The Bronx Daily

Check out our all new Yankees Discussion Forum!

Who turned the most DP's?

The Bombers beat the Kitties from Detroit City today to move their record to 4-5 on the spring.  Their next game is tomorrow night at 7:05 pm ET.

Today we will cover the most Double Plays a Yankee has been involved in turning in their career.  Can you guess who the player is who was involved in turning more DP's than any other Yankee? 

Jeter?  Nope.... ranked 5th.  Mattingly?  Nope he is ranked 2nd.  Randolph?  He is ranked third.  Rizzuto?  No, he is #4.  Give up?

Here are a few hints...

He was elected tot he Hall of Fame in 1939.  He has the most career Grand Slams, hit .340, Triple Crown Winner 1934 and had a total of 509 RBIs in 3 consecutive seasons, the only player to have ever done this.....

Know who it is yet?  If not scroll down to see.....

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

																				SB
				1.  L Gehrig																1575
				2.  D Mattingly																1504
				3.  W Randolph																1233
				4.  P Rizzuto																1217
				5.  D Jeter																1132
				6.  W Pipp																989
				7.  B Richardson																977
				8.  F Crosetti																968
				9.  B Skowron																922
				10.  T Lazzeri																851

AL EAST PREDICTIONS

Last year I had one of the best set of pre-season predictions I've ever made. :)  I usually take such things with a grain of salt for injuries and whatever you can think of can sway the standings.... But here I go trying to at least match last year's predictions.

TEAM

1.  New York Yankees-

Offense-I am not sure this offense is as potent as last year's.  It will be very, very good and while they may not score over 900 runs this season like they did last year, they don't need to for they are improved defensively and the pitching is at least as good as last year.  A-rod, Jeter, Tex, Posada, Cano and Granderson will hit the ball just fine!  Swisher and Gardner should get the jobs done and that just leaves Gardner, Winn and Thames battling it out at LF.  A very, very good offense.

Ranking; 9 out of 10

Defense-Granderson and Gardner beef up the defense and are better with the gloves than those they replaced.  This will definitely help with better arms and better gloves in these positions.  It will help the pitching, help keep runners from taking that extra base and help the Yankees win with the glove.

Ranking; 9 out of 10

Starting Pitching-What can you say?  CC, Burnett, Vazquez, Pettitte and either Hughes or Joba makes this starting five one of the best in MLB.  

Ranking; 9.5 out of 10

Relief Pitching-With either Hughes or Chamberlain as the set-up man you can;t go wrong when you throw them then bring in Mariano.  Middle relief is very, very good also...

Ranking  10 out of 10

Bench- This is the only weak point for the Yankees, if you can call it weak.  Infielders coming off the bench leaves a bit to be desired but what they have should be adequate for short stints of filling in.  If there is a long term injury to the infield the Bombers may have to look for new help.  But, we shall see.

Ranking  7 out of 10

Manager- He drives me nuts but his moves during the playoffs and the Series were spectacular.  Joe seemed to learn a lot and then took the team by the reigns in the post-season.  He did a great job..... period.

Ranking   8 out of 10

PREDICTION-Repeat as AL East Champions, AL Pennant Winner and as World Champions. 
Points  52.5 out of 60.

2 Boston Red Sox

Offense-Bay is gone and the replacements brought in this season, 5 to be exact are not as explosive with the bats as those in the past.  But, they still have plenty of punch and are not to be taken lightly.  Run production will be down, but with the pitching the Sox have will it hurt much? Also this Red Sox team will have a bit more speed than we've seen in a long time.  Papi is a big question mark, I look for him to continue to decline but he still will take it deep and hurt ya if you slip up with him. 

Points- 7.5 out of 10.

Defense-With 5 new starters out of 8 everyday fielders the Sox beefed themselves up in this area.  I believe they did a fine job here and this will really help this club. 

Points- 9 out of 10

Starting Pitching-Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Dice-K and Wakefield or Bucholz puts this starting five up there with the best.  Its hard to see this staff being weak and its going to be hard form most teams to hit them.

Points-9.5 out of 10

Bench-Like the Yankees, if there is a relative weak spot, if you can call it weak, this is it. While they have decent back-up players age and lack of consistency could hurt them if they need the bench for any long length of time.

Points- 7 out of 10

Relief Pitching-A very good bullpen that is talented, is full of good pitching and has Papelbon as the closer will be a asset to this club again. 

Points- 8.5 out of 10

Manager-Francona will have to change how he manages this season with the change of the focus of the team from great offense to speed and defense.  He will do well for he is a good manager.

Points- 9 out of 10

Prediction-2nd Place in the East and in the post-season again where they will play who else but the Yankees in the AL Championship, where the Yankees will move on to repeat as World Champions.

Total Pts. 50.5 out of 60.

3.TAMPA BAY RAYS-

Offense-Navarro needs to hit RHP, Burrwell needs to hit LHP, Upton needs to improve to help Longoria, Bartlett and Pena and crew to get back to where they were.  A good hard-hitting club that has weaknesses in small areas that can be exploited. Lots of speed!

Points 7.5 out of 10

Defense-A good, solid club with the glove the Rays will be solid again this season.  No glaring weaknesses here.

Points 8.5 out of 10

Starting Pitcher-Good, solid young arms that should be tough to beat this season.  Shields, Garza, Price, Davis and Niemann should be exciting to watch and should win lots of games.

Points 8 out of 10

Relief Pitching-Soriano as the closer will help this pen to be tough to overcome when the Rays have a lead. 

Points 8 out of 10

Bench-A solid bench led by Aybar and Perez both of whom can play multiple positions should help the Rays in short term and any long term fill-ins.  A real asset....

Points 8.5 out of 10

Manager-Maddon, one heck of a manager.  Your not going to out-manage or out-wit this guy.  A real asset to this club...

Points 9 out of 10

Prediction-A close third just behind the Red Sox.  However, just not enough here to get over the hump. However, if the Sox or Yanks were to stumble or suffer massive injuries they would walk into the post-season.  But, in the AL East they finish third.

Total Points-50 out of 60 points

4. BALTIMORE ORIOLES-This will raise a few eyebrows I am sure but this young club with several veterans blended in will finally take the first step back to respectability. 

Offense-Watch out for Wieters for this kid is only going to get better!  Roberts, Jones, Tejada, Scott and Reimold will do well this season.   These are no longer the light hitting birdies. While they will not terrorize pitching like the Yankees they will hit the ball well.

Points 7.5 out of 10

Pitching- Young pitching here.  But, the arms are lively and full of promise.  They will definitely be better than last year. While they won't overpowere everyone and will, like all young staffs, have their jekyll and Hyde days, they will show a lot of improvement this season. Millwood will prove to be a big asset. 

Points-6.5 out of 10

Relief Pitching-A young relief corps anchored by Gonzales should prove to be exciting.  Gonzales will get the job done but will the set-up guys?

Points 7 out of 10

Defense-The young gloves have much to prove. The better they do this year the quicker this team improves. They will make their youthful mistakes. But, they will bring excitement! 

Points- 7 out of 10

Bench- Lots of versatility and good fill-in talent here with Wigginton, Pie and Andino.

Points 7 out of 10

Manager-Trembley will have a lot to prove this season.  If the Birds do not improve he could be on his way out. He will have more talent to work with this season and how he handles it all is important if he keeps his job.  I think he has the talent to be a very good manager and I think he will surprise a few ppl this season.

7 our of 10 points

Prediction; The Orioles finally get out of last.  By how much and how far they go depends upon those young arms and young gloves.  Look for a 4th place finish.

Total Points

42 out of 60 points.

5  TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Offense-Hill and Bautista will anchor this offense. Wells is reportedly healthy but who knows what he can now do?  The rest of the offense is mediocre at best.

6 our of 10 points.

Defense-Solid and while not spectacular it is more like a workman crew, doing its job day in and day out.

7 out of 10 points.

Pitching-Young pitching that is largely inexperienced.  So I ask what pitching?

6 out of 10 points.

Relief Pitching-No clear closer, no all around guy who can get the job done. What relief pitching?

5 out of 10 points.

Bench-Thin, thin, thin.  Not much here to write home about.  Ruiz and mcDonald..... thats it.

6 out of 10 points

Manager-Cito Gaston.  He could be the only person on this club with the talent to make things happen.  Unfortunately he doesn't have much to work with.

8 out of 10

Preview-last place.  But, payroll is low and they are plowing money into scouting and building with youth.  In the long run that is great. But, till that bears fruit its going to be a series of long seasons in Toronto.

