This Day in New York Yankees History 10/14: Chris Chambliss Wins the Pennant

Chris Chambliss will forever be known and remembered for his home run that won the pennant in the America League for the New York Yankees in 1976. Chambliss won the Yankees 30th AL pennant with his bottom of the ninth walk off home run to beat the Kansas City Royals in Game Five of the ALCS 7-6. Fans rushed the field, security lost control, and the Yankees are headed to the World Series. My, oh my I don’t believe it.


Also on this day in 2000 Roger Clemens strikes out a record setting 15 Seattle Mariners in a 5-0 victory in Game Four of the ALCS. The Yankees would win the game behind Clemens’ one hitter.

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/14: Chris Chambliss Wins the Pennant

Chris Chambliss will forever be known and remembered for his home run that won the pennant in the America League for the New York Yankees in 1976. Chambliss won the Yankees 30th AL pennant with his bottom of the ninth walk off home run to beat the Kansas City Royals in Game Five of the ALCS 7-6. Fans rushed the field, security lost control, and the Yankees are headed to the World Series. My, oh my I don’t believe it.


Also on this day in 2000 Roger Clemens strikes out a record setting 15 Seattle Mariners in a 5-0 victory in Game Four of the ALCS. The Yankees would win the game behind Clemens’ one hitter.

Yankees Best Win of the First Half

The New York Yankees first half of their 2016 campaign did not exactly go as planned, that is an understatement, but there were a few defining wins to focus on. The Yankees did take three-of-four from the first place Cleveland Indians right before the break including a scrappy win in Game One, an extra innings win in Game Three and a slugfest victory in the finale of the first half but I wouldn’t call any of them the Yankees best or biggest win of the first half. I couldn’t put my finger on just one game though so here are three to choose from. Which one would you choose? And if it’s not one of these three then which one is it? Leave it below in the comments section. 

My obvious pick and initial pick went to that game with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox on May 7^th. No one will remember that game by the date but all Yankees fans will know what you’re talking about when you tell them it’s the game that David Ortiz threw a hissy fit in and got ejected in the 9^th inning after being struck out by Andrew Miller. Ortiz was up with the bases loaded down 3-2 to New York when a 3-1 slider crossed up Brian McCann and was called for a strike. Ortiz screamed “no” many times only to take another slider for strike three to end the at bat. Ortiz was seen throwing equipment and barking at the umpire in the dugout after the strikeout and was ultimately tossed. Ortiz then rushed the umpire to get his two cents in but in the end the Yankees won after Hanley Ramirez grounded out to end the contest. Farewell tour gift idea? A pacifier. 

Almost a month later to the day the Yankees were facing off against a tough pitcher in Matt Shoemaker from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Shoemaker held the Yankees scoreless for six innings before Brian McCann and Starlin Castro went back-to-back, belly-to-belly, with two outs in the seventh inning to tie the game at two. In the eight All-Star Carlos Beltran hit a two-out, three-run home run to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead and eventual victory to send the fans home happy in the Bronx. 

The final game I had in mind for the Yankees best win of the first half was a game played on June 29^th against the American League’s best record holders, the Texas Rangers. The Yankees were down 7-4 in the 9^th inning and facing off with the Rangers closer Sam Dyson when Brian McCann connected for a three-run game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth. Starlin Castro would follow McCann and would draw a walk before Didi Gregorius slapped a fastball over the right field wall in right giving the Yankees a walk off victory.

The Yankees probably wanted more than 44 wins at this point in the season but at least some of them give you hope that the Yankees offense is alive and could be formidable if everyone starts clicking at once. What was your favorite moment from the first half?

Happy Joe Carter Day in Toronto? Maybe Soon

This also happened on this day in Major League history.... notice no bat flip here though. 

2015 Yankees: Chase Headley Yankees Highlights

Chase Headley's highlights as a New York Yankee. Most are from 2015 but there are some mixed in from 2014 as well including his walk off hit from his first game in the Bronx. Spoiler alert and enjoy.

