This Day in Yankees History: Michael Kay’s dorkiest call

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 9)

83 years ago

Joe DiMaggio hits for the cycle for the first time in his career, going 5-for-5 with two home runs as the Yankees clobber the Senators 16-2. The Yankee great would only hit for the cycle one more time in his career, a decade later. For some reason, I figured a player like DiMaggio would have done that more often, but it underscores how much luck goes into something like hitting for the cycle.

9 years ago

Derek Jeter cements his Hall of Fame case with his 3,000th career hit, echoing DiMaggio’s 5-for-5 performance with one of his own. After a single for number 2,999, the Yankees’ captain deposited a David Price offering into the left-field seats:

I’ve said before on this site that Michael Kay, at his heart. is the biggest baseball dork I can think of, and his excitement - and dorkiness - comes through in his call of the hit. Fortunately it’s become a terrific Yankees meme in the years since.

8 years ago

A year after winning the 2011 Home Run Derby, Robinson Cano represented the Yankees and defended his championship at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City. His father, Jose Cano, reprised his role as pitcher for his son, and was awarded the Home Run Derby Cy Young Award for his effort. The Yankee second baseman was completely shut out of the event, hitting zero long balls after notching 32 a year before in Arizona.

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Birthdays

Happy birthday to Tex Clevenger and Jack Powell, who both played for the Yankees a very, very long time ago.

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