Total Points 38 out of 60.

PREDICTED AL EAST 2010 STANDINGS

1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays

Sept. 19, 1968

It was September 19, 1968 at Tiger Stadium with Denny McLain on the mound leading 6-1 on his way to his 31st win of the season.  It was the top  of the 8th inning and coming to the plate was Mickey Mantle as the Tiger Stadium crowd gave him a standing ovation.  Most believed The Mick would not be back the next season so they were seeing him for the last time in Detroit.  They were correct.

As Denny McLain looked in he called the Detroit Catcher out to the mound and told him to tell Mickey he was going to throw hard for he wanted to see Mick hit one since he had been Denny's hero when he was a kid. 

Jim Price, the catcher for Detroit, came back to the plate and told Mick what was up.  Mickey didn't believe him and took the first pitch, which was right down the pike, for strike one.  Price reassured him that the next pitch would be the same and sure enough it was, and Mick fouled it off for strike two.  Looking out at the mound in disbelief Mickey heard Denny ask him where he wanted the next pitch to be.  Mickey showed him and sure enough the next pitch was right there.

What happened next I remember.  The Mick, my childhood hero hit that ball into the upper deck in Right Field and I was at home listening to the game on the radio.  I cheered and jumped around like any 7 year old kid would do for this wasn't any old Home Run.  You see my hero had just passed Jimmy Foxx to become the man with the 3rd most Home Runs in MLB history.  I remember hoping that he wouldn't retire after the season.  But, my hopes were dashed and my earliest childhood baseball hero was gone from baseball.  But, for that moment, The Mick was still my hero, to me the greatest ballplayer alive. 

Years later, when The Mick died from cancer my heart broke again.  The memories flooded back of him and it didn't take long to smile for I relived each of them and remembered how exciting of a ballplayer he was and I realized Mickey Mantle didn't live his life in sadness but in fun and joy.  I still smile all these years later when his name is mentioned.  For it brings back to life that little boy in me that so long ago stood there and cheered in awe at what I considered to be a baseball god.  Of course he was a mere mortal like all of us..... or was he for isn't his memory immortal for as long as baseball exists? 

As The Mick rounded the bases I wasn't the only one cheering for the fans in Detroit and even the Tigers themselves were standing and cheering him also!

The Mick rounding third after his 535th Home Run.....

1903 Yankees

This post is meant to be a comprehensive look at the first season of the New York Yankees.  We will cover the season, the stats, how they came to NY, their first ball park, their stats, roster, schedule and results, final standings and more.  I hope you enjoy this post and thank you so much for reading THE BRONX DAILY!

1903 NEW YORK gets AL team called HIGHLANDERS, we now call the YANKEES.

After two years in Baltimore as the Orioles the team moved to New York.  The first name was the Highlanders and in 1913 they changed their names to the Yankees.  But, in 1903 the Highlanders (whom I will call by their Yankees names from here on) were looking for a new beginning after the Baltimore fiasco of 1902.

With Clark Griffith as manager and star Wee Willie Keeler in the OF the Yanks were hoping for a brighter future.  It came with the acquisition of Jack Chesbro and Jess Tannehil to the pitching staff.  Griffith also added IF Kid Conroy, OF Lefty Davis, Cartcher Jack O'Connor, 2b Jimmy Williams, OF Herm McFarland and pitcher Harry Howell.  Then for added insurance Griffith got OF John Ganzel, SS Herman Long and OF David Fultz. 

With black uniforms with big white NY on the front and black hats with white piping, white socks and white belts the Yankees looked nothing like the team we know now.  Yankees by the way was a nickname that newspapers and fans started calling the team in '03.  But, the team did not officially adopt it until 1913. 

The first game in NY had Chesbro on the mound and against the Washington Senators he walked the first three batter. But, then got out of the inning by beginning a home to first DP the next batter.  Then up to the plate came the first batter ever for the team in NY.  Lefty Davis grounded to second and was out.  But, Wee Willie came up and walked and moved to third on a hit and run.  Jimmy Williams grounded to second and Keeler scored the first ever run in NY.  Sadly, however the Yanks lost 3-1 that day.  But, they did win the next day 7-2.

The Yankees finished April 4-4 in 3rd 2 games back.  The biggest win of the month had been a 11-1 pounding of the Senators.  May came and the Yanks struggled finishing the month at 15-18 in 7th place.  June saw the Bombers put together a 5 game winning streak.  For the month their record was 10-10  and the end of the month saw them at 25-28 in 6th place.  They began a winning streak at the end of June that ran into July and by the time it was over they had won 7 straight, 10 of 12.  15-12 they went for the month of July and at the end of the month they had improved to 40-40 in 5th place.

August saw a 6 game winning streak followed by a 5 game losing streak.  13-12 was where they ended up for the month of August.  Slowly but surely the team was moving in the right direction.  53-52 in 4th place the Yankees could still make the season interesting and this they did for in September they put together two 4 game winning streaks and a three game winning streak including three straight shutouts in early September.  For September the Bombers went 19-10 to up their season record to finish at 72-62 .537 in 4th place -17.

Against the rest of the AL the Bombers W-L records was as follows:

Boston     7-13
Chicago   11-7
Cleveland   6-14
Detroit      9-10
Phila.       10-8
St. Louis   15-5
Wash.       14-5

Team Leaders in batting were:
Keeler  .313 BA, .368 OBP, 132 games, 512 AB, 160 Hits.   Williams 132 games, SLG Pct. .392, 30 2B, 82 RBI.  McFarland 5 HR.  Conroy 12 #b.

Pitching leaders were:
Griffith  2.70 ERA, 2 SHO.  Chesbro 21 W, 40 G, 324.7 IP, 33 CG, 36 GS, 147 Ks. 

As a team they hit:
.249 BA 4th in AL, 579 R 4th, 18 HR 4th, 160 SB 3rd.

As a team the pitching put up the following numbers:
3.08 ERA 7th, 463 Ks  6th, 7 SHO 7th, 111 CG, 8th.

BATTING

	Pos			G		AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB		BA	OBP	SLG			TB
	C	Monte Beville		82		258	23	50	14	1	0	29	4		16		.194	.252	.256			66
	1B	John Ganzel		129		476	62	132	25	7	3	71	9		30		.277	.336	.378			180
	2B	Jimmy Williams		132		502	60	134	30	12	3	82	9		39		.267	.326	.392			197
	SS	Kid Elberfeld		90		349	49	100	18	5	0	45	16		22		.287	.346	.367			128
	3B	Wid Conroy		126		503	74	137	23	12	1	45	33		32		.272	.322	.372			187
	OF	Herm McFarland		103		362	41	88	16	9	5	45	13		46		.243	.333	.378			137
	OF	Willie Keeler		132		512	95	160	14	7	0	32	24		32		.313	.368	.367			188
	OF	Lefty Davis		104		372	54	88	10	0	0	25	11		43		.237	.319	.263			98
	Pos	BENCH		G		AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB		BA	OBP	SLG			TB
	OF	Dave Fultz		79		295	39	66	12	1	0	25	29		25		.224	.295	.271			80
	C	Jack O'Connor		64		212	13	43	4	1	0	12	4		8		.203	.235	.231			49
	SS	Ernie Courtney		25		79	7	21	3	3	1	8	1		7		.266	.341	.418			33
	SS	Herman Long		22		80	6	15	3	0	0	8	3		2		.188	.207	.225			18
	C	Pat McCauley		6		19	0	1	0	0	0	1	0		0		.053	.053	.053			1
	UT	Jack Zalusky		7		16	2	5	0	0	0	1	0		1		.313	.353	.313			5
	IF	Paddy Greene		4		13	1	4	1	0	0	0	0		0		.308	.308	.385			5
	1B	Tim Jordan		2		8	2	1	0	0	0	0	0		0		.125	.125	.125			1
	1B	Fred Holmes		1		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1			1.000				0
	Pos	PITCHERS		G		AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB		BA	OBP	SLG			TB
	P	Jack Chesbro		40		124	8	23	4	0	2	9	0		2		.185	.198	.266			33
	P	Jesse Tannehill		40		111	18	26	6	2	1	13	1		8		.234	.292	.351			39
	P	Harry Howell		40		106	14	23	3	2	1	12	1		5		.217	.259	.311			33
	P	Clark Griffith		25		69	5	11	4	0	1	7	1		11		.159	.284	.261			18
	P	Barney Wolfe		20		53	4	4	1	0	0	1	0		2		.075	.109	.094			5
	P	John Deering		9		23	1	1	0	0	0	2	1		0		.043	.043	.043			1
	P	Snake Wiltse		4		9	0	2	1	0	0	0	0		0		.222	.222	.333			3
	P	Ambrose Puttmann		3		7	1	1	1	0	0	1	0		0		.143	.143	.286			2
	P	Elmer Bliss		1		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0		.000	.000	.000			0
	P	Doc Adkins		2		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0		.000	.000	.000			0
	P	Eddie Quick		1		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0		.000	.000	.000			0
		Team Totals		136		4565	579	1136	193	62	18	474	160		332		.249	.309	.330			1507
		AL Rankings				8	4	6	4	7	4		3		1		5	3	5			5

