This Day in Yankees History: Fans remember Thurman Munson at Yankee Stadium

Welcome to the relaunched This Day in Yankees History. Even with the start of the 2020 season, the Pinstripe Alley team has decided to continue the revived program in its new format. These daily posts will highlight two or three key moments in Yankees history on a given date, as well as recognize players born on the day. Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with us!

★ ★ ★

This Day in Yankees History (August 3)

41 Years Ago

Over 50,000 mourners gathered at Yankee Stadium to pay their respects to Thurman Munson. The Yankees catcher and captain had been tragically killed the day before while piloting a small aircraft that crashed short of the runway.

22 Years Ago

The A’s sacrificed starting pitcher Mike Oquist to the Yankees. In order to save their bullpen for an upcoming doubleheader, Oakland let Oquist hang out to dry, taking his licks for five innings while surrendering 16 hits and 14 (!) runs. The 14 runs were the most allowed by a starter in over 20 years. Orlando Hernandez was the beneficiary of the outburst, going the distance in a 14-1 victory. Leadoff hitter Chuck Knoblauch did the most damage, popping two home runs and driving in five.

10 Years Ago

Aaron Hill, Travis Snider, Vernon Wells and Jose Bautista all went to deep to down the Yankees 8-2. Ricky Romero allowed a first-inning, two-run homer to Mark Teixeira before shutting the Yankees down, yielding just an infield single the rest of the way in a complete game win. The four homers ran the Blue Jays’ league-leading total to 167 homers. The game serves to illustrate how much things would change by the end of the decade; by August 3rd of last year, the Twins had already hit 217 home runs. Minnesota would go on to set the the record for home runs in a season by the end of August.

★ ★ ★

It’s the 37th birthday of Mark Reynolds, one of the many forgotten veterans to man that ill-fated 2013 Yankees roster. Reynolds hit six of his 298 career dingers in 36 games with the Yankees. A potent slugger, Reynolds also led the league in strikeouts four seasons in a row, and his defensive shortcomings kept him from cracking 10 rWAR for his career despite his proclivity for power.

★ ★ ★

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