This Day in Yankees History: The Yankees retire Don Mattingly’s number

Welcome to This Day in Yankees History. The season may be underway, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a trip into the past. 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!

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25 Years Ago

Paul O’Neill hits home runs in three consecutive plate appearances and finishes the day with four hits and eight RBI. The Yankees beat the Angels 11-6, and win 22 of their next 28 games to power their way into the playoffs. O’Neill finishes the year with a .913 OPS, 22 homers, and 96 RBI.

23 Years Ago

Don Mattingly’s number 23 is added to the list of retired numbers in Monument Park. Mattingly becomes the first Yankee to have his number retired withouth having plyaed in the World Series. Mattingly hit 222 home runs, drove in 1099 runs, and won the 1985 MVP award with the Yankees.

16 Years Ago

The Yankees suffer one of their worst losses in recent memory, getting pounded 22-0 by Cleveland. Omar Vizquel leads the way, becoming the first player in the history of Yankee Stadium to record six hits in one game. Javier Vazquez took the worst of it, starting the game and yielding six runs in 1.1 innings. Reliever Tanyon Sturtze took it on the chin as well, allowing seven runs in three innings after Vazquez.

Two Years Ago

The Yankees make a rare major waiver deadline move, adding Andrew McCutchen just before the bell. McCutchen performs excellently in pinstripes, putting together a 145 OPS+ during his brief stint before signing with the Phillies in the offseason. We’ll see in a few hours if the Yankees make big August 31st deals this time around.

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Today would have been the 66th birthday of former outfielder Claudell Washington. Washington sadly died earlier this year of prostate cancer. He played four seasons with the Yankees in the 1980’s, maintaining an overall 100 OPS+, and hitting 26 homers and stealing 34 bases.

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