Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals 6/13



And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx as the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium play host to the Washington Nationals for the final time during this 2018 regular season. There’s a distinct possibility that this could be a 2018 World Series preview here tonight, which adds to the atmosphere and importance to tonight’s game. In the start tonight the Yankees will send Sonny Gray to the mound to face off with Erick Fedde for the Nationals. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and ESPN. You can also keep up with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season long. Enjoy the game, Sonny skies ahead, and go Yankees!!

Meet a Prospect: Frank German



The New York Yankees started Day Two of the 2018 MLB Draft by taking a right-handed starting pitcher out of the University of North Florida. His name is Frank German and he was the 127th overall pick in the draft, let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Frank German Edition.

German was a junior at the University of North Florida at the time of his drafting and stands at 6’2” and weighs in at 195 lbs. German is a right-handed starter and is also a two-time Atlantic Sun Conference First-Team player who possess a mid-90 MPH fastball, an above average breaking ball, and a circle change that he uses to keep batters off balance. This season for the University of North Florida the right-hander posted an 8-3 record with a 1.58 ERA. German had 11 starts where he allowed one earned run or fewer while he also posted three starts where he did not allow a run at all.

MLB Pipeline had the following to say about German before the Draft:  

“NORTH FLORIDA HAS NEVER HAD A PITCHER TAKEN IN THE TOP FIVE ROUNDS OF THE DRAFT, WITH ONLY OUTFIELDERS TODD DUNN AND DONNIE DEWEES GOING THAT EARLY. GERMAN, WHO BEGAN THE YEAR AS THE OSPREYS’ TUESDAY STARTER BUT WORKED HIS WAY TO BEING THEIR FRIDAY NIGHT ACE EN ROUTE TO BEING A GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD SEMIFINALIST, HAS THE CHANCE TO BECOME THE FIRST. 

GERMAN HAS A SOLID THREE-PITCH MIX THAT POINTS TO A FUTURE AS A STARTING PITCHER AT THE NEXT LEVEL. HE’LL THROW HIS FASTBALL IN THE 90-94 MPH RANGE AND MAINTAINS HIS VELOCITY, ABLE TO REACH BACK FOR THAT 94 LATE IN STARTS WHEN HE NEEDS IT. HIS BREAKING BALL IS CLOSE TO A 12-TO-6 CURVE WITH LATE AND SHARP BREAK TO IT AND HE THROWS AN EFFECTIVE MID-80S CIRCLE CHANGE THAT HAS THE BOTTOM FALL OUT OF IT. HE COMMANDS ALL THREE PITCHES WELL AND HAS THROWN A LOT MORE STRIKES, WHILE MISSING MORE BATS, THIS YEAR COMPARED TO HIS SOPHOMORE SEASON. 

GERMAN HAS A LIMITED CEILING, THAT OF A NO. 4 OR 5 STARTER. BUT HIS PERFORMANCE IN HIS DRAFT SEASON HAS HAD MORE THAN GSA VOTERS TAKE NOTICE, GIVING HIM A GOOD CHANCE TO BECOME THE FIRST NORTH FLORIDA PITCHER TO GO IN THE TOP SIX ROUNDS SINCE THE TIGERS TOOK TYLER STOHR IN 2008.” 

German has already signed with the Yankees and can be followed on Twitter by following @fgswift. You can also follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes. Frank, welcome to the organization and also, welcome to the Yankees family. You are an experienced right-handed starter that should fly through the Minor Leagues. We are all watching, and we are all rooting for you!! 

The Rise and Fall of the Valkyries… Chapter Two



Welcome back to the blog and welcome back to the Land of Bartow as we continue to tease and preview my upcoming book that is now available for purchase on Amazon. You are under ZERO obligation to buy this, I truly just want to share it with the world in whatever capacity that I can, but just in case the book has peaked your interest… here is another chapter for your reading pleasure while we wait for the game tonight. Enjoy and let me know what you think, brutal honesty is okay!



