David Fischer is the author of more than a dozen books on baseball, including 100 Things Yankees Fans Should Know & Do, The Story of the New York Yankees, and A Yankee Stadium Scrapbook, as well as biographies of Babe Ruth and Alex Rodriguez. A longtime magazine writer, he is also a senior consultant for the Guinness Book of World Records. He lives in River Vale, New Jersey.

The Ultimate Yankees Record Book

By David Fischer

Triumph Books

Copyright © 2011 David Fischer
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60078-520-7

Contents

A Note on Numbers,
Introduction,
Part 1: Batting Stars,
1. Derek Jeter Tops Yankees Hit Parade,
2. Roger Maris Hits 61 Homers in 1961,
3. Joe DiMaggio’s 56-Game Hitting Streak,
4. Tony Lazzeri Drives in 11 Runs in a Game,
5. Don Mattingly’s Home-Run Binge,
6. Mickey Mantle Achieves the Triple Crown in 1956,
Part 2: Pitching Aces,
7. Ron Guidry Strikes Out 18 Batters in a Game,
8. Jack Chesbro Wins 41 Games in 1904,
9. Whitey Ford’s Winning Pedigree,
10. Mariano Rivera Saves 500 Games,
11. David Cone Pitches Perfect Game on Yogi Berra Day,
12. Lefty Gomez Wins Pitching Triple Crown Twice,
Part 3: The Stadium and Its Legends,
13. The House That Ruth Built,
14. Lou Gehrig Says Farewell,
15. Phil Rizzuto: From Monument Park to Cooperstown,
16. Yogi Berra, Most Valuable Yankee,
Part 4: The Team and the Dynasties,
17. The 1927 Yankees: The Mightiest Team of All,
18. Babe Ruth Calls His Shot (and Other Great Moments in Yankees World Series History),
19. Casey Stengel Wins Five Titles in a Row,
20. George Steinbrenner Reels in a Catfish,
21. Ron Blomberg, First Designated Hitter,
22. The Pine Tar Game,
Epilogue,
About the Author,

CHAPTER 1

Derek Jeter Tops Yankees Hit Parade

Derek Jeter became the Yankees’ all-time hits leader when he picked up his 2,722nd career hit, passing legendary Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig’s mark. Jeter’s milestone hit came at 8:23 pm, on September 11, 2009, in the third inning of a 10–4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on a drizzly Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

With two balls and no strikes on Jeter, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman threw a 94-mph fastball, and Jeter swung the familiar swing Yankees fans have seen so many times before, hitting a clean single to right field. The Yankees — the most storied franchise in all of baseball — had a new hits leader. The chase was over. Jeter had finally caught Gehrig, his storied predecessor as team captain, who had held the record for 72 years. Appropriately, Jeter’s record-breaking hit skipped past Gehrig’s old position, first base, for a single. Jeter dashed from the batter’s box — as he always does — rounded first swiftly, then scooted back to the bag. Swatting a base hit to the opposite field is Jeter’s signature hit. And he also has a signature celebration: arms spread wide and clapped hands. The game was stopped as flashbulbs went off all over the new Yankee Stadium. It was not, perhaps, the house that Jeter built, but he did provide its first historical moment for the record books.

Suddenly, 46,771 fans were raucously chanting Jeter’s name. DER-ek JEE-tah! DER-ek JEE-tah! The players on the Yankees bench leapt from the dugout and bounded onto the field to take turns hugging him. Even the players who had only recently joined the Yankees understood the importance of the record; the Yankees are the greatest baseball franchise in America, in terms of championships and legends. The Yankees’ shortstop, known for his calm, cool, and confident nature, and always a team-first guy, appeared uncomfortable with the adulation, unsure what to do next.

“I never imagined, I never dreamt of this,” said Jeter, referring to the adoration. “Your dream was always to play for the team. Once you get here, you just want to stay and try to be consistent, so this really wasn’t a part of it. The whole experience [was] overwhelming.”

Finally, and somewhat awkwardly, Jeter doffed his helmet, waved it from foul line to foul line to all the fans in the stadium, and pointed to his family sitting in the stands. The grateful spectators continued chanting Jeter’s name, and Nick Swisher, the next batter, stepped out of the box to allow the moment to sink in. The crowd continued to cheer for two and a half minutes. As the chorus of cheers echoed around the ballpark and the adulation cascaded over him, Jeter clapped his hands in the pitcher’s direction, hinting to all that it was time to get back to work — which for Jeter meant getting back to the task of winning baseball games and, ultimately, World Series titles.

