Its Labor Day! Monday Nitro debuts!
Before this game started we were having a chuckle at the standings around the league, which included the Minny Twins lounging THIRTY-SEVEN AND A HALF behind the pace set by the Indians. We saved some laughter for ourselves, however, as the Yankees were lollygagging 15 1/2 behind the dreaded Bosux, in second place at that. Three cheers to the wild card!
While the Mariners shagged before the game Randy Johnson was skulking around, and someone said, "look, there's the big unit." "You would recognize it" I retorted, and everyone cackled. Bob Sheppard was doing one of those pregame diatribes that tails on forever, causing someone to snap, "what, is he reading a fu*king novel up there?" The grounds crew apparently debuted their "safari look" on this day, or its at least the first mention such a garish getup has recieved on a card.
This was "Party Bag" day at the Stadium. Anyone remember? I forget what was in there now, but it was stupid stuff like a comic book, a pack of tissues, a phony tattoo....shit like that. I have tried to put it out of my memory.
Couple of current events going on....for one thing, the Jets game from the day before. "If you had the Jets + 37 1/2, you STILL LOST" was on there, so you can just imagine what kind of day the Jets had. I also made a mention that later that night the very first edition of "WCW Monday Nitro" was airing live from The Mall of America, where Lex Luger ended up shocking the world by showing up one day after appearing with the WWF, in what was considered major news in the grappling world. To this day, I am still stunned it went down that way!
We were calling Vince Coleman out in left "Urkel" all day, although one of the girls with us thought we were calling him "purple." It was Labor Day, so the drink was on. The scorecard was a mess. We used the Fat Daddy Chico blimp gag again, with a simple "Chico's flyin!" scrawl. I noted that the "homos from Reggie Day" were back, and we also called someone "spaghetti head."
Edgar Martinez hit a Hell of a bomb off of Andy Pettitte in the very first inning, causing someone to scream, "Watch out, sun!!!" Home run be damned, this was the Yankees' day as they torched Saloman Torres for 6 in an innings worth of work, and went on from there. The Martinez homer did get thrown back, which is a wonder as we did not realize someone so high up in the Stadium could have an arm like that.
Old Ali, the Cowbell King, was back on hand following an unexplained absence of a few games, and the bell was officially back at 1:51, duly noted, and people were dancing in the aisles in giddy fashion.
Elder George had a cool Yankee 6-pack bag. The fact that I mentioned it means I did not have one, and I also wonder if that was a regular giveaway yet. For someone who was one of the more noted alcoholics in bleacher lore, I never seemed to have a 6-pack bag. Figure, I went to 60 of 80 every year, and that is the giveaway I miss, while making downer days like "Party Bag Day."
It was 10-1 Yankees by the halfway point, causing someone to joke, "Bring in Wickman and make it a game!" Talk turned to other things, like Queen Bee Tina's job as a waitress. Gang Bang Steve (well, just "Steve" at that point) made a wry grimace and wrote, "Tina a waitress? I dont think so."
The Yankees had an astounding 14 runners reach base by the time there was 1 out in the 3rd. After Torres ran for his life, my arch-enemy Bobby Ayala came in to get some, then Jim Mecir, in his rookie year, came in to pitch in 1 of the 2 games he appeared in 95. Jay Buhner, who started in right, came out for a pinch-hitter and we knew it was simply cause he could not "take our abuse."
20 ounce boxes of Cracker Jacks were making the rounds, and the old "can I get some milk and a bowl with that" chuckle made the scorecard and possibly the bleacher rounds for the very first time. History, I tell you!
Back in the day Captain Bob and Old Schooler Kevin, who still appears out in 39 now and again, shared the Gang Bang crooning duties, and it was Kevin's turn at the mic so to say on this day, and he belted it out at 3:40, in the 8th inning. Where were you at that moment in time?
So the Yankees took this one, roping in the Mariners to the tune of 13-3. Pettitte went 8, evening up his mark at 8-8. Joltin' Joe Ausanio was trusted to close it out. On the bat side of things the Yankees mustered NINETEEN hits, with Boggs, Bernie, O'Neill, and Dion James each having 3. Bernie drove in 4 and hit his 16th home run, O'Neill 3. All nine Yankee starters had a hit, and here they were....3B Boggs, CF Bernie, RF O'Neill, DH Sierra, LF James, 1B Mattingly, C Leyritz, SS Fernandez, 2B Velarde. Ruben Rivera actually made one of his initial appearances, coming in to run (he must have stole something while he was out there)
For the M's, not much juice outside of Edgars sunshot in the first, although Luis Sojo was on hand and had two hits. The Mariner lineup on this day was LF Coleman, SS Sojo, CF Griffey Jr, DH Martinez, RF Buhner, 3B Blowers, 1B Tino, C Chris Widger (lol), 2B Felix Fermin. On the hill after Torres, Ayala and Mecir took their lumps one Scott Davison took the hill for one of his 3 1995 appearances, and one of 8 for the career.
As we are nearing the homestretch on this whole project for 95 lets run our profile. Why not Warren Newson, who came in to play right and bat for Buhner? A career that stretched from 91-95, with the White Sox, Mariners (just 33 games in 95) and the Rangers, he got out of the business with a .250 lifetime average in 489 games (just 992 at bats). Never played more than 91 games or batted more than 235 times in a given season. Hit 34 home runs and drove in 120, but had a decent walk/K ratio with 196 and 292. Although that means he struck out almost once in every three at-bats....holy fu*k. Born in 1964, the Georgia native was a 4th round pick by the Padres in 1986 and a shortstack at 5'7. The most he ever made in a given year was $375,000 for Texas in 1997...nice work if you could get it! According to baseballreference.com, where his page has 19,731 views as of 11/05/2010, he was known as "The Deacon." I am happy to have seen him in his prime!
As for the 4th, only 24,855 came out on Labor Day to see the Yankees hitting parade, and your umps on hand were Dale Scott, Jim McKean, Vic Voltaggio, and the ever-popular Jim Joyce. The game was played in exactly 3 hours.
For those of you who are along for this ride, thanks for reading and some good stuff is to come.
And since im having trouble getting on Beckett.com today, costing you your Newson pic, how about a vintage pic from the 90s? Its, from L-R in back my brother Dan, me, Gang Bang Steve. Your friend and mine Big Tone Capone frolicing in the foreground. Cheers!
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