Chapter 2       Alarms

Dan arrived at work ten-to-fifteen minutes early to work every single day and had ever since he had worked for the Valkyries. That is just how Dan was, he was a stickler for being on time, working hard and doing the right thing. Dan was a family man first, a Valkyrie second and it didn’t leave much room for anything else. Dan had a wife, Crystal, but she died almost two years prior leaving Dan with the two children, the house and the responsibility that comes along with it all. Dan tried to date once since the death of his wife, but it just didn’t work out, they were at two different places in their lives and she simply didn’t make Dan happy. Dan had decided that he would rather be alone than spend another day unhappy, and that is exactly how he was ever since, alone.

Dan walked into work at the Valkyries compound and greeted his fellow Valkyries as he walked through the door. “Hello Jax, did you see that game last night?” Dan continued to stroll into his office before another greeting occurred, “Yo, Eddie. How’s it going brother?” Dan kept a steady pace into nodding, acknowledging and greeting many others on his way to his office until he came to a door that was labeled “Territories.” Dan took out his Valkyries ID card, swiped it and went into his office like he had every single day for a year prior to today.

“What’s the situation, Ellie?” Dan said to an older woman he shared the territories office with for the better part of the year he had been employed by the Valkyries. “Business as usual, Dan. It has refreshingly been pretty slow today, being the day after Christmas and all.” Dan shook his head in agreement and sat down at his computer, checking the daily emails and the local news stories of the day. There had been many attempts at an uprising since the Valkyries took over, none that made it past its infancy to be honest, but Dan and Ellie, among others, still checked in daily just to be thorough. There was one such group that was starting to gain some steam and notoriety though and Dan, being the thorough Valkyrie that he was, had his eye on this group as was his due diligence with the regime.

Dan had been trying to infiltrate and spy on the biggest and most well-known rebel group in the Land of Bartow, Defiance, for the longest time, but with little luck. Dan was resilient though and he knew he would get in eventually, he just had to be patient and keep trying. Little did Dan know though was that today would be the day that his patience and diligence would pay off, which became clear to him as his eyes lit up when his computer alerted him with a notification. “Ellie, we got it!” said Dan excitedly. “What do you mean? What did we get?” said Ellie perplexed. “I am in the Death Room!” Dan screamed with excitement as he began typing rapidly on his laptop computer.

The Death Room was Defiance’s version of the Valkyries Territories room. This was the command center for the war that was ongoing and all the pertinent information about incoming strikes, targets etc. were all in the Death Room. The Death Room was Defiance’s little black book and Dan had done it, he broke into the Death Room after many attempts before. He knew he had to alert the Valkyries leaders and the remainder of the Valkyries council, so Dan grabbed his laptop and ran through the Valkyries main compound, to the elevator, and into the top floor where a man by the name of Poke resided. Dan didn’t knock, he just strolled into Poke’s office and was met with an intense glare when he did. Dan immediately regretted not knocking on Poke’s door when he received that look and lowered his head in shame, his excitement for breaking into the Death Room subsiding. Poke was an intimidating figure and he ruled with an iron fist. Poke, from Asian descent, stood tall with his dark hair, dark eyes, darker tanned skin and big muscles. Dan had seen Poke angry and made it a mental note to never see him angry again if he could help it. Did Dan just mess up barging into his office? Would the news of the infiltration be enough to quell the mighty Poke from reprimanding the relatively new Valkyrie?

“Oh, this better be good” said Poke with a bit of annoyance in his voice. “It... is” said Dan as he stuttered with hesitation. “Well, on with it. I have a lot of roadmaps to look over today and I don’t have time for general chit chat” said Poke, no longer even looking Dan in the eye. Poke had a bad habit of not looking anyone in the eye, some wondered if it was because Poke felt like everyone was inferior to him. Others just thought he was a general asshole. Both could have been true, but no one had ever gotten close enough to Poke to ever truly find out. “I broke into the Death Room, sir. I’m into Defiance’s main intelligence gathering room. The uprising will be over before it begins at this rate. I should know everything we ever wanted to know about Defiance by noon.” Dan said, extremely proud of himself. Poke laughed, still not looking Dan in the eyes. “That’s it? That is what you barged into my office for? This was worth ruining my morning coffee break? Some little peons and their intelligence room?” Dan was crushed. “Yes, sir. I thought you would be pleased and I wanted you to be the first to know.” Poke gave Dan a dismissive wave of the hand and said, “If you get anything good out of that room be sure to send it to my assistant, Jessica.” Poke continued, but this time he looked Dan in the eye. Poke no longer had the dismissive attitude he had throughout most of this conversation, this time you could see the anger in his eyes and Dan could hear the hatred in his voice. “And if you ever just barge into my office again like that it will be over the wall for you to fend for yourself, and your children won’t be far behind you. Now go!”

