This Day in Yankees History: Bombers receive a Tex message

Welcome to This Day in Yankees History. The New Year is upon us, and the winter hot stove has begun to heat up. That being said, there has not been much movement on the Yankees’ front as of yet, so in the meantime let’s dig into the history books. These daily posts will highlight a handful of 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 (January 6)

28 Years Ago

The Yankees made a big free agent splash on this day in 1992, signing outfielder Danny Tartabull to a five-year, $25.5 million contract, at the time the franchise’s largest in club history. The deal made the 29-year-old Tartabull the second-highest earning player in the majors, behind only the Mets’ Bobby Bonilla.

The Tartabull signing unfortunately didn’t materialize into October success. After leading the league in slugging the previous year with the Royals, the All-Star posted solid seasons in 1992 and 1993, finishing with an OPS+ of 153 and 134, respectively, but was eventually traded in the summer of 1995 to the A’s for Ruben Sierra, who didn’t waste time in providing some memorable Yankee moments:

11 Years Ago

The Bombers made another big signing on this day in 2009 — one that proved to be a bit more successful than the Tartabull contract. Mark Teixeira finalized his eight-year, $180 million contract, an offer that bested bids from teams like the Red Sox and Angels.

Teixeira made an immediate impact, earning an All-Star selection while leading the league in home runs and RBI in his first season in pinstripes. He also smacked two clutch home runs that postseason, helping the Yanks to their first World Series win in nine years.

Teixiera finished his Yankee tenure with a 19.3 WAR over eight seasons.

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Birthdays

No notable birthdays today, but January 6th would be a good day for the Yankees to re-sign DJ LeMahieu.

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