TGP Trivia and Fact of the Day for March 9th, 2019

Good morning Yankees family!!

Derek Jeter holds the Yankees record for most leadoff home runs in a career. Jeter started a game 29 times by hitting a home run. 

And a special good morning to the love of my life, Mrs. Kari Ann Burch!

TGP Trivia and Fact of the Day for March 4th, 2019

Good morning Yankees family. Monday... yuck!

Babe Ruth won 10 home runs crowns as a member of the New York Yankees. The Sultan of Swat, right? But what player has the second most home run titles in club history?

Highlight below for your answer, but leave your guesses in the comments section below first!



Mickey Mantle, who has four. 



Even on a Monday morning I still love you so very much, my amazing wife Kari! And a very special good morning to my son, Jacob. You turn 15-years old today, and this is your day. Enjoy your day buddy, I love you!

TGP Trivia and Fact of the Day for February 27th, 2019

Good morning Yankees family!

Who is the only Yankees player to hit a home run in each of his first two plate appearances with the club?

Highlight below to see the answer, but before you do please leave your guesses below in the comments section:



Cody Ransom, who did it in 2008. 



And a special good morning to the one woman in the world that was made just for me. I love you, Kari!

Quick Hit: Michael Kay Explains His “See Ya!” Home Run Call

Just a quick hit for you all as we wait on the beginning of the game between the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics. I had heard this story before on a documentary or interview with the Yankees legendary announcer Michael Kay, but in case you haven’t he explained once again how he came up with his well-known home run call, “See Ya!” while on an interview with the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday.

Kay was quoted in the interview as saying:

“I got this job 27 years ago, and at the time I was dating a young lady who, when she would get out of the car at the end of a date she would say ‘see ya, wouldn’t want to be ya!’ and I said, ‘you know, I’m going to hijack that as my home run call.’ So, I’ve been doing it since the very beginning of when I got the job in 1992.”

Pretty interesting and cool little nugget of information for you in case you had never heard the story before. Now you know, and now it is almost time for Kay to say “see ya” about six or seven times this afternoon in the Bronx. Here’s to high hopes and even higher home runs. See ya!

Every 2016 Home Run from the New York Yankees

The 2016 New York Yankees hit 182 home runs this season.... here is every single one of them. Enjoy.

Weekly Check In: Aaron Judge

Another Yankees bites the dust to injury and another Yankees prospect is still sitting in Triple-A chomping at the bit trying to claw his way to the Major Leagues. I’ll never understand why the Yankees do what they do in the prospects department and I’ll never understand why they rely on veterans no matter the circumstance but in the same breath I am under no illusions that I know more as a fan than the people in the organization.

So we’ll save the Yankees front office second guessing for another day, and trust me another day will come, and instead we’ll focus on what the Yankees are doing right. Aaron Judge is doing better in Triple-A than he did in 2015 and at one point he went on a home run streak that undoubtedly opened up eyes in the Bronx.

Judge is an authoritative figure with an absolute ton of power and word is that he has adjusted his batting stance a bit to better reach the inside part of the plate. It has also, whether by design or not, made him better and recognizing the breaking stuff off that plate that has terrorized him for much of his career making him a much better hitter. The improvements are there and it won’t be long before the Judge will be in the Bronx reigning terror on opposing pitching staffs. 

Year	Age	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	24	AAA	30	136	17	32	7	7	20	1	11	34	.260	.316	.488	.804

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics 4/20

The New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics are preparing for Round Two tonight in their three game set this week in the Bronx. Tonight is going to be a tough matchup for the Yankees much like last night was but for an entirely different set of reasons. Last night the A’s sent a lefty to the mound which always seems to give New York trouble and tonight they send a tough pitcher in Kendall Graveman to the mound. Opposing him tonight will be Nathan Eovaldi for the Yankees.

Eovaldi had a great start going last time out against the powerful Toronto Blue Jays before falling victim to the home run ball late in the start. Eovaldi held onto a shutout before a pair of home runs by Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki buried the Yankees right-hander. Eovaldi is striking out more batters than ever, 43% of his outs are now coming via the strikeout this season, but he is still allowing too many hits consistently.