Dan collected himself and immediately went out of Poke’s office and into the lobby. Dan, standing right outside Poke’s office, shuddered at the thought of going over the wall. While everything was calm, peaceful and somewhat normal inside the Valkyries compound it was a warzone outside the walls. Many resistance groups had formed to take down the oppressive Valkyries regime and no one was safe, especially a Valkyrie. Dan knew this, and he knew that while he was a relatively new and unknown Valkyrie that he wouldn’t want to spend any time outside the walls if he didn’t have to. Dan didn’t want his children to be exposed to being outside the walls either, so he made a mental note to never barge into the office of Poke again, no matter how excited he was.

Dan went into the elevator and back down to his office where Ellie sat excitedly waiting his return. “So, what did he say?” Ellie asked at the edge of her seat. “He brushed me off like it was nothing. He didn’t seem concerned about Defiance or the Death Room at all. He shrugged me off with one of these little gestures.” Dan mocked Poke’s dismissed hand wave while putting his laptop down on his desk. “Poke did tell me if I found anything to bring it to him, but man, that was a shot in the gut. I worked on getting into that room for months and it just felt like it wasn’t a great accomplishment because he didn’t break into the room himself. It almost feels like he is the only one within the Valkyries that isn’t worried about Defiance.” Ellie looked shocked. “Watch yourself, Dan. Talking like that will get you thrown over the wall and killed, and maybe not in that order.” That was the second time Dan has been threatened to be thrown over the wall and he hadn’t been at work for an hour. “Boy was this going to be a day to remember,” Dan thought to himself.

Dan sat down with the intent of beginning the long and tedious process of combing through the Death Room reading every note, post and shred of information that he could. Dan’s motivation was gone, though, after the gut check that Poke handed him and the will to even open his laptop and begin reading immediately felt like a chore. “What is the point? Poke won’t appreciate me anyway” Dan thought to himself, scared to say this out loud at the thought of being exiled or thrown over the wall. Dan knew he had to do something to justify being in the Territories Room though, so he sat there staring blankly into his computer screen pretending to work. Dan would click his mouse ever so often and scroll up and down on the track ball, squinting from now and then and pretending to take notes. Before long Dan went from “reading” the Death Room to simply staring off into space, not even pretending to work anymore. An hour passed of this before Dan felt his eyes get heavy and he felt sleep coming to him while he was sitting at his desk. Dan fought sleep for as long as he could, but eventually he succumbed to his body’s need for a slumber and fell asleep at his desk for the first time in his Valkyrie tenure. The first time Dan had ever fallen asleep at work couldn’t have come at a worse time, though, which was never more evident to Dan than when he was awoken to a set of blaring sirens and alarms. The alarms were sounding within the Valkyries council, flashing and strobing lights were activated all throughout the Valkyries compound and it only meant one thing. The Valkyries were under attack.




If you want to check out a copy of the book for yourself feel free to use the link below. Thanks in advance, even if you don’t buy one. You are still very much appreciated.



Meet a Prospect: Ryder Green



With their third-round pick and 97th pick overall in the 2018 MLB First Year Players Draft the New York Yankees selected Ryder Green, a high school outfielder out of Knoxville Cristian Academy in Tennessee. Green has a commitment to play for Vanderbilt this fall but the Yankees hope that he will forego that commitment allowing the team to sign one of the top prep players in all of Tennessee. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Ryder Green Edition.

Ryder Green is a right-handed power bat that stands 6’2” and weighs in at 205 lbs. Green is an outfielder that will likely stick in a corner outfield spot due to his size if he were to make it to the Major League level. Green has a ton of power with his bat and a strong throwing arm to boot which makes him intriguing on both sides of the ball.