PITCHING

		STARTERS		W	L	PCT	ERA	G	GS		CG	SHO		IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB		SO
		Jack Chesbro		21	15	.583	2.77	40	36		33	1		324.2	300	140	100	7	74		147
		Jesse Tannehill		15	15	.500	3.27	32	31		22	2		239.2	258	123	87	3	34		106
		Clark Griffith		14	11	.560	2.70	25	24		22	2		213.0	201	92	64	3	33		69
		Harry Howell		9	6	.600	3.53	25	15		13	0		155.2	140	79	61	4	44		62
		Barney Wolfe		6	9	.400	2.97	20	16		12	1		148.1	143	66	49	1	26		48
		BULLPEN		W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS		CG	SHO		IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB		SO
		John Deering		4	3	.571	3.75	9	7		6	1		60.0	59	33	25	0	18		14
		Snake Wiltse		0	3	.000	5.40	4	3		2	0		25.0	35	17	15	1	6		6
		Ambrose Puttmann		2	0	1.000	0.95	3	2		1	0		19.0	16	9	2	0	4		8
		Elmer Bliss		1	0	1.000	0.00	1	0		0	0		7.0	4	1	0	0	0		3
		Doc Adkins		0	0		7.71	2	1		0	0		7.0	10	8	6	0	5		0
		Eddie Quick		0	0		9.00	1	1		0	0		2.0	5	5	2	0	1		0
		Team   Totals		72	62	.537	3.08	136	136		111	7		1201.1	1171	573	411	19	245		463
		AL RANK		4	6		7				8	7		7	5	5	6	2	2

THE BALLPARK AND MORE HISTORY

In 1903 when Frank Ferrell and Bill Devery bought the gutted out Baltimore Orioles (John McGraw had gutted them as he jumped to the NL Giants taking some of the best players with him) they moved them to Manhattan to The Hilltop where they built American League Park for the Yankees (then known as the Highlanders) to play in.  Because of its location the park soon came to be known as Hilltop Park. 

Hilltop Park was not finished when the Yanks started the 1903 season but as time passed problems such as a swamp in the outfield, no clubhouse and no grass were taken care of.
Hilltop park was huge for a ball field in 1903.  It had seating for 16,000 and standing room for 10,000 more fans.  Not only was its seating capacity huge for the time but the park itself was big.  Dimensions were LF 365', CF 420' and RF 385'.  Hilltop Park was surrounded by the following streets, Broadway, 165th Street, Fort Washington Ave and 168th Street.

As the 1903 season opened on April 22, 1903 the Yankees managed by Clark Griffith lost to the Washington Senators 3-1.  But, the Yanks would get revenge the next day pounding the Senators 7-2.  The Bombers would go on that year to post a 72-62 .537 -17 to finish in 4th in their new city and new ballpark.

In 1911 the Polo Grounds burned to the ground and the Yankees let the Giants move in with them for the rest of the season.  Two years later the Yankees left Hilltop Park and moved in with the Giants at the Polo Grounds an arrangement that would last until the greatest stadium in the history of the game was built, the great Yankee Stadium. 

Unfortunately, the Yankees never won a pennant at Hilltop Park.  In 1904 they came very close losing the season's final game to a team from Boston and thus missing the pennant by one game.  In 1904 Jack Chesbro won 41 games for the Yankees and AL record which will probably never be broken.  The Yankees were no-hit at Hilltop Park on June 8, 1908 by Cy Young losing the game 8-0.

In 1913 the Yankees moved to the Polo Grounds and in 1914 Hilltop Park was torn down. Today, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center stands on the site of the former ballpark.  But, if you go there you will find a plaque in the sidewalk there in the exact place where home plate once was at.  This plaque was donated by the Yankees and if you ever get to go there please take a picture of ti and I'll post it here on The Bronx Daily.

HillTop Park in 1903

Hilltop Park in 1908

1903 SEASON SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Game	DATE	TEAM PLAYED	SCORE	W/L	W-L
1	04-22-1903	@ Washington Senators	1-3	L	0-1
2	04-23-1903	@ Washington Senators	7-2	W	1-1
3	04-24-1903	@ Washington Senators	1-7	L	1-2
4	04-25-1903	@ Washington Senators	11-1	W	2-2
5	04-27-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	0-6	L	2-3
6	04-28-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	3-7	L	2-4
7	04-29-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	5-4	W	3-4
8	04-30-1903	vs Washington Senators	6-2	W	4-4
9	05-01-1903	vs Washington Senators	8-3	W	5-4
10	05-02-1903	vs Washington Senators	3-4	L	5-5
11	05-04-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	4-3	W	6-5
12	05-05-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	11-3	W	7-5
13	05-06-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	1-6	L	7-6
14	05-07-1903	@ Boston Americans	2-6	L	7-7
15	05-08-1903	@ Boston Americans	6-1	W	8-7
16	05-09-1903	@ Boston Americans	5-12	L	8-8
17	05-11-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	8-2	W	9-8
18	05-12-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	4-8	L	9-9
19	05-13-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	1-7	L	9-10
20	05-14-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	6-9	L	9-11
21	05-15-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	3-5	L	9-12
22	05-16-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	3-2	W	10-12
23	05-17-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	2-9	L	10-13
24	05-18-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	3-7	L	10-14
25	05-20-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	5-2	W	11-14
26	05-22-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	1-2	L	11-15
27	05-23-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	3-1	W	12-15
28	05-24-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	4-1	W	13-15
29	05-25-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	1-6	L	13-16
30	05-28-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	5-2	W	14-16
31	05-29-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	3-2	W	15-16
32-I	05-30-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	0-1	L	15-17
33-II	05-30-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	3-4	L	15-18
34	06-01-1903	vs Boston Americans	2-8	L	15-19
35	06-02-1903	vs Boston Americans	0-9	L	15-20
36	06-03-1903	vs Boston Americans	3-9	L	15-21
37	06-04-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	3-6	L	15-22
38	06-05-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	8-7	W	16-22
39	06-06-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	4-8	L	16-23
40	06-09-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	3-1	W	17-23
41	06-11-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	4-3	W	18-23
42	06-13-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	3-2	W	19-23
43	06-16-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	1-0	W	20-23
44	06-17-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	1-0	W	21-23
45	06-19-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	0-7	L	21-24
46-I	06-24-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	6-3	W	22-24
47-II	06-24-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	0-3	L	22-25
48	06-25-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	6-6	T	22-25-1
49	06-26-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	2-3	L	22-26-1
50	06-27-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	4-7	L	22-27-1
51-I	06-28-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	12-2	W	23-27-1
52-II	06-28-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	1-2	L	23-28-1
53	06-29-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	6-3	W	24-28-1
54	06-30-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	2-1	W	25-28-1
55	07-01-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	7-3	W	26-28-1
56	07-02-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	3-2	W	27-28-1
57-I	07-04-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	5-3	W	28-28-1
58-II	07-04-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	5-3	W	29-28-1
59	07-06-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	4-2	W	30-28-1
60	07-07-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	2-3	L	30-29-1
61	07-08-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	1-6	L	30-30-1
62	07-09-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	5-4	W	31-30-1
63	07-10-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	3-1	W	32-30-1
64	07-11-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	5-4	W	33-30-1
65	07-13-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	3-4	L	33-31-1
66	07-14-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	5-4	W	34-31-1
67	07-15-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	4-7	L	34-32-1
68	07-16-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	2-10	L	34-33-1
69	07-17-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	4-11	L	34-34-1
70-I	07-20-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	7-3	W	35-34-1
71-II	07-20-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	0-2	L	35-35-1
72	07-21-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	9-3	W	36-35-1
73-I	07-23-1903	vs Boston Americans	1-6	L	36-36-1
74-II	07-23-1903	vs Boston Americans	4-2	W	37-36-1
75	07-24-1903	vs Boston Americans	2-8	L	37-37-1
76	07-25-1903	vs Boston Americans	5-7	L	37-38-1
77	07-27-1903	@ Boston Americans	0-5	L	37-39-1
78	07-28-1903	@ Boston Americans	0-3	L	37-40-1
79	07-29-1903	@ Boston Americans	15-14	W	38-40-1
80	07-30-1903	@ Boston Americans	12-1	W	39-40-1
81	07-31-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	3-1	W	40-40-1
82	08-01-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	3-2	W	41-40-1
83	08-03-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	2-5	L	41-41-1
84	08-05-1903	@ Washington Senators	2-1	W	42-41-1
85	08-06-1903	@ Washington Senators	4-0	W	43-41-1
86	08-07-1903	@ Washington Senators	10-4	W	44-41-1
87	08-08-1903	vs Washington Senators	7-2	W	45-41-1
88	08-10-1903	vs Washington Senators	6-1	W	46-41-1
89	08-11-1903	vs Washington Senators	16-2	W	47-41-1
90-I	08-13-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	2-5	L	47-42-1
91-II	08-13-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	2-8	L	47-43-1
92	08-14-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	0-3	L	47-44-1
93	08-15-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	5-6	L	47-45-1
94	08-16-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	8-12	L	47-46-1
95	08-17-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	3-6	L	47-47-1
96-I	08-18-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	1-0	W	48-47-1
97-II	08-18-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	8-1	W	49-47-1
98-I	08-20-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	6-1	W	50-47-1
99-II	08-20-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	2-4	L	50-48-1
100	08-21-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	3-8	L	50-49-1
101	08-22-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	9-6	W	51-49-1
102-I	08-23-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	6-5	W	52-49-1
103-II	08-23-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	1-3	L	52-50-1
104	08-24-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	5-9	L	52-51-1
105	08-26-1903	vs Washington Senators	1-2	L	52-52-1
106	08-27-1903	vs Washington Senators	6-5	W	53-52-1
107-I	09-01-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	5-1	W	54-52-1
108-II	09-01-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	1-1	T	54-52-2
109	09-02-1903	@ Washington Senators	11-3	W	55-52-2
110	09-03-1903	@ Washington Senators	3-1	W	56-52-2
111	09-04-1903	@ Washington Senators	1-8	L	56-53-2
112	09-05-1903	vs Washington Senators	10-3	W	57-53-2
113-I	09-07-1903	vs Boston Americans	0-4	L	57-54-2
114-II	09-07-1903	vs Boston Americans	5-0	W	58-54-2
115	09-08-1903	vs Boston Americans	1-0	W	59-54-2
116-I	09-09-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	4-0	W	60-54-2
117-II	09-09-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	6-3	W	61-54-2
118	09-10-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	2-5	L	61-55-2
119	09-11-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	4-7	L	61-56-2
120	09-12-1903	@ Boston Americans	1-10	L	61-57-2
121	09-14-1903	@ Boston Americans	4-2	W	62-57-2
122	09-15-1903	@ Boston Americans	3-12	L	62-58-2
123-I	09-18-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	7-1	W	63-58-2
124-II	09-18-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	6-3	W	64-58-2
125	09-19-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	3-1	W	65-58-2
126	09-21-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	4-8	L	65-59-2
127	09-22-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	4-5	L	65-60-2
128-I	09-23-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	4-7	L	65-61-2
129-II	09-23-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	4-1	W	66-61-2
130-I	09-24-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	6-2	W	67-61-2
131-II	09-24-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	8-6	W	68-61-2
132	09-25-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	8-2	W	69-61-2
133-I	09-26-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	8-13	L	69-62-2
134-II	09-26-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	5-1	W	70-62-2
135	09-28-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	7-6	W	71-62-2
136	09-29-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	10-4	W	72-62-2

