Record: 88-73, 4th, AL East (16 GB)
Postseason: --
Ballpark: Yankee Stadium (97 hits, 91 HR)
Runs scored: 668 (6th)
Runs allowed: 589 (4th)
Pythag record: 90-71 (-2)
Recap: After a disappointing 5th place finish in 1968 the Yankees came into '69 hoping that they could get back to their pennant-winning ways last year. That never came to fruition, although they did improve on their '68 record by 3 games. That was still not nearly enough to get them anywhere close to Cleveland and at a late-season slump saw the Detroit Tigers pass them into the upper division.
History: This Yankees team didn't have the dominant run of form that the real-life Yankees did in the early 50s... but it just came a little later. Between 1955 and 1967 the team won 10 pennants in 13 years, taking home 5 World Series titles in that time as well. The most recent AL three-peat from 65-67 saw them also lose in the World Series 3 straight times, but they were still pretty good...
Outlook: The Yankees are aging and like a lot of aging teams they don't seem to want to admit it. Instead they've been doing Yankees things, namely making blockbuster deals for high-profile hitters. They're going to need a lot of luck to get back to the postseason after what is now their longest drought since 1954.
Rotation
Code:
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| first_name | last_name | age | throws | w | l | Pct | Sv | era | g | gs | cg | sho | gf | ip | bfp | h | r | er | hr | sh | sf | hp | bb | ibb | so | wp | bk | Hper9 | HRper9 | BBer9 | Kper9 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| Tracy | Mosher | 31 | R | 18 | 15 | 0.545 | 0 | 3.28 | 39 | 39 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 301.2 | 1223 | 289 | 125 | 110 | 32 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 60 | 3 | 209 | 7 | 3 | 8.6 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 6.2 |
| Dan | Ballard | 35 | R | 13 | 14 | 0.481 | 0 | 3.90 | 37 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 260.2 | 1108 | 251 | 122 | 113 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 100 | 4 | 145 | 16 | 3 | 8.7 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 5.0 |
| Obke | Olthof | 24 | L | 12 | 12 | 0.500 | 0 | 3.29 | 28 | 28 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 196.2 | 826 | 205 | 84 | 72 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 61 | 1 | 128 | 9 | 0 | 9.4 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 5.9 |
| Danilo | Caneas | 34 | L | 11 | 9 | 0.550 | 0 | 3.27 | 27 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 192.2 | 766 | 191 | 73 | 70 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 0 | 84 | 4 | 3 | 8.9 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 3.9 |
| Chris | McGranahan | 32 | L | 5 | 6 | 0.455 | 0 | 3.16 | 30 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 119.2 | 494 | 130 | 46 | 42 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 9.8 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 3.1 |
| Josh | Foster | 25 | L | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 0 | 2.83 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 47.2 | 192 | 45 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 8.5 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 6.2 |
| Chris | Wilson | 33 | L | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 0 | 4.32 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 116 | 23 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 8.3 | 0.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
Tracy Mosher is really, really good, although the Yankees leaned on him very heavily last year and that probably cut into his effectiveness on a per-inning basis. He became the 5th person in MLB history and the first person since 1954 to throw 300 innings, and his 39 games started set a new record along with Chicago's Bill Lucas. Mosher, who was somehow snubbed for the All-Star Game last year, has a Cy in his resume, so the Yankees do have reason for pushing him as hard as they did. Also, their #2 is Danilo Caneas, who is good and all but hasn't stayed healthy enough to start 30+ times in a season since 1964. He has pinpoint control and led the league in BB/9 in 1969.
In fact, the rotation is pretty much exactly the same as last season's unit. They were only 5th in the league in starter ERA but the Yankees figure, I'm sure, that they just had some guys going into slumps. Chief among them is Dan Ballard, who dropped from a pair of nice campaigns (13-8, 2.83 in '67, 14-11, 2.65 in '68) to post a losing record and his worst ERA since 1960. At 35 he provides a lot of veteran leadership and of course the fans just love to watch him pitch. 24 year old Obe Olthof had a solid first full year and has clearly established himself as the best Dutch player in all of baseball (or, as the Dutch call it, "honkball"). Josh Foster is at least theoretically the 5th man; he went 14-5 for AAA Syracuse before looking pretty smart in 7 August and September starts in New York City.