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/14: Chris Chambliss Wins the Pennant

Chris Chambliss will forever be known and remembered for his home run that won the pennant in the America League for the New York Yankees in 1976. Chambliss won the Yankees 30th AL pennant with his bottom of the ninth walk off home run to beat the Kansas City Royals in Game Five of the ALCS 7-6. Fans rushed the field, security lost control, and the Yankees are headed to the World Series. My, oh my I don’t believe it.


Also on this day in 2000 Roger Clemens strikes out a record setting 15 Seattle Mariners in a 5-0 victory in Game Four of the ALCS. The Yankees would win the game behind Clemens’ one hitter.

Quick Hit: Recapping the 2015 Season in a Snap Shot

Baseball Reference is one of those must bookmark websites if you are a fan of any of the 30 Major League Baseball teams. Before I was a blogger I used to use the site quite often but ever since Bryan Van Dusen and myself began this journey almost four years ago I have used this site for something almost every single day. With the 2015 regular season now officially in the books and this being the final off day before the postseason let's take a look at the season's final screenshot.

Welcome to the 2015 postseason ladies and gentleman.

Comparing the 2009 Yankees to the 2015 Version

The 2009 edition of the New York Yankees may have been the best Yankees team that we have seen since the 1998 Yankees team that set an American League record for most wins in a season. In 2009 the Yankees spent heavily on free agents including starting pitchers AJ Burnett and CC Sabathia while adding to the offense with Mark Teixeira and the trade for Nick Swisher and it automatically paid off with 103 victories and a World Series championship. While the 2015 version of the Yankees may lack the absolute star power of the best infield in the game and the best starting rotation that money could buy this year's team is showing more similarities to that 2009 team than you may think.

In 2009 the Yankees had a 162 positive run differential scoring 915 runs with a 33.8 Team WAR offensively and a 22.9 WAR on the pitching side of things. The 2009 Yankees showed an incredible heart and mixed it with a never say die attitude accounting for 15 walk off victories to just four walk off losses. New York was as much as 6.5 games out of first place at their worst this season and started the season 0-2 and eventually 15-17 before firing on all cylinders and turning things on inside the American League East.

In 2015 the Yankees saw their first team that could embrace the "Bronx Bombers" moniker without garnering a snicker or two as the team is second in home runs through the first 25 games of the season. The team this season currently sports a 31 positive run differential scoring 124 runs. If you multiple this, and all these stats, by 6.5 you get a rough estimate of what the team is going to do across a 162 game schedule so the team is on base to score 806 runs with a 201.5 positive run differential. The pitching is much better this season thus far as the team has already accumulated a 4.9 WAR, across 162 games you have 31.85, while the batting has done enough with a 4.1 WAR, 26.65 across 162 games. New York hasn't has a walk off win or a walk off loss this season but the team did endure a 19 inning marathon with the Boston Red Sox and that has to count for something.

The most important comparison though is going to be the victories and the team started out 16-9 in their first 25 games. This team unlike the 2009 version has a ton of prospects to bring in the top talent or the right piece to actually improve the team in June and July where the 2009 version relied on Eric Hinske and Jerry Hairston Jr. While those two did well in that season and into the postseason this 2015 version has the chance to really be something special. They are less one dimensional than the 2009 version, the pitching is better and the offense is more than adequate. I have a really good feeling about this team as long as it stays healthy and I must say that I really love this team. Don't let me down!

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/14: Chris Chambliss Wins the Pennant

Chris Chambliss will forever be known and remembered for his home run that won the pennant in the America League for the New York Yankees in 1976. Chambliss won the Yankees 30^th AL pennant with his bottom of the ninth walk off home run to beat the Kansas City Royals in Game Five of the ALCS 7-6. Fans rushed the field, security lost control, and the Yankees are headed to the World Series. My, oh my I don’t believe it.