PerfectGame.org had the following to say about Green before the Draft:

“RIGHT HANDED HITTER, HIGH BACK ELBOW LOAD WITH A HANGING LEG LIFT LOAD, TIMING INTENSIVE SWING APPROACH, STRONG SWING WITH GOOD EXPLOSION TO THE BALL, USES HIS STRENGTH WELL AND HAS BIG POWER POTENTIAL, PULL APPROACH. 6.72 RUNNER, 4.28 HOME TO FIRST. HAS GOOD FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS IN THE OUTFIELD AND MAKES ACCURATE ON LINE THROWS.”

Green does strike out more than you would like, but that is the case with many amateur and High School players. Green has average speed running the bases and will likely stick as a corner outfielder despite playing middle infield and center field in High School. Green does need work with his ball tracking abilities, but that will come with his development at just one position instead of many at any given time. Green will likely never be a .300 hitter at the Major League level, but he has shown power that could carry him through the Minor Leagues.

Here’s to hoping the Yankees can get Green signed and into their Minor League system as soon as possible. You can follow Ryder on Twitter by following @airryder25 and you can follow us while you are there by following @GreedyStripes.


Oh, I See Ya, Jonathan Loaisiga...

Photo Credit: La Prensa/Oscar Navarrete/Archivo
Rookie to Make MLB Debut on Friday…

As expected by many, Jonathan Loaisiga (Loh-AYE-see-gah) will make his Major League debut against the division rival Tampa Bay Rays on Friday at Yankee Stadium. No pressure. He’ll be pitching for baseball’s best team in America’s greatest ballpark in front of thousands and thousands of rabid Yankees fans.  

I do not doubt the potential of Loaisiga’s arm but the concern is that he’s never pitched higher than Double A. In essence, he leap-frogged over higher rated pitching talents like Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams, but the 23-year-old is viewed as having a Major League-ready arm and has the notable advantage of holding a 40-man roster spot which means the Yankees do not have to remove someone from their seat at the table like they would if they called up Sheffield or Adams, or Josh Rogers.  

I suppose it’s better to give the young right-hander a shot over an underwhelming name like David Hale or the rehabbing Luis Cessa but I probably would have gone with Sheffield. The Yankees need to place Sheffield on the 40-man roster before December’s Rule 5 Draft so it's inevitable they'll soon need to make room. I am not sure why A.J. Cole is still on the Yankees roster. He was routinely in the mix for the back-end of the Washington Nationals rotation the last few years but has never gotten the opportunity to start for the Yankees since his acquisition on April 24th. For basically a month and a half, Cole has primarily been paid to watch the Yankees play, only with a better seat than you or I. Manager Aaron Boone has called upon Cole for a grand total of eleven innings. It's not his fault that his first name is not Gerrit. Cole (1-0) has been effective in his limited volume of work. In six games, he has only given up one run on six hits for 0.82 ERA. He has walked six batters but has struck out twelve. He started two games for the Nationals to begin the season, and opened with one of the worst pitching lines you’ll ever see (3 2/3 innings, 10 hits, 10 runs) in a 13-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves on April 3rd. In fact, he gave up runs in all four appearances he made for the Nats in April before he was sold to New York for cash. Still, I would give Cole an opportunity based on his MLB experience. There is talent in his arm even if the results have been fleeting. The Yankees either need to use him or lose him to open a 40-man roster spot for a guy like Sheffield. Keeping him around for late inning blowouts seems like a waste of resources.  


Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

Loaisiga was born in Managua, Nicarauga in November 1994.  He originally signed with the San Francisco Giants, but missed the 2014 and 2015 seasons due to injury and had Tommy John surgery in 2016.  He is only 5’11” and 165 pounds but according to MLB.com, "While Loaisiga is small and skinny, he has surprising power to this three-pitch repertoire. His quick arm repeatedly generates 93-96 mph fastballs that top out at 98 with life down the strike zone. His low-80s curveball features a high spin rate and his upper-80s changeup has a nice fade, albeit with a bit too much velocity."  

Personally, I would have preferred to have seen Loaisiga, nicknamed Johnny Lasagna, pitch a few games at Triple A. I didn’t really like the Yankees decision to re-sign David Hale who doesn’t have much upside (in my opinion) other than being a below-average, replacement level starter. Loaisiga should have been the starter at Triple A over Hale.  