Bullpen
Code:
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| first_name | last_name | age | throws | w | l | Pct | Sv | era | g | gs | cg | sho | gf | ip | bfp | h | r | er | hr | sh | sf | hp | bb | ibb | so | wp | bk | Hper9 | HRper9 | BBer9 | Kper9 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| Jesse | Kelly | 32 | R | 9 | 6 | 0.600 | 24 | 3.00 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 111.0 | 482 | 128 | 48 | 37 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 30 | 6 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 5.8 |
| David | Hinkson | 28 | L | 5 | 3 | 0.625 | 1 | 2.12 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 59.1 | 240 | 57 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 8.6 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 6.7 |
| Armando | Cabrera | 26 | R | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 0 | 0.91 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 39.2 | 151 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 7.3 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 6.8 |
| Antonio | Martinez | 34 | L | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 3 | 0.72 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 37.2 | 137 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 6.7 |
| Will | Wright | 24 | L | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 2.10 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25.2 | 105 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 | 0.0 | 4.9 | 7.7 |
| Luis | Hernandez | 30 | R | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 0 | 4.42 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18.1 | 79 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 10.3 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 5.9 |
| Gabriel | Covarrubias | 23 | L | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 7.07 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14.0 | 61 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 5.1 |
| Manny | Carbajal | 27 | L | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0 | 1.64 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11.0 | 46 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 4.1 |
| Ryan | Gurley | 31 | R | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 4.26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.1 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5.7 | 0.0 | 4.3 | 11.4 |
| Matt | Greene | 27 | R | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 9.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + -------- + ----------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
(just noticed that I don't have but kind of need player age and handedness. I'd go back and update previous teams but I'm way too lazy for that)
The bullpen was a major strength last season; it's arguably what kept the Yanks as close to contention as they were. Jesse Kelly led the way as the team's stopper. His ERA climbed by almost a run compared to 1968 and he did have a predilection for the longball last season. Still, the journeyman has led his league in games pitched twice and came very close to doing so last year, finishing second. They popped David Hinkson off of the Seattle Pilots in May in exchange for Luis Hernandez in a move that can only be described as cost-cutting, as Hernandez was neither better nor younger than the man the Yankees received. Armando Cabrera was on the roster the whole year but was criminally underused; we expect him to have a much larger role going forward.
Catcher
Code:
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| pos | first_name | last_name | bats | age | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| C | Jason | Mooneyhan | R | 38 | 122 | 461 | 57 | 124 | 20 | 1 | 11 | 65 | 30 | 2 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0.269 | 0.310 | 0.388 |
| C | Khalil | Tabb | L | 24 | 69 | 186 | 20 | 63 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 11 | 5 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0.339 | 0.380 | 0.457 |
| C | Josh | Paige | L | 26 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
Jason "Hands" Mooneyham is the team leader both on and off the field. He's an 11 time All-Star and the World Series MVP of 1958 so needless to say the fans love him as much as his teammates do. Khalil Tabb horned in on his playing time a bit last year and did a lot of good work as a left-handed pinch-hitter. When Mooneyham is ready to hang up the spikes, Tabb may be the guy. I say "may be" only because he only threw out 25% of opposing base stealers last year and the word is that he has one of the weakest arms in the league.
Infield
Code:
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| pos | first_name | last_name | bats | age | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| 1B | Justin | Richens | R | 37 | 70 | 259 | 36 | 76 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 29 | 45 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.293 | 0.403 | 0.494 |
| 1B | Jose | Ayala | L | 28 | 51 | 193 | 24 | 55 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0.285 | 0.327 | 0.409 |
| 1B | John | Chapman | L | 33 | 61 | 139 | 13 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 26 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.223 | 0.345 | 0.331 |
| 1B | Bobby | Berg | L | 29 | 13 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.348 | 0.500 | 0.696 |
| 2B | Wing-fung | Yi | L | 25 | 112 | 414 | 45 | 125 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 48 | 69 | 5 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 16 | 4 | 0.302 | 0.402 | 0.420 |
| 2B | Elijah | Patton | L | 32 | 41 | 99 | 12 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.232 | 0.291 | 0.293 |
| 2B | Chris | Eckert | L | 28 | 16 | 33 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.212 | 0.297 | 0.242 |
| 2B | Nate | Lieb | L | 28 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.222 | 0.364 | 0.556 |
| 3B | Tom | Weiss | L | 30 | 135 | 447 | 66 | 123 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 74 | 64 | 3 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0.275 | 0.371 | 0.432 |
| 3B | David | Salinas | L | 34 | 49 | 169 | 14 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0.213 | 0.278 | 0.260 |
| SS | Ty | Stover | L | 37 | 152 | 550 | 87 | 131 | 26 | 6 | 25 | 92 | 100 | 1 | 112 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 0.238 | 0.355 | 0.444 |
| SS | Jason | Wichert | L | 32 | 29 | 73 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.192 | 0.218 | 0.219 |
| SS | Chris | Grube | R | 27 | 10 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.036 | 0.100 | 0.036 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
Justin Richens was fine for the Yankees in roughly half a season after coming over for Jose Ayala (himself only recently acquired from the Indians) and their longtime 3B David Salinas, but he didn't quite provide the offensive "oomph" the Bronx Bombers wanted from the #3 slot in the lineup, so, through a series of trades, he was translated into longtime A's superstar Alex Cardenas. Cardenas isn't much younger than Richens (he's 36) but is an absolute iron man, having played in 150+ games in every season since 1959. He also managed to take home 2 MVPs for that perpetually moribund team. It's going to be interesting to see how he does when the games actually count.
