Baseball’s Great Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio
For those who know baseball history, the name Joe DiMaggio is very much associated with baseball greatness. This Hall of Fame ballplayer was voted baseball’s greatest living player in a 1969 poll during the centennial anniversary of professional baseball.
DiMaggio was born in California in 1914 to Italian immigrants living in San Francisco. Born into a family of fishermen, Joe’s father hoped his son would follow in his footsteps. DiMaggio decided a career in baseball suited him better since he didn’t enjoy cleaning his father’s boat and smelling the nauseating stench of dead fish.
DiMaggio’s older brother, Vince, was playing for the minor league San Francisco Seals, and convinced his manager to let Joe play at shortstop. He proved to be a good player, and in 1933, got into a daily hitting streak that lasted 61 consecutive games. He led the Seals to the 1935 Pacific Coast League title and was named the league’s MVP.
Despite a knee injury that could have ended his career in 1934, the New York Yankees decided to take a chance on him and bought him from the Seals for $25,000. DiMaggio played his entire 13-year Major League Baseball career for them. Batting ahead of Lou Gehrig, DiMaggio debuted in the major leagues in 1936. Wearing the number 5, he led the Yankees to nine titles in thirteen years. He was known for covering a lot of ground in center field and hitting home runs. In 1939, a Yankee’s stadium announcer was so impressed by DiMaggio’s speed and range, that he compared him to a Pan American airliner and nicknamed him “Yankee Clipper.”
New York Yankees Announce 2011 MLB Schedule Tickets On Sale
New York Yankees 2011 Schedule
Well Yankees fans remember the date March 31st 2011, it is the home opener for YOUR Yankees and it’s against the Detroit Tigers. This home opener is a little different then those in the past. Without owner George Steinbrenner the Yankees now have a son for their leader in Hank Steinbrenner. January 6th 2011 is the date where people can get all their tickets and buy direct at Yankee Tickets For Sale. So many expectations come along every year to win the world series but without pitching the Yanks could stumble behind the Red Sox and Rays. The home opener is the gauge where fans will know if they oculd of done a better job in the free agency market or the draft. Get your tickets early! Within the first few hours they have sold close to 80,000 tickets. Yankee stadium set attendance records last year and many people overpaid for tickets on the secondary market. Now is the time to get great seats for all games. Searching for cheap yankees red sox tickets? Isn’t everyone? Yankee Tickets For Sale has been the leader in buying direct and saving you money. 22 years in serving Yankees fans and the prices have gotten lower for this years games. Some notable Yankee dates are May 20th 2011 when the New York Mets come to town. The subway series is always a hard ticket so don’t delay! The Colorado Rockies come in June 25th this inter league game is always a big ticket so buy Yankees Rockies tickets before it’s to late. The angels come in august 9th and these are also selling out faster then expected. Having your seats early will save you time and money. A few newcomers will be there like Lou Pinella. The 2011 New York Yankees Schedule is now out and you can see it here at Yankee Tickets For Sale
Be A Part Of The Action
This years team looks to do the same as last win the east but with the Red Sox adding some important role players like Carl Crawford it’s not gonna be easy. Don mattingly Tim Raines and Tino did NOT get the necessary votes to get into the hall of fame this year. The Yankees have claimed right-hander Brian Schlitter off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. Schlitter, 25, was 0-1 with a 12.38 ERA in seven Major League relief appearances with Chicago in 2010, marking his first action in the bigs.He was 2-1 with 13 saves and a 3.15 ERA in 37 relief appearances with Triple-A Iowa. Over his Minor League career, Schlitter owns a 7-13 record with a 3.32 ERA (70 earned runs in 190 innings) in 154 relief appearances. Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes should be in line for substantial raises before they throw their first pitches of 2011, as the pair of right-handers prepare for their first cracks at arbitration eligibility. Left-handed reliever Boone Logan is also eligible. The trio of Yankees hurlers was offered contracts for the 2011 season in advance of the Dec. 2 deadline, but they have not yet agreed to those deals.Hughes, 24, was an All-Star for the first time in 2010, going 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA in 31 games (29 starts), setting career highs in wins, losses, innings pitched (176 1/3) and strikeouts (146). Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher will be honored at this year’s Thurman Munson Awards Dinner, acknowledging excellence in competition and philanthropic work within the community. Swisher was announced on Tuesday as part of a group of five sports personalities who will be presented with the Thurman Munson Award on Feb. 1 at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York, celebrating the 31st anniversary of the event.Also to be honored are former All-Star catcher Mike Piazza, current Mets outfielder Angel Pagan, Nets all-star guard Devin Harris and Olympic gold-medal-winning figure skater Evan Lysacek.
Holds Should Be Part of Your Fantasy Baseball League
You’ve heard me talk about this before: middle relievers are the red-headed step-child when it comes to fantasy baseball. If Rodney, Dangerfield were still around, he’d say: “middle relievers just don’t get no respect.”
While stud middle relievers may help your WHIP, they don’t pitch a lot of innings and they rarely earn a save given today’s era of relief specialization. Hence, the tremendous decline in fantasy value of a player like Joba Chamberlain when Joe Girardi announced that Chamberlain would start the year as the Yankees set up man rather than as a starting pitcher.
The hold statistic was invented in 1986 by John Dewan and Mike O’Donnell as a way to measure the effectiveness of middle relievers. A hold is defined as “any time a relief pitcher enters a game in a save situation, records at least one out, and leaves the game never having relinquished the lead.” In short, a hold is equivelant to a save in middle reliever lingo.