It was the 19th time it has happened -- but it was the 1st time in 7 years.
The last time was on October 3, 2012, also at Yankee Stadium II, and it was a doozy: They beat their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, 14-2.
Here's some of what I wrote about it at the time:
The Yankees did not have to win last night. The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, to complete a comeback from 13 games behind and win the AL West. And the Baltimore Orioles lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, thanks to 3 home runs from Evan "Desperate Housewife" Longoria, and the O's were eliminated from the AL East race.
When the news was flashed on the scoreboard at Yankee Stadium II, everybody in the stands got up and gave a standing ovation to the 2012 American League Eastern Division Champion New York Yankees...
No, the Yankees didn't have to win last night. But they did. Boy, did they win. They put an exclamation point on a season that saw them lead the AL East by 10 games on July 18, then fall into a flat-footed tie with the Orioles on September 4, and were still tied going into the games of October 1, but ended 1 game ahead at the conclusion of Game 162 on October 3, finishing with a record of 95-67...
Hiroki Kuroda started, and went 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. Strong and consistent, like he'd been all season long (16-11).
The Sox also started a Japanese pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka. But Dice-K, who was good in 2007 and great in 2008 but got hurt in 2009 and hasn't been the same since, had absolutely nothing (1-7). f this game were a Presidential debate, Dice-K would have been Rick Perry. The Yankees knocked him out of the box in the 3rd inning...
The Yankees scored 3 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd, 2 each in the 5th and the 6th, and 5 in the 7th. Home runs? There were 2 each by Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano. Robbie had went 4-for-4 and had 6 RBIs, Grandy had 4. Alex Rodriguez reached base 4 times, with 2 singles and 2 walks. Ichiro Suzuki had 2 RBIs. Every Yankee starter reached base, and all got a hit except for Mark Teixeira, who did draw a walk.
Final score: Yankees 14, Red Sox 2.
It had been 7 years, minus 2 weeks. How long has that been?
*
The Yankees used 20 players in that game. Only Brett Gardner is still with the team. CC Sabathia is also still on the Yankees' active roster -- through the end of this season, as he has announced his retirement effective at that point -- but he did not appear in the game in question.
The other players in this game ranged from brief major leaguers to all-time legends, although that doesn't necessarily mean that their time with the Yankees contributed to that:
* Andruw Jones never played another major league game. He was not on the Yankees' postseason roster, was granted free agency, and was not picked up by another major league team.
* Russell Martin was included on the postseason roster, but was not re-signed after the season. He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, helped them reach the next 2 postseasons, and then helped the Toronto Blue Jays reach the next 2 after that. Previously, and yet again, a Los Angeles Dodger, he has played 14 seasons, and is about to play in his 10th postseason, having done it with 4 different teams -- but has yet to win a Pennant.
* Nick Swisher was not re-signed after the season. He last appeared in the major leagues with the 2015 Atlanta Braves.
* Eric Chavez was not re-signed after the season. He last appeared in the major leagues with the 2014 Arizona Diamondbacks.
* Raul Ibanez was not re-signed after the season. He closed his career in 2014, helping the Kansas City Royals win the Pennant. He was not with their World Series winners the next year.
* Freddy Garcia was not re-signed after the season. He helped the Braves reach the postseason the next year, and then never appeared in the majors again.
* Casey McGehee was in his 22nd game for the Yankees. It would be his last, as he was not included on the postseason roster. He last played in the major leagues with the 2016 Detroit Tigers.
* Clay Rapada appeared in all 4 games of the Yankees' disastrous sweep by the Tigers in the AL Division Series, and never played for the Yankees again. They Yankees released him just before the start of the next season. He pitched 4 games for the Cleveland Indians in 2013, and has never resurfaced.
* Cody Eppley was released the following June, and has never appeared in another major league game.
* Melky Mesa, in just his 3 major league game, all for the Yankees, appeared in 5 games the next season, was released, and has never played in the majors again.
