Month: December 2000
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December 23 2000 : Think Back to April 23rd…
Home runs in the Toronto SkyDome have become increasingly frequent in the “juiced ball” (and/or juiced player) era, with 58 round-trippers hit in just the first 14 games there in 2000. On Easter Sunday, 2000, when the New York Yankees took on their division rivals, the Blue Jays, eight balls would fly into the seats….
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December 20 2000 : Think Back to April 15th…
April 15th fell on a Saturday this year, giving every American two extra days to file income tax forms. Any Yankee fan who spent that afternoon doing taxes instead of listening to or watching the game, missed a nail-biter. Rain, cold mist, and 55 degree temperatures held the crowd to a mere 34,056 that day….
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December 19 2000 : Think Back to April 3rd…
In the 1990s, the Yankees often opened the season on the West Coast, and 2000 followed that precedent. ESPN brought Opening Day at Edison International Field into homes all across America, so loyal Yankees fans everywhere could see one of the Bombers’ four “aces,” Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez face a potent Anaheim line-up. Pumped up…
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December 16 2000 : Think Back To March 30
This is the first of a series of “think backs” I plan to do, to assuage the withdrawal pangs of the offseason for myself and the many fanatics out there. I share your pain. March 30th, 2000 found the Yankees at Enron Field in Houston, set to play the inaugural exhibition game at the new…
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December 12 2000 : Is The Wait Over? (A-Rod and the Election)
Baseball and the 2000 presidential election have been linked ever since the early campaigning of George W. Bush, who when asked what his greatest mistake in life was, joked: “trading Sammy Sosa” (back when Bush owned the Texas Rangers). The Sosa and Yale baseball references continued to pile up. In July, The Washington Post ran…
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December 8 2000 : David’s Gone
Well, that’s it, David Cone is moving on from the Yankees. They didn’t offer him arbitration, and so as of midnight a few hours ago, the team and he must go their separate ways. Even as I type those words, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. But I can definitely feel the ragged edges of…