New York Yankees News/Rumors: Season moved back further, Al Leiter and much more

Will there be a baseball season?

As the world continues to deal with the coronavirus, the New York Yankees and players try to stay ready for an eventual start of the baseball season.  With each day that passes, it seems that that possible start will be later and later.  If the launch is postponed, enough MLB may have to make the difficult decision of canceling the season altogether.

With each day, new restrictions pop up around the country.  Yesterday the city of Toronto, Canada, home of the Blue Jays mandated that there be no city-led public gatherings until June 30th.  When more severe steps are taken, many areas follow suit. On Facebook, I was criticized when I said several weeks ago that the season might not start until July 4th.  Now, that seems like wishful thinking.

Yankee/Mets pitcher Al Leiter on the challenges of a shortened season

“I think this is a chance for central baseball to come up with some really creative stuff that will be accepted — even by the old guard of people who don’t want change — because of the circumstance,” Leiter told The Post. “This is a very unique situation and we need to bring fans back. Let’s be creative here.”

The immediate problem that faces New York Yankees and MLB right now, is that no real plans can be made until they know when public gatherings will be allowed by the CDC.  Once they have an idea when that will be, they can investigate the options.  How short the season will be, how it will be played, the use of shortened inning doubleheaders, and even if there will be a baseball season at all.

“If I were playing right now, it’s a matter of getting teams to start playing again so we all could start getting paid,” Leiter said. “Do I want to sit in Port St. Lucie for a few weeks? No. Let’s get going. Maybe they don’t even have to go down there, just go to your big-league stadium. Do intrasquad games and let’s go.”

Both Major leaguers and minor leaguers to get some pay

In the recent MLB and players association deal, each of the 30 major league teams will set aside $170 million dollars to pay their players during the MLB shutdown. Those monies will be distributed according to each player’s pay scale.

MLB announced on Tuesday that teams will be paying minor leaguers $400 per week until May 31 or until the minor league season starts, whichever comes first.  This agreement replaces the original one that provided pay through April 8th.  There is a chance that minor league games will start sooner than the major league games and will likely start with no fans in the stands.

Yankee players support health workers

When New York Yankee Gleyber Torres saw this, he wasted no time thanking the doctors and nurses.

“grateful for the excellent work, we are fortunate to have great people saved life in this difficult situation, that is some real savages in the box .. I hope to see you soon take care and stay safe Thank you”

Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez also have thanked health care workers for their devotion to the job during the COVID-19 outbreak.

MLB’s Bryan Hock’s top five Yankee first baseman

1. Lou Gehrig:  A uniquely durable, power-hitting first baseman who established a Major League record for consecutive games played (eclipsed in 1995 by Cal Ripken Jr.), Gehrig drove in at least 100 runs in 13 straight seasons (1926-38) and holds the American League record with 185 RBIs in 1931.
2. Don Mattingly:  “Donnie Baseball” remained the most beloved Yankee of his era and a defensive star, tallying nine Gold Glove Awards in his 14 years wearing pinstripes. Mattingly appeared to be on a track toward the Hall of Fame before back issues sapped his power at age 29.
3. Tino Martinez:  Martinez holds the record for being fourth in all-time RBI’s with 739.  A slick defender, Martinez hit memorable World Series homers for the Yanks in 1998 (off the Padres’ Mark Langston in Game 1) and 2001 (off the D-backs’ Byung-Hyun Kim in Game 4). Martinez’s .831 OPS ranks fourth among Yankee’s first basemen, just ahead of Mattingly’s .830.
4. Moose Skowron:  Skowron played in the ’50s, he had 26 RBI in 35 World Series games as a New York Yankee. His right-handed stroke added balance to the lineups filled out by managers Casey Stengel and Ralph Houk, and Skowron was at his finest in the Fall Classic, batting .283/.315/.508 over 120 at-bats.
5. Jason Giambi:  Giambi hold the record for having a .404 on-base percentage, fourth-highest in Yankee history.   Giambi registered the final hit at the original Yankee Stadium, an RBI single. His 109 hit-by-pitches were the most of any Major Leaguer from 2002-08, and his 619 walks ranked fourth among first basemen in that span.