1903 FINAL STANDINGS

P	Tm	W	L	PCT	GB		Home	Road
1	BOS	91	47	.659	---		49-20	42-27
2	PHI	75	60	.556	14.5		44-21	31-39
3	CLE	77	63	.550	15.0		49-25	28-38
4	NY	72	62	.537	17.0		41-26	31-36
5	DET	65	71	.478	25.0		37-28	28-43
6	STL	65	74	.468	26.5		38-32	27-42
7	CHI	60	77	.438	30.5		41-28	19-49
8	WSH	43	94	.314	47.5		29-40	14-54

Bombers Bomb Bucs

In the first game of the spring the Bombers are 1-0 in the Graperfruit League with a 6-3 win today.  A-Rod got his first hit, Curtis his a 3 run nuke in the bottom of the 9th and with the exception of Albaladejo the staff looked great! :)  A great debut for the Yankees.  However, the real test comes tomorrow when they play the Phillies at 1:05 pm ET.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI		BA
Jeter, SS	2	0	0	0		.000
Nunez, E, SS	2	1	1	0		.500
Granderson, CF	2	0	0	0		.000
Golson, CF	2	0	0	0		.000
Teixeira, 1B	2	0	0	0		.000
Johnson, N, 1B	2	1	1	1		.500
Rodriguez, A, 3B	2	0	1	0		.500
Laird, 3B	2	1	1	0		.500
Thames, DH	1	0	0	0		.000
Weber, J, PH-DH	2	1	1	0		.500
Hoffmann, RF	2	0	0	0		.000
Winfree, RF	2	0	0	0		.000
Gardner, LF	2	0	0	0		.000
Curtis, LF	2	1	1	3		.500
Cervelli, C	1	0	0	0		.000
Rivera, Mi, C	1	0	0	0		.000
Pena, R, 2B	2	1	1	1		.500
Corona, 2B	1	0	0	0		.000
Totals	32	6	7	5

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI		BA
Jeter, SS	2	0	0	0		.000
Nunez, E, SS	2	1	1	0		.500
Granderson, CF	2	0	0	0		.000
Golson, CF	2	0	0	0		.000
Teixeira, 1B	2	0	0	0		.000
Johnson, N, 1B	2	1	1	1		.500
Rodriguez, A, 3B	2	0	1	0		.500
Laird, 3B	2	1	1	0		.500
Thames, DH	1	0	0	0		.000
Weber, J, PH-DH	2	1	1	0		.500
Hoffmann, RF	2	0	0	0		.000
Winfree, RF	2	0	0	0		.000
Gardner, LF	2	0	0	0		.000
Curtis, LF	2	1	1	3		.500
Cervelli, C	1	0	0	0		.000
Rivera, Mi, C	1	0	0	0		.000
Pena, R, 2B	2	1	1	1		.500
Corona, 2B	1	0	0	0		.000
Totals	32	6	7	5

PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Gaudin	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Mitre	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Aceves, A	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Albaladejo	0.0	2	3	2	0	0	0	--
Ring (BS, 1)	1.1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Hirsh	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Sanit (W, 1-0)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0		3	3	1
Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3		6	7	2

Tomorrow at 1:05 pm ET the Yanks take on the Phillies with CC on the mound. The Phillies will counter with Halladay.  It should be a fun game.

1903 Highlanders

This post is meant to be a comprehensive look at the first season of the New York Yankees.  We will cover the season, the stats, how they came to NY, their first ball park, their stats, roster, schedule and results, final standings and more.  I hope you enjoy this post and thank you so much for reading THE BRONX DAILY!

1903 NEW YORK gets AL team called HIGHLANDERS, we now call the YANKEES.

After two years in Baltimore as the Orioles the team moved to New York.  The first name was the Highlanders and in 1913 they changed their names to the Yankees.  But, in 1903 the Highlanders (whom I will call by their Yankees names from here on) were looking for a new beginning after the Baltimore fiasco of 1902.

With Clark Griffith as manager and star Wee Willie Keeler in the OF the Yanks were hoping for a brighter future.  It came with the acquisition of Jack Chesbro and Jess Tannehil to the pitching staff.  Griffith also added IF Kid Conroy, OF Lefty Davis, Cartcher Jack O'Connor, 2b Jimmy Williams, OF Herm McFarland and pitcher Harry Howell.  Then for added insurance Griffith got OF John Ganzel, SS Herman Long and OF David Fultz. 

With black uniforms with big white NY on the front and black hats with white piping, white socks and white belts the Yankees looked nothing like the team we know now.  Yankees by the way was a nickname that newspapers and fans started calling the team in '03.  But, the team did not officially adopt it until 1913. 

