This Day in Yankees History: “The Boss” passes away

With the start of the 2020 season delayed, 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 (July 13)

86 years ago

In the top of the third inning at Detroit’s Navin Field, Babe Ruth launched Tommy Bridges’ 3-2 offering over the right-field wall for his 700th career home run. Ruth was the first player in MLB history to reach such a feat. Since then, only Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds have hit over 700 homers.

80 years ago

Joe DiMaggio hits three homers and drives in nine runs over the course of a doubleheader to help the Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns. The Yankee outfielder was the star of the show that day, leading the Bronx Bombers to a set of wins, 10-4 and 12-6 respectively.

47 years ago

The Yankees defeated the Royals 5-0, thanks entirely to Bobby Murcer hitting three homers off of Kansas City’s Gene Garber. The rest of the game was a breeze, and was finished after just an hour and 51 minutes of play.

36 years ago

The Yankees retired Roger Maris’ number nine and Elston Howard’s 32 jerseys on this day. The pair also received plaques in Monument Park to pay tribute to their highly successful Yankees careers.

10 years ago

George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees since 1973, passes away from a heart attack at his home in Tampa, FL. Steinbrenner restored the Yankees to greatness during his ownership, spent lavishly on free agents, fired managers and front office personnel at a sometimes dizzying pace, but saw the team win seven World Series titles. He had relinquished the team’s operations to his son Hal Steinbrenner as his health deteriorated in 2008.

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Birthdays

Happy birthday to Jack Aker, and DJ LeMahieu!

Aker pitched four years out of the bullpen with the Yankees from 1969-1972. In 197.1 innings, he registered a 2.23 ERA, 101 strikeouts, and 31 saves.

LeMahieu has only been in pinstripes for one year, but that one season was a magnificent one. As an All-Star in 2019, he was one of the team’s best players, hitting .327/.375/.518 in 145 games. He finished fourth in MVP voting last year and had the biggest home run of the 2019 season in the top of the ninth inning of Game Six of the ALCS.

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