Making Yankee Fans Proud!
The New York Mets choke to end their final game at Shea Stadium
Well, you can set your watch by the fact that the NY Mets simply can not finish what they start, and when push comes to shove they will fail. They did it in 2007, and they did it earlier today, when they blew a game against the Marlins, and when the Milwaukee Brewers won their game against the NL Central Division Champion Cubs, 3-1.
That means the Brewers are the NL Wild Card, and the NY Mets the perrenial losers that they are!
NY Yankee Favorite Passes Away
Bobby Murcer 1946-2008
Just got word that one of my favorite sports broadcasters, Bobby Murcer, passed away today. The AP reports…
Ex-Yanks star, broadcaster Bobby Murcer dies at 62
NEW YORK (AP) Bobby Murcer succeeded Mickey Mantle, played in pinstripes with Don Mattingly and watched proudly from the broadcast booth when the New York Yankees returned to power.
A cherished link from former Yankees greats to the club’s current stars, Murcer died Saturday due to complications from a malignant brain tumor, the team said. He was 62.
In his final moments, Murcer was surrounded by family at Mercy Hospital in his hometown of Oklahoma City, the Yankees said. A five-time All-Star outfielder, he spent nearly four decades with New York as a player, executive and announcer.
“Bobby Murcer was a born Yankee, a great guy, very well-liked and a true friend of mine,” owner George Steinbrenner said. “I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Kay, their children and grandchildren. I will really miss the guy.”
Murcer was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Christmas Eve 2006 after having headaches. He had surgery that week in Houston and doctors later discovered the tumor was malignant. Determined to be around his beloved Yankees, Murcer returned to the broadcast booth last year and briefly this season.
The only person to play with Mantle and Mattingly, the popular Murcer hit .277 with 252 home runs and 1,043 RBIs in 17 seasons with the Yankees, San Francisco and the Chicago Cubs. He made the All-Star team in both leagues and won a Gold Glove.
“All of Major League Baseball is saddened today by the passing of Bobby Murcer, particularly on the eve of this historic All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, a place he called home for so many years,” commissioner Bud Selig said. “Bobby was a gentleman, a great ambassador for baseball, and a true leader both on and off the field. He was a man of great heart and compassion.”
Always a fan favorite in New York and known for his folksy manner as a broadcaster, Murcer won three Emmy Awards for live sports coverage. His most dramatic words came during his time as a player on one of the saddest days in Yankees history.
32 Years Ago Tomorrow
Chicago Cub baseball player Rick Monday saves an American flag from would be flag burners during a game in 1976. This great clip includes insights from Monday, as well as comments by Tommy Lasorda and Steve Garvey.
End of an Era
Our friends at the NY Post reported on Sunday that good ol’ George Steinbrenner is finally stepping down from his seat of power over at the NY Yankees organization.
The Steinbrenner boys have taken the reins, Yankees brass has told The Post.
Hank and Hal Steinbrenner will share leadership of father George’s beloved Bronx Bombers in an arrangement to be further ironed out at top-level meetings in Tampa this week.
“George has taken on a role like the chairman of a major corporation,” said team president Randy Levine.
“He’s been saying for years he’s wanted to get his sons involved in the family business. Both of them have stepped up and are taking on the day-to-day duties of what’s required to run the Yankees.”
George Steinbrenner bought the NY Yankees back in 1973 for the hefty sum of $8.7 million. While a controversial figure, his aggressive management style brought success to the Yankees very quickly, with an AL Championship in 1976 and back-to-back World Titles in 1977 and 1978.
The NY Yankees organization is now valued at $ 1.2 billion. People may not like him, but there is no arguing with success: under his watch the Yankees have 6 World Series Championships, 4 AL Championships, and most recently 12 consecutive years of post-season action. No baseball franchise comes close to the success of the NY Yankees.
Enjoy your semi-retirement, George! And thanks for everything.
The Most Memorable Collapse in Recent History
Those warriors from Queens, the New York Mets, demonstrated once again that they simply can not be counted on to finish what they start.
So Long, Scooter!
Just got word that legendary NY Yankee player and longtime Yankee broadcaster Phil Rizzuto passed away today, at age 89.
Phil was a Yankee for life, and was part of the Yankees 1940s-1950s dynasty, being part of the squad that won five consercutive World Series. Phil was the 1950 AL MVP and a five-time All-Star.
I became a Yankee fan in 1975 so my memories of The Scooter are all from his broadcasting career, sitting next to Bill White on WPIX Channel 11 in NYC and enjoying his calls of Yankee baseball! Phil has shared the booth with Mel Allen, Bobby Mercer, Tom Seaver, and many others over the decades, but the White & Rizzuto combo set the standard!
Phil finally made it into the Hall of Fame in 1994, well overdue. I always felt the HoF was just using denying Rizzuto into the Hall as an opportunity to stick it to George Stienbrenner. In any event, The Veterans Committee did the right thing and placed Phil in The Hall of Fame!
I’ll never hear anyone say ‘Holy Cow’ again and not remember The Scooter! Thanks for the memories, Mr. Rizzuto!
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