Derek Jeter grew up wanting to be the shortstop for the New York Yankees, and his wish came true. “All I ever wanted to be was a Yankee,” he is fond of saying. “When I was a kid I was always hoping there’d be a jersey left for me to wear with a single digit.”

Born in New Jersey but raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where a poster of Dave Winfield hung on his bedroom wall, Jeter had a great high school career and was drafted by the Yankees as the sixth pick in the 1992 amateur draft. When Jeter joined the Yankees’ Class A rookie team in Greensboro, North Carolina, later that summer, the skinny kid made nine errors in his first 11 games. Still, a teammate on that team, pitcher Andy Pettitte, saw something extraordinary in the raw rookie. “You knew that he was special,” said Pettitte. “You knew that he carried himself a little bit different than a lot of other guys. [He had] a lot of class, a lot of charisma, a lot of confidence for as young as he was.”

Jeter reached the major leagues to stay at age 21 in 1996, batting .314, winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award, and leading the Yankees to their first World Series championship in 19 years. Between 1998 and 2000 Jeter was the biggest star on the Yankees teams that won three straight World Series titles. In 1998 he led the American League in runs scored (127) and in 1999 he led in hits (219). That season he achieved career highs with 24 homers, 102 runs batted in, and a .349 batting average. In 2000 he became the first and only player to win All-Star Game Most Valuable Player and World Series Most Valuable Player in the same season.

Jeter has played in 11 All-Star Games, won five Gold Gloves, and earned a reputation as a clutch player who has made some of the most famous plays in recent memory. In the 2001 ALDS against the Oakland Athletics, the Yankees were down two games to none. The dynasty looked dead in the water as the Yankees traveled to Oakland with the odds against them. No team had ever won a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home. The game was scoreless for six innings. In the seventh, with two outs, Oakland’s Jeremy Giambi singled, and Terrence Long doubled to the right-field corner. As the ball rattled off the wall, Giambi ran around third base heading for home. Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball, and his throw toward the infield sailed over the cutoff man. Improbably, Jeter ran toward the first-base line, grabbed the errant throw, and made a backhand flip of the ball to catcher Jorge Posada, who tagged out Giambi just before he touched the plate. Nobody knows why Jeter was in position to react that way. “It was my job to read the play,” Jeter said later. The Yankees won the game and the series. In the 2001 World Series, Jeter earned the nickname “Mr. November” for hitting a walk-off home run in Game 4. It was the first major league game ever played in the month of November.

Jeter only plays the game one way: hard. He pushes himself on the field, on the bases, and at bat. When the New York Yankees need a clutch hit, Jeter is there to slap the ball the other way, slashing it to the opposite field with that inside-out swing of his. When the team needs a big defensive play, Jeter is there to dive into the stands, face-first, and emerge with a bloody chin, as he did to catch a foul pop-up against the Boston Red Sox, the team’s fiercest rival, during the heated pennant race of 2004. Need a stolen base? No problem. Jeter has over 300 steals, too. Long before Jeter was named captain in 2003, he had earned the respect of his peers. “Derek Jeter is the kind of player who one day, I will get to say, ‘I played with him,'” said teammate Paul O’Neill.

Jeter amassed 2,735 hits from 1996 to 2009, the most in baseball in that span. He played in the postseason 14 of 15 years, beginning in 1996. He holds the career postseason records for most hits, runs scored, and total bases. So what’s next for Derek Jeter? He now has more hits as a Yankee than Gehrig, Ruth, DiMaggio, and Mantle. Certainly, by the summer of 2011, he will be the first Yankee to amass 3,000 hits for the team. Then, assuming he remains healthy and maintains the desire to do so, he could realistically make a full-on assault for 4,000 hits. And who knows, he may even challenge Pete Rose for the all-time hits record (4,256). Jeter, at age 36, has more hits than Rose did at the same age. Rose, however, played until age 45. That chase, if Jeter decides to pursue it, remains far off. For now, being the Yankees’ all-time hits leader is satisfaction enough for the player known as “Captain Clutch.” “I can’t think of anything else that stands out more so, and I say that because of the person that I was able to pass,” said Jeter. “Lou Gehrig, being a former captain and what he stood for, [when] you mention his name to any baseball fan around the country, it means a lot.”

