This Day in New York Yankees History 5/20: Babe Ruth Jersey and One Armed Outfielders

On this day in 2012 Babe Ruth's 1920 jersey sells at auction for $4,415,658. This was the largest amount ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia according to auctionreport.com. The woolen uniform was worn by Ruth during his first season as a Yankee after being traded to New York by the Red Sox.


Also on this day in 1976 the Yankees and the Red Sox are in one of the ugliest brawls in the history of the rivalry when Carlton Fisk stabs Lou Piniella with the ball when Sweet Lou tried to score. Bill Lee suffered a separated shoulder in the fight with Graig Nettles and caused him to miss most of the season.


Also on this day in 1959 the Yankees enter last place in the American League for the first time since 19 years when they lost to the Detroit Tigers 13-6.


Also on this day in 1948 Joe DiMaggio had four extra base hits for the fourth time in his career in Chicago in front of 5,001 fans. DiMaggio hit for the cycle for the second time in a 13-2 victory over the White Sox. The Yankees had 22 hits and DiMaggio had two home runs, a triple, a double, a single, and six RBI's.


Also on this day in 1945 Pete Gray led the St. Louis Browns to a doubleheader sweep of the New York Yankees after scoring the winning run in the second game. Gray collected three hits in the first game and the one-armed outfielder makes ten putouts in the field in the second game.


Also on this day in 1918 Tris Speaker was struck in the head with a pitch off of Red Sox submariner Carl Mays. Mays would also hit Ray Chapman two years later in the head with a pitch that would kill him as a member of the New York Yankees. Speaker thought that Mays hit him on purpose in the head but Mays always denied the allegations.



Finally a mere seven years later in 1925 Speaker scored from first base on a single scoring the winning run in a 10-9 walk off win over the Yankees. The Indians scored six times in the bottom of the ninth to cap off the comeback. Where was Mariano Rivera when you need him?

This Day in New York Yankees History 5/20: Babe Ruth Jersey and One Armed Outfielders

On this day in 2012 Babe Ruth's 1920 jersey sells at auction for $4,415,658. This was the largest amount ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia according to auctionreport.com. The woolen uniform was worn by Ruth during his first season as a Yankee after being traded to New York by the Red Sox.


Also on this day in 1976 the Yankees and the Red Sox are in one of the ugliest brawls in the history of the rivalry when Carlton Fisk stabs Lou Piniella with the ball when Sweet Lou tried to score. Bill Lee suffered a separated shoulder in the fight with Graig Nettles and caused him to miss most of the season.


Also on this day in 1959 the Yankees enter last place in the American League for the first time since 19 years when they lost to the Detroit Tigers 13-6.


Also on this day in 1948 Joe DiMaggio had four extra base hits for the fourth time in his career in Chicago in front of 5,001 fans. DiMaggio hit for the cycle for the second time in a 13-2 victory over the White Sox. The Yankees had 22 hits and DiMaggio had two home runs, a triple, a double, a single, and six RBI's.


Also on this day in 1945 Pete Gray led the St. Louis Browns to a doubleheader sweep of the New York Yankees after scoring the winning run in the second game. Gray collected three hits in the first game and the one-armed outfielder makes ten putouts in the field in the second game.


Also on this day in 1918 Tris Speaker was struck in the head with a pitch off of Red Sox submariner Carl Mays. Mays would also hit Ray Chapman two years later in the head with a pitch that would kill him as a member of the New York Yankees. Speaker thought that Mays hit him on purpose in the head but Mays always denied the allegations.



Finally a mere seven years later in 1925 Speaker scored from first base on a single scoring the winning run in a 10-9 walk off win over the Yankees. The Indians scored six times in the bottom of the ninth to cap off the comeback. Where was Mariano Rivera when you need him?

Alex Rodriguez Didn't Taint The 3,000 Hit Club

When Alex Rodriguez hit a home run in the top of the 1^st inning off Detroit’s Justin Verlander there was a mixed bag of reactions. Many were happy for Alex and for his accomplishment but some, including Zack Hample who caught the 3,000^th hit, were not so happy about the milestone. There were many opinions thrown out there that ranged from the mindset that he would have reached the plateau anyway without PED’s to that he is a lying, cheating scumbag that has ruined the legacy that is the 3,000 hit club. While 28 players have reached the milestone before Alex you cannot say with a straight face that all 28 of them didn’t do their own part in tarnishing the legacy themselves.

