There probably isn’t a day that goes by that something in New York Yankee history hasn’t happened that is memorable in their 109-year history. Here is a look at this week’s happenings in that history.
1933 April 25th:
Yankee pitcher helps himself. Rookie Russ Van Afta shuts out the Senators 16-0 while hitting 4 for 4. the 26-year-old ended his rookie season 12-4 with a .283 batting average in 67 at-bats.
1904 April 25th:
The New York Yankees’ winningest ever pitcher Jack Chesbro wins his first game of the season at American League Park, the Washington senators’ home. The Highlander right-hander would go on that season and win 41 games, creating a pitching record that still holds today.
1999 April 25th:
The legendary Joltin Joe DiMaggio joined Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Miller Huggins, and Mickey Mantle with a monument at Yankee Stadium, only the fifth New York Yankee to do so. Unfortunately, DiMaggio had died a month earlier. As part of the celebration, singer-songwriter and life long Yankee fan Paul Simon took to the field to sing Mrs. Robinson; the lyrics included “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes on you.”
1961 April 26th:
Eleven games into the season, Roger Maris hits his first home run of the season in a 13-11 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Maris would go on to his 61 iconic home runs that season, still a Yankee record.
2005 April 26th:
New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez hit a home run that day in his first plate appearance; He would do the same in his next two at-bats, becoming only the 11th major leaguer to have 10 or more RBI’s in one game, just one shy of Tony Lazzeri’s feat (11) in 1936.
2012 April 27th:
Yankee right-hander Ivan Nova fails to tie the franchise mark of 16 consecutive wins established last season by Roger Clemens when he doesn’t get a decision in the team’s 7-6 victory over Detroit.
1985 April 28th:
The New York Yankees fire Yogi Berra after the team got to a 6-10 start. The Yankees brought back Billy Martin for a fourth stint as manager. George Steinbrenner broke his promise not to fire Berra causing a rift between Berra and the Yankees that lasted 14 years before the elder Steinbrenner apologized to Berra and celebrated Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium.
1939 April 29th:
The legend Lou Gehrig came to the plate and hit a single. The 2,721st hit of his career and his last. The record endured for 70 years until Derek Jeter broke the record in 2009. ALS debilitated Gehrig; he died two years later of what was named Lou Gehrig’s disease.
1939 April 30th:
Lou Gehrig plays his last game as a New York Yankee; he went hitless in a loss to the Washington Senators. This day would end his 2,130 consecutive games played. He would end his 17-year career with a lifetime batting average of .340 with 490 home runs.
2010 April 30th:
Mariano Rivera ties the record for the most consecutive saves at a home park with 51 saves. He also moved ahead of Roger Clemens for 10th all-time, with 1,015 strikeouts.
1996 May 1st:
Bernie Williams becomes only the second player in New York Yankee history to hit 6 hits in a single game. On this day, he would go 6 for 8 in an extra-inning contest at Orioles Park at Camden Yards. The Yankees were victorious, winning the game 11 to 6.
2015 May 1st:
Amid loud boos, Alex Rodriguez blasts a 3-0 fastball over the Green Monster for his 660th career home run, tying Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time home run list. Willie Mays congratulated A-Rod, saying that “milestones are meant to be broken. I wish him continued success throughout his career.”