Principal owner George Steinbrenner often praises Jeter’s character, comparing him favorably to Gehrig, who died in 1941, a little more than two years after his final hit. Gehrig was far more prolific as a run producer, but Jeter surpassed his hit total in 64 fewer plate appearances. Steinbrenner’s failing health did not allow him to be present at the stadium when Jeter broke the record, but he did issue a statement afterward saying,

“For those who say today’s game can’t produce legendary players, I have two words: Derek Jeter. As historic and significant as becoming the Yankees’ all-time hits leader is, the accomplishment is all the more impressive because Derek is one of the finest young men playing the game today.”

Like Gehrig before him, Jeter’s name and reputation are exalted in today’s game. And the kid from Kalamazoo who loves his parents and respects the game seems in no hurry to stop playing, as long as he continues to have fun doing so.

To be sure, averaging 207 hits a season is reason enough to smile. “It’s unbelievable what he does,” said manager Joe Girardi. “He’s so consistent. He gets 200 hits a year, every year. They’re normal Derek Jeter years, but all those normal years add up to greatness.”

In 2009 Jeter helped lead the Yankees to their 27 World Series title, the fifth for the shortstop since he broke into the majors in 1996. Jeter hit .407 in the World Series, part of a postseason in which he batted .344. More importantly for him, he was named the winner of that year’s Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable work away from the field with his Turn 2 Foundation. “From the first day I met Derek, he has not only impressed me as a great athlete but more importantly as a person who has always tried to make other people’s lives better,” said Girardi. “He has dedicated his life to being a champion on the field and off the field.”

No. 2 has set a new standard for the Yankees, and fans everywhere are grateful.

Profile in Pinstripes: Bernie Williams

Bernie Williams epitomized the quiet superstar. While others soaked up the spotlight, the soft-spoken Williams produced solid numbers year after year to little fanfare. That’s why even the most zealous fan of the Bronx Bombers may be surprised to see Williams ranked sixth on the club’s all-time home-run list — this despite never hitting more than 30 in a season and never finishing among the American League’s top 10 in any season. In fact, Williams has a lofty place in Yankees history; he ranks in the top 10 in homers, hits, runs batted in, and runs scored. Said manager Joe Torre, “Bernie bores you with consistency.”

The consistency shown by Williams is impressive. He kept his batting average over .300 for eight consecutive seasons. He knocked in at least 90 runs in seven straight seasons. He was a member of the American League All-Star team in five straight years, a Gold Glove Award — winning center fielder in four straight years, and a World Series champion three years in a row and owner of four rings in all. In 1995 he became the first player to homer from both sides of the plate in a playoff game. In 1996 he won Game 1 of the ALCS with a home run. In 1998 he won the batting title. In 2000 he reached career highs in homers and RBIs. He is among the career leaders in postseason homers and RBIs. Stop, please — the boredom is killing me!

Profile in Pinstripes: Bill Dickey

Bill Dickey was one of the best all-around catchers in Major League Baseball history. He was known as a great handler of pitchers and as a durable ironman who played a key role on dominant title teams. As a player, Dickey’s New York Yankees went to the World Series eight times and won seven championships. Legendary sportswriter Dan Daniels once wrote of Dickey, “He isn’t just a catcher, he’s a ballclub. He isn’t just a player, he’s an influence.”

Dickey was the foundation of the Yankees dynasty. His playing career extended from 1928 to 1946, bridging the Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig era to the Joe DiMaggio era. As Gehrig’s roommate, Dickey was the first Yankee to find out about Gehrig’s illness. Dickey also managed the Yankees in 1946 and mentored a young catcher named Yogi Berra. He completed his connection to the dynasty as a coach with the team throughout the 1950s during the Mickey Mantle era.

As a rookie in 1928, Dickey tried to impress manager Miller Huggins with his home-run swing. Huggins explained to him that a team with power hitters such as Ruth and Gehrig didn’t need another home-run threat. What Huggins wanted was for Dickey to be consistent behind the plate and in the batter’s box. And that’s exactly what the young catcher would provide.