The first game in NY had Chesbro on the mound and against the Washington Senators he walked the first three batter. But, then got out of the inning by beginning a home to first DP the next batter.  Then up to the plate came the first batter ever for the team in NY.  Lefty Davis grounded to second and was out.  But, Wee Willie came up and walked and moved to third on a hit and run.  Jimmy Williams grounded to second and Keeler scored the first ever run in NY.  Sadly, however the Yanks lost 3-1 that day.  But, they did win the next day 7-2.

The Yankees finished April 4-4 in 3rd 2 games back.  The biggest win of the month had been a 11-1 pounding of the Senators.  May came and the Yanks struggled finishing the month at 15-18 in 7th place.  June saw the Bombers put together a 5 game winning streak.  For the month their record was 10-10  and the end of the month saw them at 25-28 in 6th place.  They began a winning streak at the end of June that ran into July and by the time it was over they had won 7 straight, 10 of 12.  15-12 they went for the month of July and at the end of the month they had improved to 40-40 in 5th place.

August saw a 6 game winning streak followed by a 5 game losing streak.  13-12 was where they ended up for the month of August.  Slowly but surely the team was moving in the right direction.  53-52 in 4th place the Yankees could still make the season interesting and this they did for in September they put together two 4 game winning streaks and a three game winning streak including three straight shutouts in early September.  For September the Bombers went 19-10 to up their season record to finish at 72-62 .537 in 4th place -17.

Against the rest of the AL the Bombers W-L records was as follows:

Boston     7-13
Chicago   11-7
Cleveland   6-14
Detroit      9-10
Phila.       10-8
St. Louis   15-5
Wash.       14-5

Team Leaders in batting were:
Keeler  .313 BA, .368 OBP, 132 games, 512 AB, 160 Hits.   Williams 132 games, SLG Pct. .392, 30 2B, 82 RBI.  McFarland 5 HR.  Conroy 12 #b.

Pitching leaders were:
Griffith  2.70 ERA, 2 SHO.  Chesbro 21 W, 40 G, 324.7 IP, 33 CG, 36 GS, 147 Ks. 

As a team they hit:
.249 BA 4th in AL, 579 R 4th, 18 HR 4th, 160 SB 3rd.

As a team the pitching put up the following numbers:
3.08 ERA 7th, 463 Ks  6th, 7 SHO 7th, 111 CG, 8th.

BATTING

	Pos			G		AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB		BA	OBP	SLG			TB
	C	Monte Beville		82		258	23	50	14	1	0	29	4		16		.194	.252	.256			66
	1B	John Ganzel		129		476	62	132	25	7	3	71	9		30		.277	.336	.378			180
	2B	Jimmy Williams		132		502	60	134	30	12	3	82	9		39		.267	.326	.392			197
	SS	Kid Elberfeld		90		349	49	100	18	5	0	45	16		22		.287	.346	.367			128
	3B	Wid Conroy		126		503	74	137	23	12	1	45	33		32		.272	.322	.372			187
	OF	Herm McFarland		103		362	41	88	16	9	5	45	13		46		.243	.333	.378			137
	OF	Willie Keeler		132		512	95	160	14	7	0	32	24		32		.313	.368	.367			188
	OF	Lefty Davis		104		372	54	88	10	0	0	25	11		43		.237	.319	.263			98
	Pos	BENCH		G		AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB		BA	OBP	SLG			TB
	OF	Dave Fultz		79		295	39	66	12	1	0	25	29		25		.224	.295	.271			80
	C	Jack O'Connor		64		212	13	43	4	1	0	12	4		8		.203	.235	.231			49
	SS	Ernie Courtney		25		79	7	21	3	3	1	8	1		7		.266	.341	.418			33
	SS	Herman Long		22		80	6	15	3	0	0	8	3		2		.188	.207	.225			18
	C	Pat McCauley		6		19	0	1	0	0	0	1	0		0		.053	.053	.053			1
	UT	Jack Zalusky		7		16	2	5	0	0	0	1	0		1		.313	.353	.313			5
	IF	Paddy Greene		4		13	1	4	1	0	0	0	0		0		.308	.308	.385			5
	1B	Tim Jordan		2		8	2	1	0	0	0	0	0		0		.125	.125	.125			1
	1B	Fred Holmes		1		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1			1.000				0
	Pos	PITCHERS		G		AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB		BB		BA	OBP	SLG			TB
	P	Jack Chesbro		40		124	8	23	4	0	2	9	0		2		.185	.198	.266			33
	P	Jesse Tannehill		40		111	18	26	6	2	1	13	1		8		.234	.292	.351			39
	P	Harry Howell		40		106	14	23	3	2	1	12	1		5		.217	.259	.311			33
	P	Clark Griffith		25		69	5	11	4	0	1	7	1		11		.159	.284	.261			18
	P	Barney Wolfe		20		53	4	4	1	0	0	1	0		2		.075	.109	.094			5
	P	John Deering		9		23	1	1	0	0	0	2	1		0		.043	.043	.043			1
	P	Snake Wiltse		4		9	0	2	1	0	0	0	0		0		.222	.222	.333			3
	P	Ambrose Puttmann		3		7	1	1	1	0	0	1	0		0		.143	.143	.286			2
	P	Elmer Bliss		1		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0		.000	.000	.000			0
	P	Doc Adkins		2		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0		.000	.000	.000			0
	P	Eddie Quick		1		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0		.000	.000	.000			0
		Team Totals		136		4565	579	1136	193	62	18	474	160		332		.249	.309	.330			1507
		AL Rankings				8	4	6	4	7	4		3		1		5	3	5			5

PITCHING

		STARTERS		W	L	PCT	ERA	G	GS		CG	SHO		IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB		SO
		Jack Chesbro		21	15	.583	2.77	40	36		33	1		324.2	300	140	100	7	74		147
		Jesse Tannehill		15	15	.500	3.27	32	31		22	2		239.2	258	123	87	3	34		106
		Clark Griffith		14	11	.560	2.70	25	24		22	2		213.0	201	92	64	3	33		69
		Harry Howell		9	6	.600	3.53	25	15		13	0		155.2	140	79	61	4	44		62
		Barney Wolfe		6	9	.400	2.97	20	16		12	1		148.1	143	66	49	1	26		48
		BULLPEN		W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS		CG	SHO		IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB		SO
		John Deering		4	3	.571	3.75	9	7		6	1		60.0	59	33	25	0	18		14
		Snake Wiltse		0	3	.000	5.40	4	3		2	0		25.0	35	17	15	1	6		6
		Ambrose Puttmann		2	0	1.000	0.95	3	2		1	0		19.0	16	9	2	0	4		8
		Elmer Bliss		1	0	1.000	0.00	1	0		0	0		7.0	4	1	0	0	0		3
		Doc Adkins		0	0		7.71	2	1		0	0		7.0	10	8	6	0	5		0
		Eddie Quick		0	0		9.00	1	1		0	0		2.0	5	5	2	0	1		0
		Team   Totals		72	62	.537	3.08	136	136		111	7		1201.1	1171	573	411	19	245		463
		AL RANK		4	6		7				8	7		7	5	5	6	2	2

THE BALLPARK AND MORE HISTORY

In 1903 when Frank Ferrell and Bill Devery bought the gutted out Baltimore Orioles (John McGraw had gutted them as he jumped to the NL Giants taking some of the best players with him) they moved them to Manhattan to The Hilltop where they built American League Park for the Yankees (then known as the Highlanders) to play in.  Because of its location the park soon came to be known as Hilltop Park. 

Hilltop Park was not finished when the Yanks started the 1903 season but as time passed problems such as a swamp in the outfield, no clubhouse and no grass were taken care of.
Hilltop park was huge for a ball field in 1903.  It had seating for 16,000 and standing room for 10,000 more fans.  Not only was its seating capacity huge for the time but the park itself was big.  Dimensions were LF 365', CF 420' and RF 385'.  Hilltop Park was surrounded by the following streets, Broadway, 165th Street, Fort Washington Ave and 168th Street.

As the 1903 season opened on April 22, 1903 the Yankees managed by Clark Griffith lost to the Washington Senators 3-1.  But, the Yanks would get revenge the next day pounding the Senators 7-2.  The Bombers would go on that year to post a 72-62 .537 -17 to finish in 4th in their new city and new ballpark.

In 1911 the Polo Grounds burned to the ground and the Yankees let the Giants move in with them for the rest of the season.  Two years later the Yankees left Hilltop Park and moved in with the Giants at the Polo Grounds an arrangement that would last until the greatest stadium in the history of the game was built, the great Yankee Stadium. 

