Jimmy Sez

Over the past couple of years I've had the privilege of meeting some of the former Yankee players that I included in The New Yor Yankees All-Time All-Stars  and secured their signature in a copy of it. Earlier this month I was able to keep that going at the latest Pinstripe Pride show near Giants Stadium. This time around I went squad deep with my son Seamus, my brother Sean, and my nephew Tommy. Not only was it nice to have non-strangers to talk to while waiting on the lines, but they seemed to enjoy themselves as well. There was only one All-Time All-Star signing during the day we attended, but the lineup included three players that are in the book as Honorable Mentions, so we met them as well. As in the past, I gave each player we met a personalized, signed copy of the book before they signed what I'll now call the Master copy. In that book I now have autographs from eight of the 17 living All-Time All-Stars and three of the nine living Honorable Mentions. Sadly, I won...

 "Obviously, we're in it to win it. So you know, we stayed the course." - Brian Cashman on August 1, 2023  When the Yankees' GM uttered these words right after the trade deadline, I let out an audible laugh. What else does he think is obvious? That dogs smell better after a long walk in the rain? That a trip to the DMV is a pleasant experience? That Rocky V is the best movie of the series? The Yankees are in full-blown free fall mode after doing absolutely nothing to improve a lineup with glaring holes both before and during this season. The only folks who seem to think this is not a problem are the ones sitting in the Yankees' front office making all of the key decisions. It's a bad look. Rather than digging into the current mess, I'd rather reminisce. The 2023 Yankees have me thinking a lot about the 1990 iteration of the team when they hit rock bottom as a franchise. That year they went 67-95 which was good for a .414 winning percentage, the lowest any...

Last summer I wrote about re-discovering my Starting Lineup collection during the pandemic. Since that time I've found some more that I acquired as a youth and used the power of the internet to continue to add to my collection. Since we're still more than a month away from Opening Day, it seems like a good time to take another gander at these quaint little pieces from the 1980's and 90's. I know I'm biased, but this crop is chock full of good stuff with some pleasant surprises mixed in. There's no better way to whet your baseball appetite as we head into 2021. Enjoy! 1988 This one was one of my favorites growing up. In the batter's box Dave Winfield was an imposing figure with long arms and legs that could reach anything that came his way. That's captured pretty well here and the face is instantly recognizable as Winny. The uniform deficiencies - especially early on - with Starting Lineups were covered pretty thoroughly in the last installment, but I...

When Whitey Ford passed away a few weeks ago it left the Yankee Universe asking themselves a question that has had an obvious answer for a very long time. Ford was one of many former Yankees who racked up championship rings at record rates in the 1950's and 60's. Since that time, the team has been lucky enough to celebrate those teams by inviting the men who made them legendary back to Yankee Stadium every year. And of that group, there's always been a clear elder statesman, an old guy with a Hall of Fame resumé who serves as the unofficial patriarch of the extended Yankee family. For nearly 50 years this role was filled by Joe DiMaggio. The man who touted himself as the "Greatest Living Ballplayer" was treated as such whenever returning to the Bronx. There were others in the running of course, none more so than Mickey Mantle, but The Mick tragically died at the way too young age of 63 and DiMaggio held the title until he passed away in the spring of 1999. At tha...