* Robinson Cano last played for the Yankees in 2013, signed with the Seattle Mariners after general manager Brian Cashman preferred to spend big bucks on taking Jacoby Ellsbury away from the Red Sox, got caught using performance-enhancing drugs, is now on the Mets, and in the last 7 years has never seen another postseason game without paying his cable bill.
* Curtis Granderson was not re-signed after 2013, either. He signed with the Mets, and helped them win the Pennant in 2015 and the Wild Card in 2016. He then helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the Pennant in 2017. He is now with the Miami Marlins.
* Eduardo Nunez also last played for the Yankees in 2013, and is now with the Red Sox. That he won a World Series ring in 2018, after being so bad for the Yankees both at bat and in the field, is disgusting to me.
* Derek Jeter retired at the end of the 2014 season.
* Ichiro Suzuki also last played for the Yankees in 2014, and retired at the start of this 2019 season.
* Francisco Cervelli was traded after the 2014 season, and again backed Martin up on a Playoff team, the 2015 Pirates. He now plays for the Atlanta Braves.
* Hiroki Kuroda was not re-signed after the 2014 season, and has never appeared in the North American major leagues again. He played 2 more seasons in Japan, and retired.
* Alex Rodriguez retired in August 2016.
* Mark Teixeira retired after the 2016 season.
So only 6 guys who played for the Yankees in that game -- Brett Gardner, Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin, Francisco Cervelli and Eduardo NunE6 -- are even still playing in the major leagues 7 years later. (As I said, CC Sabathia did not appear in it.)
Only 1 MLB team has moved into a new ballpark since then, the Atlanta Braves moving from the sort-of downtown Turner Field to the suburban SunTrust Park. The San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons have moved into new stadiums. The St. Louis Rams and the San Diego Chargers both moved back to Los Angeles. The Oakland Raiders are preparing to move to Las Vegas.
The Brooklyn Nets and New York Islanders, Detroit Pistons and Red Wings, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks and Edmonton Oilers have opened new arenas, and the Golden State Warriors are about to. The Vegas Golden Knights and, at least on paper, a Seattle NHL team have been expanded into existence.
The Chicago Cubs had not won a Pennant since 1945 or a World Series since 1908. The Houston Astros had never won a World Series. The Seattle Seahawks had never won an NFL Championship. The Philadelphia Eagles hadn't done so since 1960. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors had never won an NBA Championship. The Golden State Warriors had not done so since 1975. The Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues had never won a Stanley Cup.
All of those facts have now become untrue.
Baseball legends Bobby Doerr, Stan Musial, Yogi Berra, Ralph Kiner, Jerry Coleman, Minnie Minoso, Monte Irvin, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson, Jim Bunning, Willie McCovey, Bill Buckner, Tony Gwynn and Roy Halladay have since died.
So have football legends Alex Karras, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg, Ara Parseghian and Dwight Clark. So have basketball legends Dolph Schayes, Harry Gallatin, Frank Ramsey, Jim Loscutoff, Darrall Imhoff, Walt Bellamy, Hal Greer, Nate Thurmond, Jo Jo White, Dean Smith, Sergei Belov, Anne Donovan, Rollie Massimino and Pat Summitt. So have hockey legends Milt Schmidt, Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe, Red Kelly, Jean Beliveau, Johnny Bower, Stan Mikita and Pat Quinn.
So have soccer legends Walter Bahr, Alcides Ghiggia, Alfredo Di Stefano, Helmut Haller, Hans Schafer, Bert Trautmann, Jimmy McIlroy, Raymond Kopa, Dave Mackay, Djalma Santos, Nilton Santos, Gilmar, Eusebio, Mario Coluna, Josef Masopust, Ignacio Zoco, Udo Lattek, Manuel Sanchis Martinez, Jimmy Armfield, Gordon Banks, Ray Wilson, Ron Springett, Billy McNeill, Howard Kendall, Tommy Smith, Carlos Alberto Torres, Fyodor Cherenkov, Paul Madeley, Piet Keizer, Johan Cruyff, Cryille Regis and Jose Antonio Reyes.