Yesterday’s 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals marked the start of a 16-day, 16 1/2 game schedule before the next day off so the Yankees need to get results from Loaisiga plus continued improvement from Domingo German to hold up the rotation until the Yankees can make trades for more experienced help next month and Masahiro Tanaka returns from the disabled list.   

As for the win, it was great to see the return of Sir Didi’s bat. After dominating MLB in April, Gregorius spent May as an imitation of Brendan Ryan. Okay, that’s not fair. The slick-fielding, no-hit Ryan had a mustache. Didi’s two home runs last night helped power the offense, but enough cannot be said about the great job Austin Romine has done as backup catcher this year. Romine was 1-for-2 and his sac fly accounted for a run. During the off-season, it seemed like most people (yeah, me too) wanted the Yankees to sign someone like Alex Avila to backup Gary Sanchez but Romine answered the bell and has been one of the game’s best backup backstops.  

The game featured a good performance from the elderly CC Sabathia (4-1). The soon-to-be 38 year old held the Nationals to 4 hits and no runs over 5 2/3 innings. He both walked and struck out three batters on 101 pitches. The bullpen chipped in 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, holding the Nats to only one hit while striking out six batters. Another fine performance by the reinvigorated Dellin Betances and another save for the Cuban Missile (his 18th).  

The game was probably one that Bryce Harper would like to forget. I am sure that he's still getting over the loss by his beloved Las Vegas Golden Knights to his baseball hometown's Capitals in the Stanley Cup Finals but two unintentional plunking's by Yankees pitchers last night before he pulled himself from the game did not help.

Photo Credit: NJ Advance Media for NJ.com (John Munson)

If Yankees fans, well, some of us, get their way in the off-season, Bryce will have the potential for much better days at Yankee Stadium minus the road grays he wore last night. Realistically, do I think the Yankees will sign Harper?  No.  Honestly, would I prefer Harper over Giancarlo Stanton?  As much as it pains me, yes.

X-rays were negative and Bryce is expected back today for the series finale but let's hope that memorable days in the Bronx are delayed by at least one game.

The Yankees (43-19) could not gain any ground on the Boston Red Sox (46-22). The Yankees and the Sox are tied atop the AL East although the Yanks lead by 0.018 percentage points. Boston beat the Baltimore Orioles, a team that seems permanently stuck on 19 wins, 6-4. The O's had their chances and did score two runs in the bottom of the 9th against Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, but Pedro Alvarez, representing the tying run, struck out to end the game. Seriously, I do not see how Buck Showalter can survive this season. It is a sad ending for the former Yankee.

In the category of 'I don't know why it took so long', the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders started Brandon Drury at first base in the second game of a double-header against the Rochester Red Wings yesterday. The first game saw Drury's 32 game on-base streak end. He was 0-for-3 with a run scored (reached base on a fielding error by former Seattle Mariners infielder Taylor Motter, the Ben Gamel look-alike). Drury was 1-for-3 with a triple and 2 RBI's in the second game to start a new streak. The RailRiders won both games.

The way Drury has played, he deserves a promotion back to the big league club. In 34 games and 112 at-bats for the RailRiders, Drury is hitting .313/.442/.455 with .897 OPS. He has 2 homers and 14 RBI's. As dismal as Greg Bird has looked at the plate since his return, I'd pull a 'Torreyes' on him (unexpected demotion to Triple A) in order to call up Drury. I'd take Drury over either Bird or Tyler Austin right now. We already know that Neil Walker can play decently at first and Drury is capable of learning the nuances of the position. I think it is more important for the Yankees to get Greg Bird going so that's why he would be my choice for the temporary sabbatical in Pennsylvania over Tyler Austin. For now, Austin and Walker can man first base effectively.

Over the weekend, there was a story about how Drury was unhappy in the Minor Leagues. What is he supposed to say? 'Ya know, I really like it here in Scranton. The people are nice, the food is good, I don't have 50,000 fans screaming in my ear'. I want Drury to be unhappy where he is. He has earned the right to be a Major League player and he is one. I have been a fan of the player and I will continue to be regardless of the accomplishments garnered by Miguel Andujar. There's room for both Andujar and Drury on the Yankees roster.

