Thoughts After Game One

By Mike Whiteman October 7, 2024 Once the calendar changes to October, there are plenty of great "this date in Yankee history" items: On this day in 1904, Jack Chesbro won his 41st game, the most in the modern age (1901-present). Chesbro was already a pretty good pitcher when he started throwing a spitball in 1904, and rode it to his epic season. He rode this season all the way to the Hall of Fame in 1947.

On this day in 1949, the Yankees won Game Three of the World Series over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Joe Page got the win, after throwing 5 2/3 innings of relief. Page was one of the first true "ace" relievers, and was 13-8, 2.59 with 27 saves (retroactively credited) in 1949, averaging two-plus innings per outing.

On this day in 1950, the Yankees won Game Four of the World Series over the "Whiz Kids" Phillies, completing the Series sweep. This was the first time the Yankees played the Phillies in the Fall Classic, and 59 years later they beat them again. Could we be heading towards a rematch in 2024?

On this day in 1978, the Yankees defeated the Royals 2-1, winning the American League Championship Series. Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of that team is that even after completing the epic comeback from 14 games behind the Red Sox, they had enough left in the tank to take the ALCS and World Series over very good teams. Ron Guidry was the winner, and if you add this and his victory in the World Series, and he was 27-3, 1.70 in 290 innings for the complete season. Wow. Saturday night's win gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five American League Divisional Series. Some personal impressions from the Yanks' Game One victory: I love playoff baseball. I love everything about it. In the words of Alex Verdugo - "Every at bat, every pitch in the playoffs matters". I don't know about you, but I had forgotten how much I missed the Yankees in postseason play after their absence last year. Juan Soto gave us yet another reason why the Yankees have to re-sign him. He was more than ready for the Yankee Stadium playoff atmosphere. His three hits gives him a .276/.359/.509 career postseason slash in 132 plate appearances - at 25 years old. He can't get away, he just can't. Aaron Judge didn't look good at all Saturday night. I suspect that if the Yankees stay in the playoffs long enough, he will find his groove. It makes it imperative that the team gets contributions from all over the lineup in the meantime, just like they did Saturday. The Strauss stickers on the batting helmets just look tacky. Alas, I need to get used to them. During Saturday night's game Jon Morosi interviewed Royals' manager Matt Quatraro between halves of the third inning, then Aaron Boone after the bottom of the third. I've never appreciated the "miking up" of players/managers on the field, but I enjoyed this. Speaking of Quatraro, how about the managing job he did in guiding his team to a 30-game improvement from 2023? It may be one of the best stories we didn't hear about this year. Staying with the theme of things we don't hear much about, Royals' catcher Salvador Perez has put together an excellent career. His hardware includes: nine time all-star, five time Gold Glover, four-time Silver Slugger, and World Series MVP. Looks Hall of Fame worthy to me. During the game as the cameras panned the Yankee dugout, Anthony Rizzo was seen in the dugout, engaged and encouraging his teammates despite not being on the roster. I was also struck by the enthusiastic reaction by this teammates to Alex Verdugo's go-ahead single. This is clearly a tight knit team that roots hard for each other. Kudos to Aaron Boone (and I suspect a big assist to captain Aaron Judge) for the culture within the clubhouse what has meshed a number of strong personalities - some considered problem children on other teams - into a cohesive unit. Speaking of Boone, I think he managed a pretty good game Saturday. He's being criticized for pulling in the infield in the sixth inning - which is usually a bit early - but the way the Yanks were leaving runners on base early in the game, I was fine with him trying to prevent the runs at that point. It just didn't work. His insistence on the run-on-contact play, which got Gleyber Torres throw out at home in the first inning, does drive me nuts but his personnel decisions (Verdugo in left, Cabrera at first base, the choice and timing of relivers) were spot on. Many, myself included have shared the expectation that Jazz Chisholm will be moved to second base next year. I'm changing my mind. He made a couple of long throws with some zip from behind third base Saturday. He's made the best of a not optimal situation with his performance at a position he never played in the majors before this year. I'd make the case that with a full Spring Training at the position he could be a plus defender at the hot corner. I've said before Luke Weaver strikes me as a pretty good guy, and is easy to root for. He's also been a great story. Going into this season, he had a 27-42, 5.14 ERA for his career with zero saves. Now he's closing out playoff games. Good for him. I'm also happy for Clay Holmes, who got the win with 1 2/3 inning of scoreless ball. I usually watch the postgame player interviews on YES, and he has been always accountable and polite, even through all of the gut-wrenching losses he was part of. Saturday night Holmes was effusive in his praise of Weaver, who took the job he had and I'm sure wants back. Team guy. Glad to see him having success. Tonight, Carlos Rodon takes the mound for the Yanks. Rodon of course signed a six year/$162 million contract to be second ace in the rotation. We all remember his horrible 2023, and he's mostly atoned for it with a solid 2024. A look at his stats reveal what we all felt - he was hot or cold when he pitched, with little middle ground - 16-0, 2.13 in wins and no-decisions, 0-9, 10.13 in losses. Players aren't signed to big contract with the Yankees for regular season achievements, and here's his opportunity to to make his mark in the postseason. It's the greatest time of the year. Go Yankees!