So have Olympic Gold Medalists Lindy Remigino, Dr. Sammy Lee, Vera Caslavska, Irena Sewinska and Miruts Yifter. So has mile run pioneer Roger Bannister. So have boxing champions Jake LaMotta, Emile Griffith, Bob Foster, Ken Norton, Pernell Whitaker and Muhammad Ali. So has the great sportscaster Keith Jackson.
And so has my father. But I gained a niece, and the 2 I already had became competitive swimmers. Very competitive: They've won meet medals.
Joe Girardi was then the Yankee manager. He is now an MLB network analyst. Aaron Boone went the other way, going from ESPN to the Yankee manager's job. Terry Collins was then the Met manager. He now works in their front office. Current Met manager Mickey Callaway was a coach for the minor-league Kinston Indians.
Pat Shurmur of the Giants was coaching the Cleveland Browns. Barry Trotz of the Islanders was coaching the Nashville Predators. David Quinn of the Rangers was coaching the minor-league Lake Erie Monsters. John Hynes of the Devils was coaching the minor-league Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Adam Gase of the Jets was an assistant coach with the Denver Broncos. Kenny Atkinson of the Nets was an assistant coach with the Knicks. David Fizdale of the Knicks was an assistant coach with the World Champion Heat. Chris Armas of the Red Bulls was coaching the women's team at Adelphi University on Long Island. Domenec Torrent of NYCFC was an assistant coach with FC Barcelona. Katie Smith of the Liberty was playing for the Seattle Storm.
The defending World Champions were the St. Louis Cardinals, the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Kings and... the New York Giants, preventers of 19-0. The Heavyweight Championship of the World was too fractured to list here.
Russia and Brazil have both since held the Olympics and the World Cup. Korea has also since hosted the Olympics.
Of the 9 Justices currently on the Supreme Court, 7 were on it then: Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The Court had already ruled (falsely) that corporations were "people," and had the rights thereof; and (also falsely) that you did not have to be part of a well-regulated militia to bear arms. But they also hadn't yet ruled (correctly) that same-sex marriage was constitutional.
The President of the United States was Barack Obama. We thought he had ended Donald Trump forever a year and a half before, by producing his birth certificate and mocking him at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Maybe he should have tried harder.
The same night that the Yankees won the Division, Obama had his 1st debate of his re-election campaign, in Denver. His opponent, former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, lied through his teeth all through the debate, and Obama did not, to my satisfaction, challenge him.
Romney drew roughly even with Obama in the polls -- not by "embracing conservative values," as conservatives figured would happen, but by moving to the center, by seeming reasonable, but being, as conservatives had called him thus far, "Massachusetts Moderate Mitt." It turned out to be the only 1 of the 6 general-election debates Obama had that he lost.
The Governor of the State of New York was Andrew Cuomo, and he still is. The Mayor of the City of New York was Michael Bloomberg. Current Mayor Bill de Blasio was the City's Public Advocate, and next in line to be Mayor. The Governor of New Jersey was Chris Christie. Current Governor Phil Murphy was U.S. Ambassador to Germany.
The last living veteran of World War I had died earlier in the year. There were still living people who had been born before 1900, and living survivors of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the Ludlow Massacre of 1914, the sinking of the SS Eastland in 1915, the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, the SS Morro Castle fire of 1935, the crews of the Hindenburg and the Enola Gay, the Spanish Civil War's Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the 1st NCAA basketball National Champions of 1939 (the University of Oregon), the Navajo and Mohawk Code Talkers, and the Nazi prison breakout that was dramatized in the film The Great Escape.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union. The Pope was Benedict XVI. Five months later, he would retire, and be replaced by Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, under the name Pope Francis.
