September 16th

 

On this day in Yankee history... 


1905: The Highlanders find themselves a little short on infielders, so RF Willie Keeler, a lefty, plays 2B in both games of a twin bill. The talented Keeler played two games at shortstop for New York in the NL in 1893.  

1922: Pennant fever rages in St. Louis as the Yankees come to town with a 1/2 game lead. Bob Shawkey outpitches Urban Shocker 2-1, as George Sisler ties Ty Cobb's 1911 record by hitting in his 40th consecutive game. While chasing a fly ball in the 9th, New York outfielder Whitey Witt is hit in the head and knocked cold by a soda bottle thrown from the bleachers. AL president Ban Johnson will initially offer a $1,000 reward for the name of the bottle-thrower. Then, to calm the crowds, he offers the theory that Witt stepped on the bottle and it flew up and hit him. The incident leads to a ban on the sale of bottled drinks in ballparks. 

                            https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1922/B09160SLA1922.htm   








1939: The Yankees clinch their fourth straight pennant with an 8-5 win over the Tigers at the Stadium. 

                        https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1939/B09160NYA1939.htm    








1948: Joe DiMaggio becomes the 9th player in ML history to hit 300 home runs, connecting for the milestone off Fred Hutchinson of Detroit. 

1950: Rookie Whitey Ford tosses a six-hitter to give the Yankees the rubber game in Detroit 8-1 and move them back into first place. Joe DiMaggio hits his 30th homer and the Yanks score seven runs in the 9th as Ford drives to his seventh win without a loss. 

                              https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1950/B09160DET1950.htm    









1955: Mickey Mantle pulls a hamstring running out a bunt. He will make just two pinch-hit appearances in September, and go to bat in the World Series just 10 times.  

1958: Former Yankee second baseman and 1945 AL batting champion George 'Snuffy' Stirnweiss is killed in  train crash in Red Bank, NJ at the age of 39. 

1978: With 55,091 looking on, the Yankees snap a 2-2 tie with a 9th-inning triple by Willie Randolph and a sacrifice fly by Thurman Munson to beat the Red Sox 3-2. New York now lead by 3 1/2 games. The Yanks score first on a Reggie Jackson two-run blast in the 5th. Both starters, Catfish Hunter and Mike Torrez, go the distance. 

                       https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1978/B09160NYA1978.htm    









1979: At the Stadium, the Yankees hold Catfish Hunter Day to honor their future Hall of Fame pitcher who has already announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season at the age of 33. A 20-year-old left-hander named Dave Righetti makes his major league debut for the hometown team. 

1997: The Yankees sweep the Red Sox, winning 2-0 and 4-3. Andy Pettitte pitches eight innings in the opener, striking out a career-high 12. Willie Banks is the winner in the nitecap with 6 2/3 innings. 

    
   
                             https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1997/B09161NYA1997.htm  

                             https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1997/B09162NYA1997.htm    







2008: In the Yankees' last homestand at their original stadium, Derek Jeter passes Lou Gehrig for the most career hits at the storied ballpark. In action against the White Sox, he collects his 1,270th hit in the venue, a single past Juan Uribe while facing Gavin Floyd. 

                           https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2008/B09160NYA2008.htm  







2012: The Yankees beat the Rays 6-4 behind Hiroki Kuroda and Rafael Soriano's 40th save of the season. New York remain in first place, one game ahead of the Orioles and 5 in front of the fading Rays.  

                           https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2012/B09160NYA2012.htm