 Graveman heads into this start fresh off a strong start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Graveman took a no-decision in the start despite allowing just one run on four hits in six innings of work. Graveman has allowed just seven hits all season so the Yankees will have to be selective and swing at good pitches tonight if they want a victory.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. These are games that the Yankees must win if they want to be in contention in September and October but it always seems like these games and series where New York is considered by many to be the heavy favorites that things just fall apart. Reverse the trend, win the game and take the series too.

Go Yankees!

If Seattle Doesn’t Want Dae-Ho Lee….

The Seattle Mariners are desperate for any kind of offense to show their face inside SafeCo Field this season and they have gone to great lengths to find that offense. The team has been searching desperately for anyone and everyone they can to protect Robinson Cano in Seattle and their search went as far as Asia this winter. The Mariners signed 33-year old slugger Dae-Ho Lee to a minor league deal with an invitation to their spring training camp out of South Korea hoping to take advantage of his power and if they decide they don’t want him I think the Yankees should snatch him up, ASAP.

Lee has played for 15 seasons in Japan and has been a part of two consecutive Japanese Series championship teams and will now look to make a name for himself in the Major Leagues. While the Lee signing flew sort of under the radar the imposing figure that is Lee cannot as he stands at 6’4” and 250 pounds, which FYI is down 15 pounds from his playing weight while in Japan. Lee lost the weight hoping to be more nimble, quick and better on the defensive side of the baseball. Lee is listed as a first baseman.

The Yankees have Chris Parmelee slated to be the new “Greg Bird” in Scranton this season but a power threat like Lee may be too intriguing to pass up. Lee will be competing with former Yankees prospect Jesus Montero in Seattle for a backup platoon spot while Gaby Sanchez, the former Pittsburgh Pirates player, is also in the mix. Lee would have a lot less competition in New York for a backup first base job.

If Lee were to come to New York, which is extremely unlikely, he would bring his career .303 average with his 323 career home runs with him. Lee hit .282 with 31 home runs and 98 RBI in 2015 and describes himself as “not really a big home run guy” despite his frame. Lee just tries to hit everything with the sweet part of the bat and when he does he says it goes far. Sounds like a good plan to me. This is one spring training competition I will personally be keeping an eye on because if it doesn’t work and I’m the Yankees GM, which admittedly I’m not, I am handing him an opportunity in the Bronx whether on a MLB or MiLB deal.

What if Alex Rodriguez Ties and/or Passes Babe Ruth in 2016?

This time last year every media outlet, every camera, every microphone and every person’s full attention was on Alex Rodriguez for all the wrong reasons. Alex was preparing for his first full season in the Major Leagues since missing all of 2014 with a steroids related drug suspension and was also preparing to not only tie but pass Willie Mays for fourth place on the all-time home runs list for MLB. The drama only started in March of 2015 but this time around the attention will be on Alex for a different set of reasons. Can he be a leader in the Yankees clubhouse? Can he mentor the young guns the Yankees are currently stockpiling on the roster and can he come close to matching the production he put out in 2015? And in the same breathe what will happen if and when Alex ties and passes former Yankees great Babe Ruth?

I pose the question because the Yankees and Alex had a bit of a debate, let’s call it a debate anyway, over his $6 million home run trigger bonus when he tied Mays on the all-time list. The Yankees refused to pay Alex the money for reasons that have been beat into the ground more times than we’d all like to remember or admit and in the end the team and Alex decided to donate a portion of the money to a charity of Alex’s choice to settle the discussion. Will there be a peaceful resolution this time around or will Alex want the money that was written into his contract?

I don’t pretend to know the current financial situation that Alex is in after all the legal fees he accumulated and such but you would have to think that he could still “use” an easy $6 million in his bank account. The problem here, and I mentioned this last year as well, is that he set a precedence last season when he agreed to donate the money. In the eye of an outsider that seems like Alex admitted at least some wrongdoing or guilt in the situation while allowing himself to forfeit the money. What makes him any less “wrong” or “guilty” or any more “worthy” of the money this time around just because he seemingly turned his life around and his career both on and off the field?

For all I know the Yankees may simply write the check and not bat an eye lash but if the history of the situation is any indicator of the future I just can’t see that happening. I may be exaggerating a little bit but it seems like the whole organization would stop and bend down in front of you to pick up a nickel so imagine what they would do for $6 million in change? I can see another fight on the way and it’s going to come down to whether the Yankees want to get out “Yankee Way’d” by Alex Rodriguez again or not.