This Day in Yankees History: Alex Rodriguez says farewell

The start of the 2020 season is finally underway! The Pinstripe Alley team is going to continue to keep these daily posts that 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 (August 12)

67 Years Ago

The Yankees crush the Senators 22-1, nearly setting the mark for the largest shutout victory in history, while also falling just shy of the AL hits record in pounding out 28 knocks. Whitey Ford tossed seven shutout innings and went 4-5 at the plate. Yogi Berra and Billy Martin each drove in five runs. The Yankees only needed one home run to tally over 20 runs, coming in the form of a three-run shot by Berra in the first inning.

56 Years Ago

Mickey Mantle hits home runs from both sides of the plate in support of Mel Stottlemyre, helping the rookie Stottlemyre to a win in his major league debut. This was the tenth time Mantle had accomplished the feat, extending his own record. Eventually, Yankees Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher would break Mantle’s record in that category.

Four Years Ago

Days after announcing his imminent retirement, Alex Rodriguez plays his last game in the bigs. Rodrgiuez ropes an RBI double off Chris Archer in the first inning en route to a 6-3 win over the Rays. The Yankees insert Rodriguez at third base one final time in the top ninth, removing him after one out to receive a final ovation from the Bronx faithful:

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Today is the 58th birthday of Dave Pavlas, who appeared in 20 games with the Yankees in 1995 and 1996, holding a 2.51 ERA. It’s also the 42nd birthday of Michel Hernandez, who debuted with the Yankees in 2003 but recorded only five plate appearances, managing a single and a walk.

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