Photo Credit: The Scranton Times-Tribune (Butch Comegys)

It's a home game today for Sonny Gray so I am a bit concerned. Too bad he can't wear the road uniform on the mound. Anyway, I hope Gray's recent resurgence continues and he finally shows that he can be dominant at Yankee Stadium. Let's sweep the Nats.

Go Yankees!

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals 6/13



Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the quick two-game interleague series this week in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals. In the second game of the series the Yankees will send Sonny Gray hoping for sunny skies over the Bronx while the Nationals will counter with Erick Fedde. Let’s get to it here in the Bronx.

Gray has looked great in his last two starts for New York including eight innings of shutout baseball against the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start. Gray got the no-decision in the contest, but the Yankees won the game 3-0 in 13 innings behind a pair of home runs by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.


Fedde is the Nationals top pitching prospect and will receive a call up to the Major Leagues tonight to fill in for the injured Stephen Strasburg. Fedde will be making his second career start tonight after allowing three runs in 5.2 innings pitched in his MLB debut. 


The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and ESPN. You can also keep up with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.


Enjoy the game, Bryce Harper in Pinstripes may not happen and that’s totally okay and go Yankees!!

Hello… Hump Day



Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. Writing from me two days in a row, how could you all ever get so lucky? Obviously, I am joking as I am one of the humblest people you would ever meet, but my sarcastic side just tends to take over sometimes. Anyways, I digress. I hope everyone is well today and I hope everyone has the very best day, it’s hump day!

And to you, my fiancé. I love you so very much. I always have, and I always will. You make getting up in the morning worth it, you make going to bed at night something to look forward to, and everything in between so damn special. I love you!

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/13: Roger Clemens 300th Win & 4000th K


On this day in 2003 the Yankees Roger Clemens finally got his 300th victory of his career throwing 6.2 innings pitched in a win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The 40 year old Clemens would become only the 21st pitcher to ever win 300 games and the first since 1990. Clemens also got his 4,000th strikeout of his career joining Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Steve Carlton (4,136) as the only two members of the 4,000 strike out club.


Also on this day in 2001 the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Enrique Wilson and his .186 average to the Yankees for relief pitcher Damaso Marte and his 3-1 record and 2.50 ERA. The rest is history, although a right would be wronged in 2009.


Also on this day in 2001 in what should have started a fight the New York Yankees lost to the Montreal Expos in 12 innings after Mark Smith hit a "home run" that was clearly foul on replay. The Yankees would be forced to restore the missing screen on the bottom three feet of the fair side left field foul pole to keep this event from ever happening again. The section was originally removed so the fans sitting behind the pole would not have an obstructed view of the game.


Also on this day in 1994 Don Mattingly passed Yankees first baseman Wally Pipp for consecutive games played in a Yankees uniform. Mattingly played in 1,469 straight games and is only second to the Iron Horse Lou Gehrig and his 2,130 straight games.


Also on this day in 1957 another ugly brawl broke out when Art Ditmar threw a pitch behind Larry Doby's head. The White Sox infielder took exception to being thrown at and punched the Yankees pitcher Ditmar. Billy Martin, Walt Dropo, Bill Skowron, and Enos Slaughter were all in the middle of the fight.


Also on this day in 1948 the Yankees held Babe Ruth Day on the silver anniversary. Members of the 1923 team, his first team he played with in Yankee Stadium, and 49,641 fans sang Auld Lang Syne to Ruth. The #3 uniform was retired and immediately sent to Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame.


Also on this day in 1924 the Yankees outfielder Bob Meusel is hit by a pitch in the back by the Detroit Tigers Bert Cole and bedlam starts in the Bronx. The Yankees outfielder would throw his bat and charge the mound resulting in a nine inning brawl. The brawl included everyone from players, fans, and police and would see the Tigers forfeit the game 10-6 because the umpires could not clear the field after 30 minutes. Wow.


Finally on this day in 1921 Babe Ruth pitched the first five innings in a 11-8 victory over the Detroit Tigers for the first and only time this season. Ruth also hit two home runs in a season in which he broke his own major league record for home runs in a single season with 59. This would be the last time Ruth would pitch for the Yankees this season.