Stephen Harper was the Prime Minister of Canada, and David Cameron that of Britain. The monarch of both was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed. Manchester City was the holder of the Premier League title, and Chelsea of the FA Cup. There have since been 2 Presidents of the United States (gone way downhill), 3 Prime Ministers of Britain (each one successively worse), and 2 Popes (gotten better).
Gillian Flynn published Gone Girl. Marty Appel, former Yankee director of publicity, published the most extensive single-volume history of the team yet, Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss.
Major films of the early Autumn of 2012 included Clint Eastwood's baseball-themed film Trouble with the Curve, the time-travel drama Looper, the original Pitch Perfect, Argo, Cloud Atlas, and the James Bond film Skyfall -- the latter 2 starring Daniel Craig. Christian Bale had finished playing Batman. Henry Cavill had begun playing a version of Superman. Andrew Garfield had begun playing a version of Spider-Man. Matt Smith was playing The Doctor.
Recently debuting on television were The Inbetweeners and The Mindy Project. Soon to follow would be Chicago Fire, Nashville, Arrow and Catfish: The TV Show. No one had yet heard of Sarah Manning, Jane "Eleven" Hopper or Special Agent Maggie Bell.
The Number 1 song in America was "One More Night" by Maroon 5 -- not to be confused with the horrible 1985 chart-topper of the same title by Phil Collins. (For those of you who aren't familiar with my taste in music: All songs sung by Phil Collins are horrible.) Pink released The Truth About Love. Macklemore released The Heist, which included "Thrift Shop." Within the next few weeks, Taylor Swift released Red, Rihanna released Unapologetic, Alicia Keys released Girl On Fire, and Bruno Mars released Unorthodox Jukebox.
Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.11 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 45 cents, and a New York Subway ride $2.25. The average price of a gallon of gas was $3.70, a cup of coffee $2.70, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $6.77, a movie ticket $8.20, a new car $25,552, and a new house $297,700. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed that day at 13,494.61.
In the Autumn of 2012, Canada cut diplomatic ties with Iran, and terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. In spite of Republican attempts to blame it on him, President Obama handily won re-election. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner became the 1st person to break the sound barrier without machine assistance, by diving out of a helium-filled balloon 24 miles over Roswell, New Mexico.
Michael Clarke Duncan, and George McGovern, and Alex Karras died. No one yet born around the date in question has yet become famous in their own right, but children were born to pro quarterback Jay Cutler and his wife, actress Kristin Cavallari; actresses Sienna Miller and Drew Barrymore; singer Adele; and Jersey Shore star Nicole Polizzi, a.k.a. Snooki: The media nicknamed Lorenzo Dominic LaValle "The Snooklet."
October 3, 2012. The New York Yankees clinched the Championship of the American League Eastern Division. It was the 13th time in the last 17 seasons that they had done so.
Of the 9 Justices currently on the Supreme Court, 7 were on it then: Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The Court had already ruled (falsely) that corporations were "people," and had the rights thereof; and (also falsely) that you did not have to be part of a well-regulated militia to bear arms. But they also hadn't yet ruled (correctly) that same-sex marriage was constitutional.
The President of the United States was Barack Obama. We thought he had ended Donald Trump forever a year and a half before, by producing his birth certificate and mocking him at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Maybe he should have tried harder.
The same night that the Yankees won the Division, Obama had his 1st debate of his re-election campaign, in Denver. His opponent, former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, lied through his teeth all through the debate, and Obama did not, to my satisfaction, challenge him.
Romney drew roughly even with Obama in the polls -- not by "embracing conservative values," as conservatives figured would happen, but by moving to the center, by seeming reasonable, but being, as conservatives had called him thus far, "Massachusetts Moderate Mitt." It turned out to be the only 1 of the 6 general-election debates Obama had that he lost.