Wing-Fung Yi got signed out of Taiwan as recently as 1968 and already the youngster has made his mark on the New York lineup. The only reason he didn't win ROY last year was that the team used him as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement over the 2nd half of 1968, so he didn't technically qualify. He's a solid second baseman but a very poor arm will keep him from ever playing shortstop in the major leagues.
Tom Weiss effectively replaced David Salinas as the team's starter in 1968 and so the team moved the elder vet to avoid controversy as much as anything else. Also, Salinas, who was a very good hitter in the past, had stumbled to about replacement level. He seemed to turn things around a bit in Detroit. We wish him well. Weiss played like a man who was finally given a job he'd deserved for years, which is to say, well.
Leftward shifts on the defensive spectrum are not supposed to work; however, after years of playing second base, Ty Stover moved back over to shortstop and truth be told handled himself pretty well. Now he seems pretty locked in there. Stover has a shot at reaching 400 HRs this year (he has 371) and he is already the Yankees' lifetime leader in that category.
Outfield
Code:
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| pos | first_name | last_name | bats | age | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| LF | Ross | Poynor | R | 26 | 124 | 409 | 52 | 122 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 41 | 25 | 4 | 76 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 0.298 | 0.335 | 0.408 |
| LF | Dan | Field | L | 25 | 76 | 313 | 34 | 92 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 32 | 24 | 4 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.294 | 0.350 | 0.412 |
| LF | Ramiro | Palencia | L | 39 | 24 | 64 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.172 | 0.354 | 0.219 |
| LF | Matt | Brettell | R | 32 | 54 | 52 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.231 | 0.255 | 0.385 |
| LF | Willie | Morales | R | 25 | 23 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.156 | 0.206 | 0.313 |
| CF | Micah | MacMillan | R | 25 | 115 | 470 | 60 | 113 | 26 | 10 | 5 | 37 | 43 | 2 | 50 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 0.240 | 0.312 | 0.370 |
| CF | Marc | Ash | L | 26 | 65 | 184 | 23 | 45 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 24 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0.245 | 0.330 | 0.315 |
| RF | Frank | Meneses | R | 32 | 118 | 428 | 63 | 95 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 81 | 2 | 95 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 0.222 | 0.350 | 0.364 |
| RF | Eric | Green | L | 26 | 34 | 75 | 7 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.187 | 0.228 | 0.253 |
| RF | Arturo | Ganzalez | L | 24 | 10 | 32 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0.219 | 0.219 | 0.219 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + --------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
Ross Poynor is a bit of a goof off but in 1969 he was also pretty effective at the bottom of the Yankees' order. In 1970 he'll move over to right field to take over for Frank Meneses. Dan Field plans to play in the majority of the starts in left now, although even for a left fielder he lacks range.
Micah MacMillan is... a guy. To be honest, if the Yankees really wanted to flex their financial weight, they'd make a move to replace this guy. Maybe I'm being too harsh on him. He was the #21 pick in the 1967 draft and topped out as the #61 prospect (that list seems to always be dominated by young international players who rarely pan out) before the Yanks pulled him into the major leagues. He's been roughly average for a center fielder, although he hasn't managed to hit for contact as well as you'd expect from a guy with his speed. At least for now his job is safe, as there's nobody in the organization close to replacing him.
Frank Meneses is fine, we guess, but doesn't really wow you enough to be a corner outfielder for a New York based team. His best year as a starter was clearly his first, in 1964, when he hit 31 HRs and hit .270. He hasn't come close to either total since and last year's 12 HRs was a career low for him as a starter. He'll still be around if Dan Field can't pull his weight in left.