Unfortunately, the Yankees never won a pennant at Hilltop Park.  In 1904 they came very close losing the season's final game to a team from Boston and thus missing the pennant by one game.  In 1904 Jack Chesbro won 41 games for the Yankees and AL record which will probably never be broken.  The Yankees were no-hit at Hilltop Park on June 8, 1908 by Cy Young losing the game 8-0.

In 1913 the Yankees moved to the Polo Grounds and in 1914 Hilltop Park was torn down. Today, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center stands on the site of the former ballpark.  But, if you go there you will find a plaque in the sidewalk there in the exact place where home plate once was at.  This plaque was donated by the Yankees and if you ever get to go there please take a picture of ti and I'll post it here on The Bronx Daily.

HillTop Park in 1903

Hilltop Park in 1908

1903 SEASON SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Game	DATE	TEAM PLAYED	SCORE	W/L	W-L
1	04-22-1903	@ Washington Senators	1-3	L	0-1
2	04-23-1903	@ Washington Senators	7-2	W	1-1
3	04-24-1903	@ Washington Senators	1-7	L	1-2
4	04-25-1903	@ Washington Senators	11-1	W	2-2
5	04-27-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	0-6	L	2-3
6	04-28-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	3-7	L	2-4
7	04-29-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	5-4	W	3-4
8	04-30-1903	vs Washington Senators	6-2	W	4-4
9	05-01-1903	vs Washington Senators	8-3	W	5-4
10	05-02-1903	vs Washington Senators	3-4	L	5-5
11	05-04-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	4-3	W	6-5
12	05-05-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	11-3	W	7-5
13	05-06-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	1-6	L	7-6
14	05-07-1903	@ Boston Americans	2-6	L	7-7
15	05-08-1903	@ Boston Americans	6-1	W	8-7
16	05-09-1903	@ Boston Americans	5-12	L	8-8
17	05-11-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	8-2	W	9-8
18	05-12-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	4-8	L	9-9
19	05-13-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	1-7	L	9-10
20	05-14-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	6-9	L	9-11
21	05-15-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	3-5	L	9-12
22	05-16-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	3-2	W	10-12
23	05-17-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	2-9	L	10-13
24	05-18-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	3-7	L	10-14
25	05-20-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	5-2	W	11-14
26	05-22-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	1-2	L	11-15
27	05-23-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	3-1	W	12-15
28	05-24-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	4-1	W	13-15
29	05-25-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	1-6	L	13-16
30	05-28-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	5-2	W	14-16
31	05-29-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	3-2	W	15-16
32-I	05-30-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	0-1	L	15-17
33-II	05-30-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	3-4	L	15-18
34	06-01-1903	vs Boston Americans	2-8	L	15-19
35	06-02-1903	vs Boston Americans	0-9	L	15-20
36	06-03-1903	vs Boston Americans	3-9	L	15-21
37	06-04-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	3-6	L	15-22
38	06-05-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	8-7	W	16-22
39	06-06-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	4-8	L	16-23
40	06-09-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	3-1	W	17-23
41	06-11-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	4-3	W	18-23
42	06-13-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	3-2	W	19-23
43	06-16-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	1-0	W	20-23
44	06-17-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	1-0	W	21-23
45	06-19-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	0-7	L	21-24
46-I	06-24-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	6-3	W	22-24
47-II	06-24-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	0-3	L	22-25
48	06-25-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	6-6	T	22-25-1
49	06-26-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	2-3	L	22-26-1
50	06-27-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	4-7	L	22-27-1
51-I	06-28-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	12-2	W	23-27-1
52-II	06-28-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	1-2	L	23-28-1
53	06-29-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	6-3	W	24-28-1
54	06-30-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	2-1	W	25-28-1
55	07-01-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	7-3	W	26-28-1
56	07-02-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	3-2	W	27-28-1
57-I	07-04-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	5-3	W	28-28-1
58-II	07-04-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	5-3	W	29-28-1
59	07-06-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	4-2	W	30-28-1
60	07-07-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	2-3	L	30-29-1
61	07-08-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	1-6	L	30-30-1
62	07-09-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	5-4	W	31-30-1
63	07-10-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	3-1	W	32-30-1
64	07-11-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	5-4	W	33-30-1
65	07-13-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	3-4	L	33-31-1
66	07-14-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	5-4	W	34-31-1
67	07-15-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	4-7	L	34-32-1
68	07-16-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	2-10	L	34-33-1
69	07-17-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	4-11	L	34-34-1
70-I	07-20-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	7-3	W	35-34-1
71-II	07-20-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	0-2	L	35-35-1
72	07-21-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	9-3	W	36-35-1
73-I	07-23-1903	vs Boston Americans	1-6	L	36-36-1
74-II	07-23-1903	vs Boston Americans	4-2	W	37-36-1
75	07-24-1903	vs Boston Americans	2-8	L	37-37-1
76	07-25-1903	vs Boston Americans	5-7	L	37-38-1
77	07-27-1903	@ Boston Americans	0-5	L	37-39-1
78	07-28-1903	@ Boston Americans	0-3	L	37-40-1
79	07-29-1903	@ Boston Americans	15-14	W	38-40-1
80	07-30-1903	@ Boston Americans	12-1	W	39-40-1
81	07-31-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	3-1	W	40-40-1
82	08-01-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	3-2	W	41-40-1
83	08-03-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	2-5	L	41-41-1
84	08-05-1903	@ Washington Senators	2-1	W	42-41-1
85	08-06-1903	@ Washington Senators	4-0	W	43-41-1
86	08-07-1903	@ Washington Senators	10-4	W	44-41-1
87	08-08-1903	vs Washington Senators	7-2	W	45-41-1
88	08-10-1903	vs Washington Senators	6-1	W	46-41-1
89	08-11-1903	vs Washington Senators	16-2	W	47-41-1
90-I	08-13-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	2-5	L	47-42-1
91-II	08-13-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	2-8	L	47-43-1
92	08-14-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	0-3	L	47-44-1
93	08-15-1903	@ Cleveland Blues	5-6	L	47-45-1
94	08-16-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	8-12	L	47-46-1
95	08-17-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	3-6	L	47-47-1
96-I	08-18-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	1-0	W	48-47-1
97-II	08-18-1903	@ Detroit Tigers	8-1	W	49-47-1
98-I	08-20-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	6-1	W	50-47-1
99-II	08-20-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	2-4	L	50-48-1
100	08-21-1903	@ St. Louis Browns	3-8	L	50-49-1
101	08-22-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	9-6	W	51-49-1
102-I	08-23-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	6-5	W	52-49-1
103-II	08-23-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	1-3	L	52-50-1
104	08-24-1903	@ Chicago White Stockings	5-9	L	52-51-1
105	08-26-1903	vs Washington Senators	1-2	L	52-52-1
106	08-27-1903	vs Washington Senators	6-5	W	53-52-1
107-I	09-01-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	5-1	W	54-52-1
108-II	09-01-1903	@ Philadelphia Athletics	1-1	T	54-52-2
109	09-02-1903	@ Washington Senators	11-3	W	55-52-2
110	09-03-1903	@ Washington Senators	3-1	W	56-52-2
111	09-04-1903	@ Washington Senators	1-8	L	56-53-2
112	09-05-1903	vs Washington Senators	10-3	W	57-53-2
113-I	09-07-1903	vs Boston Americans	0-4	L	57-54-2
114-II	09-07-1903	vs Boston Americans	5-0	W	58-54-2
115	09-08-1903	vs Boston Americans	1-0	W	59-54-2
116-I	09-09-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	4-0	W	60-54-2
117-II	09-09-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	6-3	W	61-54-2
118	09-10-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	2-5	L	61-55-2
119	09-11-1903	vs Philadelphia Athletics	4-7	L	61-56-2
120	09-12-1903	@ Boston Americans	1-10	L	61-57-2
121	09-14-1903	@ Boston Americans	4-2	W	62-57-2
122	09-15-1903	@ Boston Americans	3-12	L	62-58-2
123-I	09-18-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	7-1	W	63-58-2
124-II	09-18-1903	vs Chicago White Stockings	6-3	W	64-58-2
125	09-19-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	3-1	W	65-58-2
126	09-21-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	4-8	L	65-59-2
127	09-22-1903	vs Cleveland Blues	4-5	L	65-60-2
128-I	09-23-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	4-7	L	65-61-2
129-II	09-23-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	4-1	W	66-61-2
130-I	09-24-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	6-2	W	67-61-2
131-II	09-24-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	8-6	W	68-61-2
132	09-25-1903	vs St. Louis Browns	8-2	W	69-61-2
133-I	09-26-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	8-13	L	69-62-2
134-II	09-26-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	5-1	W	70-62-2
135	09-28-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	7-6	W	71-62-2
136	09-29-1903	vs Detroit Tigers	10-4	W	72-62-2