The Governor of the State of New York was Andrew Cuomo, and he still is. The Mayor of the City of New York was Michael Bloomberg. Current Mayor Bill de Blasio was the City's Public Advocate, and next in line to be Mayor. The Governor of New Jersey was Chris Christie. Current Governor Phil Murphy was U.S. Ambassador to Germany.
The last living veteran of World War I had died earlier in the year. There were still living people who had been born before 1900, and living survivors of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the Ludlow Massacre of 1914, the sinking of the SS Eastland in 1915, the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, the SS Morro Castle fire of 1935, the crews of the Hindenburg and the Enola Gay, the Spanish Civil War's Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the 1st NCAA basketball National Champions of 1939 (the University of Oregon), the Navajo and Mohawk Code Talkers, and the Nazi prison breakout that was dramatized in the film The Great Escape.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union. The Pope was Benedict XVI. Five months later, he would retire, and be replaced by Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, under the name Pope Francis.
Stephen Harper was the Prime Minister of Canada, and David Cameron that of Britain. The monarch of both was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed. Manchester City was the holder of the Premier League title, and Chelsea of the FA Cup. There have since been 2 Presidents of the United States (gone way downhill), 3 Prime Ministers of Britain (each one successively worse), and 2 Popes (gotten better).
Gillian Flynn published Gone Girl. Marty Appel, former Yankee director of publicity, published the most extensive single-volume history of the team yet, Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss.
Major films of the early Autumn of 2012 included Clint Eastwood's baseball-themed film Trouble with the Curve, the time-travel drama Looper, the original Pitch Perfect, Argo, Cloud Atlas, and the James Bond film Skyfall -- the latter 2 starring Daniel Craig. Christian Bale had finished playing Batman. Henry Cavill had begun playing a version of Superman. Andrew Garfield had begun playing a version of Spider-Man. Matt Smith was playing The Doctor.
Recently debuting on television were The Inbetweeners and The Mindy Project. Soon to follow would be Chicago Fire, Nashville, Arrow and Catfish: The TV Show. No one had yet heard of Sarah Manning, Jane "Eleven" Hopper or Special Agent Maggie Bell.
The Number 1 song in America was "One More Night" by Maroon 5 -- not to be confused with the horrible 1985 chart-topper of the same title by Phil Collins. (For those of you who aren't familiar with my taste in music: All songs sung by Phil Collins are horrible.) Pink released The Truth About Love. Macklemore released The Heist, which included "Thrift Shop." Within the next few weeks, Taylor Swift released Red, Rihanna released Unapologetic, Alicia Keys released Girl On Fire, and Bruno Mars released Unorthodox Jukebox.
Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.11 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 45 cents, and a New York Subway ride $2.25. The average price of a gallon of gas was $3.70, a cup of coffee $2.70, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $6.77, a movie ticket $8.20, a new car $25,552, and a new house $297,700. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed that day at 13,494.61.
In the Autumn of 2012, Canada cut diplomatic ties with Iran, and terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. In spite of Republican attempts to blame it on him, President Obama handily won re-election. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner became the 1st person to break the sound barrier without machine assistance, by diving out of a helium-filled balloon 24 miles over Roswell, New Mexico.
Michael Clarke Duncan, and George McGovern, and Alex Karras died. No one yet born around the date in question has yet become famous in their own right, but children were born to pro quarterback Jay Cutler and his wife, actress Kristin Cavallari; actresses Sienna Miller and Drew Barrymore; singer Adele; and Jersey Shore star Nicole Polizzi, a.k.a. Snooki: The media nicknamed Lorenzo Dominic LaValle "The Snooklet."
October 3, 2012. The New York Yankees clinched the Championship of the American League Eastern Division. It was the 13th time in the last 17 seasons that they had done so.
It has taken them 7 years to do it again. Can they build on this, and win the AL Division Series, the Pennant, and the World Series? Stay tuned.
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