This Day in Yankees History: Don Mattingly wins the batting title

The 2020 playoffs are 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 (September 30)

58 years ago

Mickey Mantle blasts his 30th home run of the season, a solo shot off White Sox 20-game winner Ray Herbert, to extend his streak of 30 or more round-trippers to eight seasons. The “Mick”, who missed a month of the campaign because of a leg injury, batted leadoff in the final series of the year to collect more at-bats.

54 years ago

At Comiskey Park in the top of the ninth inning, Roger Maris, in his last at-bat as a Yankee, slams a two-run home run as a pinch-hitter, putting the club ahead of the White Sox, 5-4.

36 years ago

Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly wins the American League batting title with a .343 average, finishing three points higher than his teammate Dave Winfield. The accomplishment marks the first of six consecutive seasons that Mattingly will finish hitting over .300.

16 years ago

Thanks to Bernie Williams’s ninth-inning two-run homer, the Yankees beat the Twins, 6-4 to clinch their seventh straight American League East Division title. It is also their 100th victory of the season, making them the fourth team in history to have three consecutive 100-win seasons.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Johnny Allen!

Allen played 13 years in the league, four of which were with the Yankees. He pitched 615.1 frames with a 3.79 ERA and 395 strikeouts. He finished in the top-20 for AL MVP in both 1932 and 1935. Allen also won a World Series in his rookie season with the Yanks in 1932.

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