One of the finest hitting catchers of all time, Dickey batted .300 or better in 11 different seasons. His best was in 1936, when he hit .362 and drove in 107 runs in just 112 games, and in 1937, when he hit .332 with 29 homers and 133 RBIs in 140 games. An excellent judge of the strike zone, Dickey struck out only 289 times in 6,300 at-bats, including the 1935 season, during which he struck out just 11 times. No player has ever hit a higher percentage of home runs at his home ballpark than Dickey, who hit 135 of his 202 career homers (66.8 percent) at Yankee Stadium.

Defensively, he set a record by catching at least 100 games for 13 seasons in a row, a mark that wasn’t equaled until Johnny Bench accomplished it in the 1970s. Dickey led AL catchers in assists three times and in putouts six times. In 1931 he became the first catcher to play an entire season without allowing a passed ball. He was the American League’s starting catcher in six of the first eight All-Star Games and was selected as an All-Star 11 times.

“Dickey was the heart of the team defensively and commanded tremendous respect from the Yankees pitchers,” said teammate Billy Werber. “Once the game started, he ran the show.”

No catcher has caught more World Series games than Bill Dickey (38) — and he caught every inning in each of them. Dickey wasn’t just along for the ride in those championships. He hit .438 in the 1932 World Series, went 4-for-4 in Game 1 of the 1938 Series, and drove in at least one run in each game of the 1939 Series. But his biggest October moment came in Game 5 of the 1943 World Series — with the Yankees minus the great DiMaggio, away on military duty — when Dickey broke a scoreless battle in the sixth inning with a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals that spurred the Yankees to another title, Dickey’s last as a player.

He spent the 1944 and 1945 seasons in the navy. Midway through the 1946 season Dickey took over as manager of the Yankees, but he didn’t return the following season. He returned as a Yankees coach under manager Casey Stengel and helped teach Yogi Berra to be a great catcher. Dickey handed the task of catching for a Yankees dynasty over to Berra, and Berra carried the torch into the 1960s before he followed Dickey into the Hall of Fame.

Dickey has been credited for calling the catchers’ gear “the tools of ignorance,” because catching is such a tough, physical job, it would seem that no smart person would want to do it. The phrase first appeared in print in the “Diamond Jargon” column in the August 1939 issue of Baseball Magazine. Dickey is said to have coined the phrase while strapping on the gear and wondering why anyone would want to be a catcher in the July heat. Still, Dickey never played a game at any other position. “Dickey certainly made catching look easy,” said Charlie Gehringer, a Hall of Fame second baseman for the Detroit Tigers.

Dickey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1954 and Berra in 1972, the year the Yankees retired No. 8 for both men. Ironically, Dickey didn’t wear that number at the start or the end of his career. When Dickey was a rookie, Benny Bengough wore No. 8. And when Dickey came back to coach, Yogi Berra was wearing it. On August 21, 1988, the Yankees honored both catchers with plaques in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park.

CHAPTER 2

Roger Maris Hits 61 Homers in 1961

Babe Ruth was still making headlines in 1961, as home runs were on everyone’s minds. The New York Yankees won 109 games and easily beat the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series in five games, but people were talking about those hitters. The 1961 Yankees, fueled by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris — the “M&M Boys” — hit an earth-shaking 240 home runs that season, a record that stood for 34 years. That year, Maris and Mantle both made a run for Ruth’s single-season home-run record of 60, which the Babe established in 1927. Mantle started out red-hot, but a hip injury forced him to drop out of the race in mid-September with 54 homers.

“I can’t make it, not even in 162 games,” said Mantle.

As it became apparent that the 27-year-old Maris would challenge Ruth’s record, baseball commissioner Ford C. Frick announced that Maris would not be recognized as the single-season home-run champion unless he broke Ruth’s record in 154 games (the number of games on the schedule in Ruth’s record-setting year). A home-run record accomplished after the team’s 155th game, according to Frick’s infamous decree, would receive second billing to Ruth.

(Continues…)Excerpted from The Ultimate Yankees Record Book by David Fischer. Copyright © 2011 David Fischer. Excerpted by permission of Triumph Books.
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