1903 FINAL STANDINGS

P	Tm	W	L	PCT	GB		Home	Road
1	BOS	91	47	.659	---		49-20	42-27
2	PHI	75	60	.556	14.5		44-21	31-39
3	CLE	77	63	.550	15.0		49-25	28-38
4	NY	72	62	.537	17.0		41-26	31-36
5	DET	65	71	.478	25.0		37-28	28-43
6	STL	65	74	.468	26.5		38-32	27-42
7	CHI	60	77	.438	30.5		41-28	19-49
8	WSH	43	94	.314	47.5		29-40	14-54

1890 NY PL Team

The Yankees at one time played with the Giants in the Polo Grounds before they built the House that Ruth Built. The Polo Grounds, however, were not only the home to the Yanks and mostly the NL Giants.  It was in fact home to the NY team that was part of the great players revolt of 1890 that formed the Player's League that challenged the NL and AA in a three way baseball war. No, the first team that played there was the Player's League New York Giants!  Yes, there were two Giants teams in town that season.  The original Giants of the NL who had mostly a new roster while most of the 1889 roster left for the new Player's League team which probably was in reality correct in calling itself the Giants for that is who played for the team, except they were in a different league is all.

The Giants played very well during the season. While they never were in first place they were more often than not in the hunt.  From May 17 through June 18 they were never more than 3.5 games out of first and at one point were within 1.5 games of first.  While they faded to 5-8 games back through the mid-season a late run brought them within 4 games or less of first from August 19th through September 9th.  After that they faded slightly into third and finished 8 games back for the season. 

The Giants scored 20 runs or more 3 times during the season.  May 23rd saw them beat Chicago 23-9, May 31 saw them beat Pittsburgh 23-3, July 8th they clubbed Buffalo, whom they crushed all season, 20-10. 

The biggest series of the season came when Buffalo came to NY for a 3 game set on July 8, 9 and 10. The Giants cleaned up on the Bisons beating them 18-6, 20-10, 18-4 for a total of 56 runs in 3 games! The Giants beat the Bisons 17 out of 20 games.

Their hardest rival to overcome was the Philadelphia Athletics who won 12 of 17 games from the Giants. The A's were barely a .500 club for the season so it was one of those mysteries teams have sometimes.

The next hardest rival and the only other club they played under .500 against was the Boston Reds who were managed by the great and colorful King Kelly.  The Reds won the only PL Pennant and they took 12 of 20 games from the Giants.

The Giants were never more than 9 games out of first and were one of the hottest teams in the PL in July and August.  What seems to have held them back was their road record. They won handily enough at home but on the road they 27-38 .415.

The Giants led the PL in homers smacking 64 and scored 1,018 runs.  The PL Giants outdrew their NL rivals but the men running the PL were no businessmen. They told their NL rivals how much money they and the PL had lost and the NL owners kept quiet that they had lost more and were off financially.

This led to the NL cutting a deal with the PL Giants owners giving them stock in the NL Giants and merging the NL and PL Giants together with the NL Giants getting the Polo Grounds also. The same Polo Ground the Giants and Yankees would play in.

The Players League probably won the baseball war for they were in the best shape of all three leagues. But they were no businessmen and they were the first to capitulate and be absorbed by the NL who in one more year would then absorb the American Association, leaving them the only Major League until 1901 when the AL came to life.  The PL NY Giants were the last outlaw team to challenge until the Yankees in 1903 and since that point no other league has tried to put a team in NY.

The 1890 Giants were one of the better teams in the Player's League. Buck Ewing who had played for the NL Giants for several seasons was the manager while the following players played for the PL NY GIANTS.

1890 PL NY GIANTS ROSTER

* Denotes played for 1889 NY Giants NL*

 

Pitchers

 

Ed Crane*

John Ewing

Tim Keefe*

Hank O’ Day*

 

Catchers

 

Buck Ewing*

Willard Brown*

Farmer Vaughn

 

Infielders

 

Roger Connor*

Fred Dunlap

Gil Hatfield*

Danny Richardson*

Art Whitney*

Dan Shannon

 

Outfielders

 

Georg Fore

Jim O’Rourke*

Mike Slattery*

Dick Johnston

 

Manager

 

Buck Ewing*

As you can see the majority of this team came from the '89 NL Giants.

1890 PL FINAL STANDINGS

P	CLUB	W	L	PCT		GB					Home	Road
1	Bos	81	48	.628		-					48-21	33-27
2	Brook	76	56	.576		5.5					46-19	30-37
3	NYG	74	57	.565		8.0					47-19	27-38
4	CHI	75	62	.547		10.0					46-23	29-39
5	Phi	68	63	.519		14.0					35-30	33-33
6	Pitts	60	68	.469		20.5					37-28	23-40
7	Clev	55	75	.423		26.5					31-30	24-45
8	Buf	36	96	.273		46.5					23-42	13-54

Against the other teams in the PL their record was;

Opponent
Opp	W	L			Pct
Boston Reds	8	12			.400
Buffalo Bisons	17	3			.850
Brooklyn Ward's Wonders	10	7			.588
Chicago Pirates	9	9			.500
Cleveland Infants	11	8			.579
Pittsburgh Burghers	14	6			.700
Philadelphia Athletics	5	12			.294

1st and 2nd Half Record Comparison

Half	W	L	R	RA	Pct
1st Half	35	33	570	497	.515
2nd Half	39	24	447	378	.619

Totals

74

57

1017

875

.565

BATTING LEADERS

Danny Richardson SS    528 AB, 37 SB,
Roger Connor 1B,  133 Runs, 15 3B, 14 HR, .450 OBP, .548 SLG
Jim O'Rourke OF, 172 Hits, 37 2B, 115 RBI, .360 BA
Buck Ewing C-M, 15 3B

PITCHING LEADERS

Hank O' Day   22 Wins, 43 G, 35 GS, 32 CG, 1 SHO,
Ed Crane   43 G, 35 GS, 330.1 IP,
John Ewing  1 SHO, 145 K,
Tim Keefe  3.38 ERA, 1 SHO,

The Player's League was the only time the Player's tried to form their own league.  While they were the best of the three leagues in 1890 they almost brought about the end of MLB at the time.  The revolt killed the PL, mortally wounded the American Association and almost destroyed the NL.  It was only through the shrewd and I believe genius maneuvers by the NL owners that baseball was saved at all.  The cost was great however.  Lots of money was lost, lots of players lost their jobs when baseball contracted and for years after baseball players did not make very much money.  A glorious and valiant attempt by the players to revolt against what was indeed a corrupt and oppressive system by the owners of baseball to keep players wages low. But, the revolt led to even lower wages for the players.

Only the advent of the AL would raise wages again, but once that war was over the wages did come down a bit. The FL in 1914-15 pushed wages up more but the demise of that league brought wages down slightly again.  It was only the advent of Babe Ruth that pushed wages up again, although much lower than what the players thought was fair.  But, the average player was making about 3-5 times the average wage of the average worker at that fact didn't bring them much sympathy from fans who worked 50-60 hours a week for much less money.

Buck Ewing-Manager of the 1890 Players League New York Giants

Did you know

Did you know that the Interlocking NY on the Yankees uniform was first used in 1909?  Over time it became permanent on the uniform and cap.  The interlocking NY actually was designed in 1877 for the first Police Officer who was shot in the line of duty.  Why would the Yanks use this insignia?  It may have something to do with Bill Devery co-owner of the Yankees, he was the former police chief.

On June 23, 1915 Bruno Haas of the Philadelphia A's walked 15 Yankees in game 2 of a DH.  Final Score 15-7 Yankees.

In 1910 the Yanks, then called the Highlanders had Spring Training in Athens, Georgia.  They would also go back to Athens in 1911 before moving on to Atlanta in 1912. 

When you think of RBIs you think of Ruth, Gehrig or Mantle.  But, the record for the most RBIs in one game came on May 24, 1936.  11 RBIs were driven in that day by none other that Tony Lazzeri.

