This Day in Yankees History: New York breaks record

With the start of the 2020 season delayed for the foreseeable future, the Pinstripe Alley team decided to revive the program in a slightly different format. These daily posts will highlight a few key moments in Yankees history on a given date, as well as recognize players born on the day. Let’s take a trip down memory lane.

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This Day in Yankees History (April 1)

12 years ago

The Yankees set a major league record by winning their 11th consecutive home opener. The Bombers beat the Blue Jays on Opening Day of 2008. Chien-Ming Wang allowed two runs over seven innings in the win over Hall of Famer, Roy Halladay. Oddly enough, the record was previously held by the 1945-1954 Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that lost 100 or more games three times over that span.

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Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Larry Murray, Jake Wade, and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro.

Murray played from 1974-1976 with the Yankees, appearing in 20 games. He would play with the Athletics for the next three seasons where he finished his six-year career with 226 games played under his belt.

Wade pitched 13 games with New York during his one-year stint with the team. He had a 2.29 ERA in his 35.1 innings pitched.

Last, but certainly not least, Phil Niekro wore pinstripes from 1984-1985. He went 32-20 in his time with New York pitching to a 3.59 ERA in 435.2 frames. Niekro was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997.

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We thank Baseball-Reference, Nationalpastime.com, and FanGraphs for providing background information for these posts.