"Untouchable" Yankee Prospects

1943: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a 2nd baseman named Gerry Priddy. First at Triple-A Kansas City (it wouldn't become a major league city until 1955), then on the Yankees, he became an exciting double-play combination with shortstop Phil Rizzuto.

But he was stuck behind Joe Gordon, a future Hall-of-Famer and the 1942 American League Most Valuable Player. So they traded him and another player to the Washington Senators, for cash and a player who never panned out.

He had a good season for the Senators in 1943, but went off to World War II. While he escaped unharmed, he never got back into the swing of things, tailed off, and became a journeyman, playing his last major league game in 1953, not yet 34 years old.

In 1973, he was convicted of extortion, trying to get money from Princess Cruises by threatening to put a bomb on one of their ships if he didn't get $250,000. That's right: Gerry Priddy, once considered to be a great Yankee in the making, threatened to bomb the Love Boat. He served 9 months in prison.

1959: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a 1st baseman named Marv Throneberry. But they needed to upgrade, so they put him in a package to the Kansas City Athletics, and acquired Roger Maris.

Maris became a legend. Throneberry went to the expansion 1962 Mets, and became, well, let's just say there is more than one kind of "legend."

1976: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was an outfielder named Otto Velez. They had been offered all kinds of trades to get them to send Velez away, but they refused.

But by the end of the 1976 season, he was 26 years old, and had a lifetime batting average of .228, 6 home runs and 28 RBIs. Clearly, this guy was not going to make it in the major leagues. Finally, they left him unprotected in the 1977 expansion draft, and he was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays.

By the end of the 1983 season, not yet 33, he had played his last major league game: .251, 78 home runs, 272 RBIs. Only once did he appear in as many as 120 games. Think about that: He was just barely good enough to start for an expansion team 3 days out of 4.

1983: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a 1st baseman named Steve Balboni. He had so much power, that he was nicknamed "Bye-Bye Balboni." But as the 1983 season ended, he had a .214 lifetime batting average. His power totals were 7 homers and 23 RBIs -- or. as Aaron Judge would say, "a month."

The Yankees traded him to the Kansas City Royals. Bye-bye, Balboni. The players they got in return did next to nothing for them. Over the next 7 seasons, Balboni hit 184 home runs, and helped the Royals win the 1985 World Series.

Bad trade? Not really. He was a 1st baseman, and Don Mattingly had already made him expendable. He struck out way too much. He never topped 88 RBIs in a season. His highest batting average was .251 -- for a career, .229. He wasn't a good fielder. Running? In his career, he stole exactly 1 base in 3 attempts. And he was done in 1990, with none of the 26 major league teams thinking that his occasional home run was worth it.

1993: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a outfielder named Hensley Meulens. They called him "Bam-Bam" because of his power. As he climbed through the farm system in the late 1980s, we were told he was going to be one of the best players in baseball. As you can see in this photo, he certainly had one thing a superstar player should have: A million-dollar smile.

He finally debuted in 1989, and exceeded the definition of "rookie" in 1991. But by the close of the 1993 season, he had a .221 lifetime batting average, 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. Or, as Stephen Drew would call it, "about my average season." He was 26 years old: If he hadn't made it by now, the Yankees decided, he was never going to make it. They released him.

He didn't get back to the majors until 1997, playing 16 games for the Montreal Expos. He played 7 for the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998, played his last game for them in May, was traded to the Chicago White Sox in August, was kept in the minors, and never played major league ball again.

Around this same time, we began to hear about a pair of "prospects" who were "untouchable," whom the Yankees would be stupid to get rid of.

Williams and Rivera.

By 1996, it became obvious that a team that wants to win the World Series would not keep them. Williams, an outfielder, was about to turn 30, had a .241 lifetime batting average, 18 homers and 83 RBIs -- over 5 major league seasons. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, and one of the players we got back was Graeme Lloyd, who turned out to be exactly the lefthanded reliever the Yankees needed.

Of course, this was Gerald Williams. Not Bernie. He did turn into a decent player, and actually played for a couple of teams that played in the World Series against the Yankees: The 1999 Atlanta Braves and the 2003 Florida Marlins. (He appeared in the 1999 Series, but not the 2003. He did get a ring on that occasion, though.)

Rivera, also an outfielder, was a bit younger, not quite 23. And was off to a decent start in the majors, having batted .281 with 2 homers and 16 RBIs in 107 plate appearances for the Yankees. But he had also become a disciplinary issue. He had to go.

