he will jump all the way to the 26th spot with 2735 games played passing notable players like Willie McCovey (39th), Lou Brock (35th), Paul Molitor (30th), and George Brett (27th). 


The Season Starts Tomorrow & There's Still Haters


The 2013 Yankees baseball season starts tomorrow, although we have a game tonight between the Rangers and the Astros that officially kick off the 2013 season, and apparently there are still haters hating on the Yankees. I found this video and while it was supposed to be comical, and while it does hit on a few valid points, it just goes to show you that we are still the most hated by non fans and most loved by true fans sports organization in the world in my very humble opinion. Enjoy!