Yankees by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Bronx Bombers by Uniform Number

by Bill Gutman

Overview

What do Mark Koenig, Red Rolfe, Frank Crosetti, Sandy Alomar, Bobby Murcer, Wayne Tolleson, and Derek Jeter all have in common? They all wore #2 for the New York Yankees, even though nearly eight decades have passed between the first time Koenig buttoned up a Yankee uniform with that number and the last time Jeter performed the same routine.

Since 1929, the Yankees have issued 73 different numbers to more than 1,500 players. That’s a lot of overlap. That also makes for a lot of good stories. Yankees by the Numbers tells those stories for every Yankee since ’29—from Earle Combs (the original #1) to Charlie Keller (the only Yankee to ever wear #99)—providing insightful and humorous commentary about the more memorable players, from a fan’s perspective. Complete with more than 100 baseball cards (courtesy of the Topps Company), each chapter also features a fascinating sidebar that reveals which players were the most obscure to wear a certain number, and also which numbers produced the most wins, home runs and stolen bases in club history. For data seekers, the Yankees Alphabetical Roster is a complete listing of every single Yankee since 1929, the numbers they wore, and their years of service at the House that Ruth Built.

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Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626367470
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	03/16/2010
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Bill Gutman is a sportswriter and author. His books include Tales from the 1969–1970 New York Knicks, What if the Babe Had Kept His Red Sox? and Jeremy Lin.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

#1 Billy the Kid Steps to the Plate 5

#2 The Captain into the 21st Century 13

#3 The One and Only Babe 20

#4 The Iron Horse. Baseball's Tragic Hero 25

#5 The Yankee Clipper 28

#6 From Clueless Joe to the Leader of a Dynasty 33

#7 The Mick. Who Else? 42

#8 A Pair of Hall Of Fame Catchers 49

#9 Roger Maris. A Long Time Coming 54

#10 Scooter 63

#11 Stars Early; A Potpourri Late 70

#12 The Number of the First Dh Ever 78

#13 A-Rod: For Better or Worse 86

#14 Sweet Lou, Professional Hitter 92

#15 Thurman Munson. Another Tragic Captain 101

#16 The Chairman of the Board 107

#17 The Springfield Rifle and Mick the Quick 112

#18 Losing Pitcher; Perfect Game 122

#19 From Murphy to Rags, A Couple of Stoppers 132

#20 Hip Hip Jorge 143

#21 Paul O'Neill: The Warrior 152

#22 The Super Chief and the Rocket 163

#23 Donnie Baseball 173

#24 Rickey, Tino and on to Cano 182

#25 Tommy John: Pitcher, Surgery 194

#26 The Magic that was El Duque 205

#27 A Real Mix with a Manager Leading the Way 214

#28 Sparky: Fun Guywith A Killer Slider 222

#29 Hunting Catfish 231

#30 Two True Yankees 242

#31 Don't Call him Mr. May 250

#32 Yankee Trailblazer and MVP, Elston Howard 258

#33 Make Room For Boomer 263

#34 Who are these Guys? 272

#35 The Moose; A Free Agent Signing Well Worth It 279

#36 Coney: Mr. Perfect 287

#37 The Old Perfessor 296

#38 A Number in Search of a Star 299

#39 The Straw Man: What Could Have Been 306

#40 Supporting Players Need Only Apply 315

#41 A Not So Big Unit 320

#42 The Best Closer Ever 327

#43 A Bunch Out of the Bullpen 333

#44 Reggie! Reggie! Reggie! 338

#45 Pitchers and Sluggers 343

#46 Andy Pettitte, Acts I and II 351

#47 No. 47: In Mothballs Until 1955 357

#48 The Players Dwindle Down 364

#49 Louisiana Lightning 368

#50 Get Me a Scorecard 372

#51 Bernie, Just Bernie 376

#52 & 53 CC and the Road to Abreu and Melky 381

#54 The Goose: A Hall of Famer at Last 392

#55-57 Godzilla Hits the Bronx 398

#58-61 Who Gets the Really High Numbers? 409

#62-99 You Sure these Aren't Football Players? 414

Acknowledgments 422

About the Author 423