Moose Skowron 1930 to 2012

Moose Skowron 1930-2012

Moose Skowron passed away today, loosing yet another legend.  Here is one of the stories that Marty Appel tells about Moose in his upcoming book Pinstripe Empire. The author touches upon the situation when the Moose was traded across country to the Los Angeles Dodgers who left town just 4 years earlier.

The author tells how the trade to the Dodger after the 1962 season not only broke his (Skowron's) heart but delivered a mixed message to Yankee fans. On the one hand, this was good baseball management: out with the old, in with the new, to perpetuate the success of the team.  (This something that you can't always do with today's contracts)  Joe Pepitone, a homegrown product with a quick bat and terrific fielding skills, was ready to take over --- and he was ten years younger!  heartless though it must have felt to the sensitive Moose, this was how successful teams flourished. 

In exchange for Skowron, the Yankees got starting pitcher Stan Williams, a 14 game winner for the Dodger in '62. 

I remember feeling sad seeing Moose guesting on situation comedies being he was close to tinsel town.  I beleive it was either The Beverly Hillbillies or Mr Ed. 

God Bless you Moose and the Skowron Family.  You will always be a Yankee.

PINSTRIPE EMPIRE

 THE NEW YORK YANKEES 

BEFORE THE BABE TO AFTER THE BOSS

I know you are use to seeing Harvey Frommer's (Official reviewer of BTB) reviews here on BTB but when a writer like Marty Appel writes a book like this you could never have too many reviews.

If you are a regular Behind the Bombers/BehindtheBombers.com reader there is no reason to explain who Marty Appel is.  But to those of you who don’t know who he is he is a long time Yankees author, one time Yankees PR person and a big baseball fan.  He started his Yankees career answering Mickey Mantle’s fan mail and wound up an award winning Yankee telecast producer for WPIX in NYC.  He penned many Yankee books including two fantastic books on Yankee Legend Thurman Munson. 

You can insert just about every cliché right here as this book is worth all that praise and more.  You can see this book is a labor of love that was a lifetime in the making.  It is a chronological history the Pinstripes full of facts with little chestnuts added by the author that shows the human side of the team that we all love.  Even if you don’t love the Yankees or just won’t admit you do, the structure of this book makes it not just one of the best Bomber books around but one of the finest baseball books around.

You can’t get anymore Yankee than this with a Foreward by Yogi Berra and Preface by Bernie Williams.  Both of those players are well represented in this fine book. 

There are fact supported by very interesting tidbits throughout the book.  For instance the author delivers the facts about 1935 that Lou Gehrig was named captain by Joe McCarthy (first one since Everett Scott) that year, which is widely know, but he also points out that it was the only year Gehrig didn’t have to share the stage with Babe Ruth or Joe DiMaggio.  Sort of like the link year between the Babe and Joe D. 

The book is full of stuff like this brings me up to speed on the years before my Yankee comprehension started.  The descriptions are so personal that it made me feel like I lived it myself.  The stories that occurred during my fandom blew some cobwebs off my own memory bring back some (mostly) good times and some not so good. 

This book is the book to go out and pre order this way when it is released on May 8^th you can read it by the time Old Timer’s Day comes along.  This way when the introductions take place you can have stories fresh in your mind.  Some that you live and some you relive.  As the title says “The New York Yankees From Before The Babe To After The Boss.”  If it’s not in here it didn’t happen yet.  Throughout the season I will be discussing passages from this book hoping to rekindle your memories as well as mine.

This Just In:

As reported By Yankee Universe

The Yankees have signed 37-year old right-hander Nelson Figueroa to a minor league deal, tweets Jon Heyman.







Nelson was released by the Houston Astros in August of last year after he posted an 8.69 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 5.0 B/9 in 29 innings.






Looks like the Yankees brought him in for pitching depth with the injury to Manny Banuelos.






The Yankees top prospect Manny Banuelos was placed on the disabled list due to a back injury.

OPENING DAY TWENTY-TWELVE

Another Opening Day in the Bronx, no new banners to hang.  With the knowledge that Kentucky already won the final four the Yankees continue their quest to World Series Championship #28.

I don't like to make predictions for or against my team but here are a few individual predictions I will take on.:

• Kuroda will surprize a lot of people and be a stopper on the staff.  
• A-Rod will have a dynamite year.
• Mariano won't have his best year but it will be the AL Best Reliever's year letting him go out on top! (or will he go out)
• Tex will send the message "Shift This!"

It should be a fun year with Andy Pettitte returning and look for one of the B's to make a mark on the staff.

Go Yankees!