Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Quick Hit: The History Behind the Word “Yankee”



Have you ever wondered where the word “Yankee” actually came from? I have so I did the research and here is what I came up with just in case you were wondering.

The word Yankee is generally considered to be a word that refers to people from the United States if you aren’t living in the US and specifically refers to people from the North if you are currently living in the South. This obviously came from the American Civil War, specifically those who lived and fought in the New England area. The speech dialect in New England is actually called “Yankee” or “Yankee dialect” believe it or not.


The earliest recorded use of the word Yankee was from British General James Wolfe in 1758 when he referred to the people who lived in what was is now the United States. The word caught fire and began being used all across Britain as a derogatory word for the New Englanders and Yankee Soldiers. The word has evolved ever since as Mark Twain wrote a book “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” which was more aimed at New England residents and less towards a United States Citizen. More or less these days the term Yankee, when not being referred to in baseball terms, is used from Americans living in the southern part of the United States referring to the people living in or originally from the northern part of the United States.


The word also has some ties to the Dutch as they inhabited what is now known as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The Dutch given names of Jan (John) and Kees (Cornelius) were the most common Dutch names and sometimes combined to make a single name, for example Jan Kees de Jager. The pronunciation from the Dutch sounds much like the word Yankee and some believe that Dutch Americans were given the name from the native Dutch. There is also the theory that the Dutch word for pet, Janke, was where the term came from as when you pronounce the “J” in English it comes out with a “Y” sound. The final Dutch theory for the word was the slur “John Cheese” as the Dutch were heavy into dairy cultivation and even introduced the black and white dairy cow from Friesland and North Holland to America in the mid-1600s. When the Dutch would say John Cheese it would sound roughly like “Yankees” and the term stuck over time.

In New York though Yankees just means winning. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox 9/18



EDIT: GAME MOVED TO 7:05 pm ET

And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. In the first of their three-game set this week the Yankees will send JA Happ to the mound looking to right the ship while the Red Sox will counter with Nathan Eovaldi. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET, not a typo, inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 in New York, NESN in Boston, MLB Network nationally and on Facebook Watch anywhere in the world. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

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

Yankees Statistical Leaders Through 149 Games



The Yankees Offense






At Bats:

Giancarlo Stanton – 573





Games:

Giancarlo Stanton – 147






Hits:

Miguel Andujar – 156




Doubles:

Miguel Andujar - 40






Home Runs:

Giancarlo Stanton - 34





RBI:

Giancarlo Stanton - 89





Batting Average:


Miguel Andujar - .298
Aaron Judge - .285














The Yankees Pitching









Wins:

Luis Severino – 17





Losses:

Sonny Gray – 9 







ERA:

Starters:  JA Happ – 2.70 ERA
Bullpen:  Aroldis Chapman – 2.11 ERA







Strikeouts:

Starters: Luis Severino – 207 K’s
Bullpen: Dellin Betances – 108 K’s






Saves:

Aroldis Chapman – 31






Shutouts:

Luis Severino – 1
Masahiro Tanaka - 1



All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox 9/18



Rivalry renewed, just this time on a Tuesday afternoon in the Bronx. Despite the weird start time for the game the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will continue their rivalry this week as the 2018 season begins to wind down. In the opener of the three-game set this week the Yankees will send JA Happ out to the mound to face off with Nathan Eovaldi for the Red Sox. Rivalry renewed, so let’s get to it here in the Bronx.

Happ has possibly been the Yankees most reliable starters of the second half and since his acquisition in late July. Happ has made eight starts as a Yankee and has posted a 6-0 record with a 2.70 ERA with the Yankees winning seven of those eight games.



Eovaldi has a great record inside Yankee Stadium throughout his career posting a 10-5 record with a 3.85 ERA. Eovaldi also dominated the Yankees in his last start inside Fenway Park as well allowing no runs on three hits in eight innings of work back on August 4.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET, not a typo, inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 in New York, NESN in Boston, MLB Network nationally and on Facebook Watch anywhere in the world. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.


Enjoy the game, there’s no excuse not to follow along today in some capacity, and go Yankees!!

Hello… Wild Card Game Home Field Advantage Rant



Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. The New York Yankees are going to the postseason as one of the Wild Card winners in the American League. Whether it is as the home team or the away team we don’t now yet, but really who cares? I mean, obviously a lot of people do judging by posts on Facebook and Twitter, but they shouldn’t. Yankee Stadium, Oakland Coliseum, who cares? What’s the difference? This team has been here before, they haven’t. Not that this even matters anyway. October is the second season, and a new season. I could give plenty of examples of teams that limped into the postseason, cough 1998 Yankees cough, and did well, just as you could give me plenty of examples of the opposite, 2015 Yankees.

I said all that to say this, who cares? He Yankees are going to the postseason. Be happy about that, and root for the best… don’t just sit here poisoning every time line I have on every social media platform I take part in because you expect the worst. Nothing before October 3rd matters. Nothing.

Hey baby. I love you, and I hope you have the very best day.

This Day in New York Yankees History 9/18: Yankees Sabathia Wins 20 Games


CC Sabathia before coming to the New York Yankees never had a 20 win season, although he did win 19 games in two separate occasions, but finally reached the milestone on this day in 2010. The New York Yankees would beat the Baltimore Orioles 11-3 on this day. The southpaw would lead the league in victories and is the fourth Yankee to win 20 games since 2000 joining Roger Clemens (2001), Andy Pettitte (2003) and Mike Mussina (2008).


Speaking of clutch Yankee pitching and beating the Baltimore Orioles Mike Mussina became the first American League pitcher to win 10+ games in 16 consecutive seasons. The Yankees would thump the Orioles on this day 12-0. Moose would join Steve Carlton (18), Warren Spahn (17), Nolan Ryan (16), Don Sutton (17), Cy Young (19) and Greg Maddux (20) as one of only seven pitchers to ever achieve the feat. Mussina would get his 17thconsecutive season with at least 10 wins in 2008 in his final season.