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Welcome to the relaunched This Day in Yankees History. The New Year is upon us, and the winter hot stove continues to percolate. 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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This Day in Yankees History (February 9)
20 years ago
After over a year’s worth of negotiations, Derek Jeter and the Yankees finalize a 10-year, $189 million contract. The deal makes the All-Star shortstop second only to Alex Rodriguez ($252 million) as the highest-paid player in baseball history. The contract extension would obviously be worthwhile for both parties, as Jeter would go on to become one of the greatest players in franchise history, finishing his 20-year career with 3,465 hits, .310 batting average, and a 71.3 bWAR.
12 years ago
Alex Rodriguez admits to his use of performance-enhancing drugs when he played shortstop for the Rangers from 2001-2003. The Yankees superstar acknowledges using PEDs, hoping to fulfill the expectations after signing a record ten-year, $252 million contract. While it was a big story in New York, it didn’t seem to have much impact on A-Rod’s performance on the field, as he hit 30 home runs with a .933 OPS in 2009 and would help the Yanks win the World Series that year as well.
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Birthdays
Happy birthday to Clete Boyer!
Playing with the Yankees from 1959-1966, Boyer registered 882 hits and a 19.7 bWAR. He won the World Series in pinstripes in both 1961 and 1962. In the first game of the 1961 World Series, Boyer flashed his glove by making two spectacular plays. The first being on a ground ball in which he picked it backhanded and threw the runner out from his knees. The other was on a ground ball in which he dove to his left to get his man at first, also from his knees. From 1961–1963, Boyer led all American League third basemen in putouts, assists, and double plays, but never won a Gold Glove Award (blame the otherworldly Brooks Robinson for that).
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We thank the Baseball Reference and Nationalpastime.com for providing background information for these posts.