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 a few 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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This Day in Yankees History (September 13)
88 years ago
Legendary manager Joe McCarthy made history on this day in 1932, as the skipper became the first manager to win pennants in both the American and National League. McCarthy, who won the NL pennant with the Cubs in 1929, watched his Yankees win their 100th game to clinch the pennant, advancing to the World Series to take on...the Cubs, where Babe Ruth would hit a particularly prophetic home run.
42 years ago
Following a 7-3 win over the Tigers on this day in 1978, the Yankees somehow pulled into first place in the American League East for the first time that season. The Bombers had trailed the Red Sox by 14 games on July 19, but stormed back to set up a classic one-game playoff at Fenway, where Bucky Dent became a legend.
Willie Randolph was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the win over Detroit, while Mickey Rivers went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
9 years ago
The greatest closer of all time reached a major milestone on this day in 2011. Mariano Rivera, nursing a 3-2 lead over the Mariners, picks up his 600th career save, moving him within one of Trevor Hoffman’s all-time record. Rivera struck out Wily Mo Pena to start the inning, then fanned Kyle Seager after Ichiro Suzuki singled. With the winning run at the plate, Russell Martin threw out Ichiro at second on a stolen base attempt, clinching number 600 for Rivera.
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Birthdays
Happy Birthday Bernie Williams! The most under-appreciated contributor to four World Series titles, Bernie turns 51 today. The former batting champ finished his career with 49.6 WAR, was an absolute beast in the 1996 playoffs, and now makes some pretty groovy music. Also turning 51 today is Denny Neagle, who made three starts for the Yanks in the 2000 postseason on his way to a World Series ring with Bernie.
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We thank Baseball-Reference and Nationalpastime.com for providing background information for these posts.