NY Mutuals 1871

Before there was the National League in 1876 there was a "Major League" called the National Association from 1871-1875.  While not officially recognized by MLB today as a major league it was the Major League of its time with most of the best players playing on its teams.  Like most early leagues they played a limited number league games filling in their off days playing at any promising whistle stop to supplement their income as they traveled to the next NA town.

In 1871, the first year of the NA a good number of the old Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were on the Boston Red Stockings team which was favored to win the pennant.  Well, it didn't quite work out that way as the Philadelphia Athletics won the pennant with Boston second at 1.5 games back and the Chicago White Stockings finishing third 2 games back. 

New York had a team in the NA in 1871 and it was called the Mutuals.  Managed by Bob Ferguson they played at the Union Grounds in Brooklyn.  Going a very respectable 12-7 at home they were a horrible 4-10 on the road for a season record of 17-18 .486 -8 which put them in 4th place in a 9 team league.  A number of the games were played at neutral sites to help spread the appeal of coming to see the NA games so the home and away records do not reflect the total amount of official games played.

Against the rest of the NA the Mutuals had the following record:
Philadelphia Athletics 2-3, Boston Red Stockings 2-3, Chicago White Stockings 1-3, Washington Olympics 3-1, Troy Unions 1-3, Cleveland Forest Citys 2-3, Fort Wayne Kekiongas 3-3, Rockford Forest Citys 3-1.

As a team the Mutuals hit .287 which was third in the NA.  Their 3.72 ERA was second.

Teams leaders with the bat were:
Rynie Walters the team pitcher (!) with a .370 BA, a league leading 44 RBIs, 9 3B, and 10 BB.  Joe Start 1B with a .422 SA, 1 HR, and 58 H.  Dave Eggler CF with 7 2B, John Hatfield LF with 41 R and 168 AB.

Pitching was led by Rynie Wolters with 32 G, 283 IP, 32 GS, 31 CG, 16 W, 22 Ks, 1 SHO and a 3.43 ERA.

Controversy followed the Mutuals this season in several areas. First, Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall held a share in the ownership of them which brought undesirable elements around the team.  On June 5th the Mutuals beat the White Stockings to take over first place but lost a lot of games right after that, some in what were called suspicious ways and charges of throwing games were thrown about.  Whatever the truth is the Mutuals started strong early and then for some reason fell apart.  

Below is the 1871 Schedule and scores of the Mutuals for the season. Do you see any trends in the scores?

NEW YORK MUTUALS SCORES 1871

	Gm#			Tm		Opp		R	RA		W-L	Rank	GB
	1			NY	@	Troy	W	14	3		1-0	2	1.5
	2			NY		Troy	L	10	25		1-1	4	3.0
	3			NY		Rock	W	7	3		2-1	4	2.5
	4			NY		Chi	W	8	5		3-1	3	2.0
	5			NY		Rock	W	12	4		4-1	2	0.5
	6			NY	@	Bos	W	9	3		5-1	1	Tied
	7			NY		Cle	W	10	6		6-1	1	up 0.5
	8			NY	@	Phi	W	8	6		7-1	1	up 1.0
	9			NY		Wash	W	12	4		8-1	1	up 1.5
	10			NY		Ft.W	L	3	5		8-2	1	up 0.5
	11			NY		Ft.W	W	13	0		9-2	1	up 0.5
	12			NY		Phi	L	4	5		9-3	2	0.5
	13			NY	@	Troy	L	16	37		9-4	2	1.5
	14			NY		Cle	L	5	6		9-5	3	2.5
	15			NY	@	Wash	L	13	16		9-6	4	3.0
	16			NY		Troy	L	7	9		9-7	5	3.5
	17			NY		Wash	W	16	9		10-7	3	3.0
	18			NY	@	Ft. W	W	12	9		11-7	3	4.0
	19			NY	@	Chi	L	6	17		11-8	3	4.5
	20			NY	@	Rock	L	5	18		11-9	4	5.0
	21			NY	@	Chi	L	4	15		11-10	5	5.5
	22			NY	@	Cle	L	5	10		11-11	6	6.0
	23			NY		Rock	W	6	5		12-11	4	5.5
	24			NY		Bos	W	15	11		13-11	4	5.0
	25			NY		Chi	L	4	6		13-12	5	5.5
	26			NY	@	Phil	L	8	9		13-13	6	6.0
	27			NY		Phil	W	18	7		14-13	4	5.5
	28			NY		Cle	W	11	8		15-13	4	4.5
	29			NY		Cle	L	5	7		15-14	4	5.0
	30			NY	@	Bos	L	7	9		15-15	5	5.5
	31			NY		Wash	W	12	2		16-15	4	5.0
	32			NY	@	Bos	L	10	13		16-16	4	5.5
	33			NY	@	Phil	L	7	21		16-17	5	7.0

1871 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FINAL STANDINGS

Rk	Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB						Home	Road
1	Phi	21	7	.750	---						11-3	10-4
2	Chi	19	9	.679	2.0						13-4	6-5
3	Bos	20	10	.667	2.0						11-5	9-5
4	Wash	15	15	.500	7.0						8-6	7-9
5	NY	16	17	.485	7.5						12-7	4-10
6	Troy	13	15	.464	8.0						7-9	6-6
7	Ft. W	7	12	.368	9.5						5-4	2-8
8	Cle	10	19	.345	11.5						3-10	7-9
9	Rock	4	21	.160	15.5						3-4	1-17

Here is the Roster for the 1871 New York Mutuals

Pitchers Frank Fleet Rynie Wolters

Catcher Charlie Mills Infielders Bob Ferguson Dick Higham Dickey Pearce Charlie Smith Joe Start

Outfielders Dave Eggler John Hatfield Tom Patterson

Manager Bob Ferguson

The first organized league in Baseball history had finished its first season and the Mutuals survived the year to come back and play again in 1872. But, that is another story in itself.

I hope everyone enjoyed this slight diversion from the Yankees and found the first NY team's history in the first organized league in its first season interesting. A interesting note about the Mutuals is that when the NA folded after 1875 the Mutuals were part of the new National League in 1876 where they became the first team to record a triple play in league history!

This is a unidentified player for the New York Mutuals.  It give you a good idea of what their uniform looked like.

First time-3

It is now time to explore the AL West for the first games the Yankees ever played against their western rivals.  This should be interesting for some of these games you may well remember.  It should be fun.

OAKLAND A's-

This is a unique club for the A's have played in three cities in their history and they have never changed their name or tried to become a new entity when they moved.  So, we will have 3 first games with the A's.

The First game came in 1903 when Connie Mack was Owner and Manager.  The first meeting came on April 27, 1903 when the 3rd place Yankees 2-2-.500 -1.5 came to Philadelphia to play the 3rd place 3-3 .500 -1.5 A's.   The Final Score;

Yankees    0
A's            6

The second first game came on April 28, 1955 when the 1st Place Bombers 9-5 .643 +0.5  came to KC to play the 6th place 5-8 .385 -3.5 A's.   The Final Score;

Yankees   11
A's             4

The third first game happened on April 15, 1968 when the Oakland A's came to NY. Both teams were in 7th place at 1-2 .333 -2.5.   The Final Score;

A's          6
Yankees  3

LA ANGELS-

The Angels were born in 1961 and the first time they played the Yanks was on April 20, 1961.  Actually, they played a DH that day and the same team won both of those games!  The Yanks were in 3rd with a 2-1 .667 -1.5 record and the Angels were off to a a 6th place 1-2 -1.5 start.  The Angels came to the Bronx and the Final Score was;

Angels    5
Yankees  7

TEXAS RANGERS-

Starting out in 1961 as the expansion Washington Senators the team moved to Texas and became the Rangers in 1972. Since they obviously want to be considered a new entity we shall only cover the 1972 meeting. 

It happened on June 6, 1972 when the 5th place 18-24 .429 -6.5 Yankees visited the Rangers 6th 18-26 .409 -12.  The Final Score;

Rangers    6
Yankees    3

SEATTLE MARINERS-

Founded in 1977 the Mariners took the place of the Pilots who played only 1969 in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee.  The Mariners visited NY on April 29, 1977 to play for the first time against the defending AL Champion Yankees, who would win the World Series in 1977.  The Mariners had a record of 7th place 8-14 .364 -7.5 and the Bombers were in 3rd 9-9 .500 -3.5.  The Final Score;

Mariners  0
Yankees   3

Hopefully the West will expand again soon for the Yankees have 3 pennants in years that their Western Rivals play them for the first time. :)

In the future we will explore teams that are no longer in their original location and have changed identities for their first games against the Yankees. 

Thank you for reading THE BRONX DAILY!