Also on this day in 2000 Roger Clemens strikes out a record setting 15 Seattle Mariners in a 5-0 victory in Game Four of the ALCS. The Yankees would win the game behind Clemens’ one hitter. 

Derek Didn’t Cry & Neither Did I

Mariano Rivera set the bar pretty high in 2013 when Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter took him out of his final game in the Bronx by sobbing on the mound in Andy’s arms. I think we all hoped and halfway expected Jeter to cry during his last trip to the Bronx but he didn’t, and neither did I.

If the Yankees had taken him out the way they had planned with a parade around the field and players like Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Joe Torre, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Rivera, etc. I think I would have sobbed like a baby and I think Derek would have to. Instead Derek went out the way Derek wanted to go out, playing a full nine innings, being the hero, and winning the game.

It’s hard to cry after you get so emotionally pumped up after a walk off victory. A victory that I halfway take credit for as when the bottom of the 8^th started I predicted on Twitter that David Robertson would blow the save so that Jeter could walk off. I have been known as the “Yankee Wizard” on Twitter in recent weeks due to predicting almost everything but the winning lottery numbers and Thursday night was no different. It truly amazes me that Jeter continues to one up himself and it amazes me even more than we haven’t come to expect it yet.

I didn’t cry Thursday night and neither did Jeter but I truly think that will be a totally different story tomorrow when his season and his career ends after 20 great and magical seasons. Well, at least one of us will cry and I’m not afraid to admit it. 

Derek Jeter & The Yankee Wizard Strike Again

Does last night count as something spectacular?

This is probably pretty hard to predict, and I admit that, but just go with it. We all know Derek Jeter has the flare for the dramatic and tends to come up huge in big spots so with that in mind, do you think Jeter does anything spectacular this weekend or next week against the Orioles as the Yankees finish out their Yankee Stadium schedule?

Vote in our poll!

The Year of the Walk Off: Part II?

Are we experiencing the year of the walk off part two for the New York Yankees. If you remember back in the 2009 season Michael Kay was quoted as saying “and the year of the walk off continues” as New York walked off against Minnesota three times in three games during a weekend set at Yankee Stadium. While the 2014 version of the Yankees should not and will not be compared to the World Series champion 2009 squad the current edition of the Yankees have walked off quite a bit this season.

Carlos Beltran started the Yankees walk off barrage on June 20 against the Baltimore Orioles when he hit that towering home run to left field at Yankee Stadium. Brian McCann has two walk off hits this season including a walk off single against the Cincinnati Reds and Aroldis Chapman on July 20 and again on August 24 against the Chicago White Sox when he hit a walk off home run. McCann's second walk off came just two nights after teammate Martin Prado got his first walk off hit as a Yankee. Chase Headley also has two after hitting a walk off single in his first game with the team on July 22, just two days after McCann had his first walk off hit with the club, and hitting a walk off home run on Thursday night against the Boston Red Sox. Martin Prado hit a walk off single back on August 22 to help the Yankees win another game against the Chicago White Sox.

In total four different people have had walk offs this season accounting for Brett Gardner wasting perfectly good Gatorade six times. In 2009 the Yankees walked off a staggering 15 walk off wins. The year of the walk off part two? I don't think so but this team has shown some heart and never say die attitudes at times, especially since Brian Cashman made all his July 31 trade acquisitions. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/28

On this day in 2007 the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-3 but I am not so sure that many people noticed. Everyone was too busy watching the squirrel that was running up and down the foul pole and received multiple standing ovations when shown on the big screen at Yankees Stadium.

On this day in 2008 the New York Yankees were playing the Boston Red Sox for the final time in the old Yankees Stadium. Trailing 2-0 late in the game the Yankees sent up Jason Giambi to pinch hit and he responded by hitting a two run home run to tie the game. The Yankees would later walk off the Red Sox winning the game 3-2 on a Giambino RBI single avoiding the sweep and keeping their playoff hopes alive.