Pete Rose leads Major League Baseball history with 4,256 hits in his career and will join the likes of Rafael Palmeiro, who failed a steroids test, and Rodriguez in the all-exclusive “I hit 3,000 hits but I’m not going to the Hall of Fame” club. Rose was banned from the sport for betting on games while he was a manager of the Cincinnati Reds and new evidence suggests he may have been betting on games heavily while he was still playing in 1986. Palmeiro finished with 3,020 hits in his career but will be more remembered for him wagging his finger at a Congressional committee stating that he never used steroids, period. Less than five months later the positive test hit the news and my collection of his baseball cards were worthless.

Ty Cobb finished his career with 4,189 hits after bragging that he killed a drifter in 1912. Cobb also once jumped into the seats to beat up a disabled heckler that we once covered in our “This Day in New York Yankees History” blog. Cobb also confessed that games were fixed in 1919 by the Chicago White Sox when Tris Speaker, who finished with 3,514 hits, was also involved. Speaking of illegal activities Eddie Murray, who finished with 3,255 hits in his career, was hit with insider trading charges back in 2012 by the SEC who reported that Murray had received roughly $235,314 in illegal profits.

Not everyone is going to be Derek Jeter. Some are going to lie, some are going to cheat and some are going to steal. Alex was not the first to give the 3,000 hit club a black eye and he probably won’t be the last so stop acting like he’s the anti-Christ. Thank you. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 5/20: Babe Ruth Jersey’s and One Armed Outfielders

On this day in 2012 Babe Ruth's 1920 jersey sells at auction for $4,415,658. This was the largest amount ever paid for a piece of sports memorabilia according to auctionreport.com. The woolen uniform was worn by Ruth during his first season as a Yankee after being traded to New York by the Red Sox.

Also on this day in 1976 the Yankees and the Red Sox are in one of the ugliest brawls in the history of the rivalry when Carlton Fisk stabs Lou Piniella with the ball when Sweet Lou tried to score. Bill Lee suffered a separated shoulder in the fight with Graig Nettles and caused him to miss most of the season.

Also on this day in 1959 the Yankees enter last place in the American League for the first time since 19 years when they lost to the Detroit Tigers 13-6.

Also on this day in 1948 Joe DiMaggio had four extra base hits for the fourth time in his career in Chicago in front of 5,001 fans. DiMaggio hit for the cycle for the second time in a 13-2 victory over the White Sox. The Yankees had 22 hits and DiMaggio had two home runs, a triple, a double, a single, and six RBI's.

Also on this day in 1945 Pete Gray led the St. Louis Browns to a doubleheader sweep of the New York Yankees after scoring the winning run in the second game. Gray collected three hits in the first game and the one-armed outfielder makes ten putouts in the field in the second game.

Also on this day in 1918 Tris Speaker was struck in the head with a pitch off of Red Sox submariner Carl Mays. Mays would also hit Ray Chapman two years later in the head with a pitch that would kill him as a member of the New York Yankees. Speaker thought that Mays hit him on purpose in the head but Mays always denied the allegations.

Finally a mere seven years later in 1925 Speaker scored from first base on a single scoring the winning run in a 10-9 walk off win over the Yankees. The Indians scored six times in the bottom of the ninth to cap off the comeback. Where was Mariano Rivera when you need him?

Remembering Tris Speaker On This Day

Tris Speaker made history more than once in this day in Major League history. 

On this day in 1918 Tris Speaker was struck in the head with a pitch off of Red Sox submariner Carl Mays. Mays would also hit Ray Chapman two years later in the head with a pitch that would kill him as a member of the New York Yankees. Speaker thought that Mays hit him on purpose in the head but Mays always denied the allegations.

A mere seven years later Speaker scored from first base on a single scoring the winning run in a 10-9 walk off win over the Yankees. The Indians scored six times in the bottom of the ninth to cap off the comeback. Where was Mariano Rivera when you need him?