Lots of people wanted him to stay. This included his cousin, pitcher Mariano Rivera. But no: Ruben Rivera was traded to the San Diego Padres before the 1997 season, and one of the players we got for him was the ill-fated Hideki Irabu, who did help us win 2 World Series. But Ruben was a bust elsewhere: He played his last major league game before turning 30, batting .216 with 64 homers and 203 RBIs.

The Williams and Rivera who weren't so highly-regarded at the time, Bernie and Mariano, became legends.

2011: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a catcher named Jesus Montero. He had just turned 22, and in 69 major league plate appearances, had batted .328 with 4 homers and 12 RBI. His future seemed limitless. His only downside appeared to be his weight.

Okay, this photo doesn't show a "million-dollar smile."

But he still looks every inch the "imposing slugger."

But, needing pitching, the Yankees traded him to the Seattle Mariners, for Michael Pineda. Pineda was inconsistent for the Yankees, but he gave us more than Montero gave the M's: He had a decent season in 2012, but since then, 9 home runs and 30 RBIs. He hasn't appeared in a major league game since October 3, 2015. He was released by the Baltimore Orioles last June 27. He's 28, and he's done.

Now: Gleyber Torres is an "untouchable" Yankee prospect. He has never faced a major league pitch. An injury last season meant that he hadn't even proven himself capable of hitting Triple-A pitching. And the Yankees desperately need a 2nd baseman (which they didn't need until Brian Cashman traded Starlin Castro for Giancarlo Stanton) and a 3rd baseman (which they didn't need until trading Chase Headley and letting Todd Frazier's contract run out). He's played 18 games at 2nd base and 15 at 3rd base, all in the minors. He's a shortstop, meaning he's stuck behind Didi Gregorius.

And now, Yankee Fans are telling me to trust Brian Cashman, because Gleyber is going to be a great player.

I've seen this movie before.

*

Days until The Arsenal play again: 3, this Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM our time, away to West London club Chelsea, in the 1st leg of the Semifinal of the League Cup. Today, they crashed out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round -- their 1st time going out so soon under Arsene Wenger -- partly because of a poor performance, and party because of 2 penalties awarded to Nottingham Forest, at least 1 of which was bogus.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 6, this coming Saturday night, against the Philadelphia Flyers, at the Prudential Center. They played the New York Islanders today, and lost in a shootout, and will play them again the following Tuesday night, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. They won't play the New York Rangers again until the last week of the regular season, on Tuesday, April 3, at the Prudential Center.

Days until Phil Murphy is inaugurated as Governor of New Jersey: 9, a week from Tuesday. Goodbye, Chris Christie, and stay out.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 21, on Sunday night, January 28, at 9:30 PM Eastern Time, a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina (that's 1 country), at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. Just 3 weeks. After that, no matches are scheduled. They were supposed to play at the World Cup in June 2018. Alas...

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 33, on Friday, February 9. A little over a month.

Days until the next North London Derby: 34, on Saturday, February 10, at 7:30 AM our time, at Wembley Stadium in West London, where Spurs are playing their "home games" until the new stadium they're building on the site of White Hart Lane opens the following August. The game could be moved due to the British TV networks' demands.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 62. They open at home against the Portland Timbers on March 10. Under 9 weeks.

Days until Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season: 81, on Thursday night, March 29, as the Yankees open away to the Toronto Blue Jays. Under 3 months.

Days until the Yankees' 2018 home opener: 85, on Monday afternoon, April 2, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 93, on Tuesday, April 10, at Fenway Park.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 118, on Saturday afternoon, May 5, home to New York City FC. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Saturday night, May 26, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. Their 1st game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, June 2, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Their 1st game against D.C. United, and their 1st game ever at the new Audi Field, will be on Wednesday night, July 25.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 158, on June 14. Under 6 months. But the U.S. team won't be playing. At least now, Donald Trump doesn't have to choose, and can root for his favorite country, the host nation, Russia.

Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" that Yankee general manager Brian Cashman wanted: 237. Under 8 months.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 237, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. 

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown. The 2018 schedule hasn't been released yet. But the season opener is usually on the 1st Friday in September. that would be September 7, which is 244 days from now.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 304, on November 6. Under 10 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 315, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game (after tomorrow's): 320, on Thursday, November 22.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 382, on January 23, 2019. A little over a year, or a little over 12 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 517, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little under a year and a half, or just 17 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 646, on January 22, 2020. A little over 2 years, or a little over 24 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 830, on July 24, 2020. A little over 2 1/2 years, or a little over 30 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 932, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 years, or 34 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,009, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 3 years, or 36 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,679, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 5 years, or about 59 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.