The date is July 30, 1990, and the Yankees - under Bucky Dent and Stump Merrill - are destined to finish 7th in the AL with 95 losses. They are already 15 games out and facing mighty Detroit, with Alan Trammel, Travis Fryman and Chet Lemon. It's the bottom of the fourth, 1-to-nothing, and Dave LaPoint is starting for the Yankees. (I suspect it predates his famous "La Lob.") Cecil Fielder is batting for the Tigers.
The news comes over the wire, and John is flat-out stunned. The Commissioner of Baseball has suspended the owner of the Yankees for his illegal political contributions. His broadcast partner, Jay Johnson, can only say, "Wow."
"George Steinbrenner - the pitch to Fielder is down low, isn't this amazing? - but it is that George Steinbrenner will step down as the managing general partner and stay on as a limited partner."
Folks, this is the Yankee Big Bang, Noah's flood, the asteroid that kills off the dinosaurs...Of course, it's punctuated with a blast, called by John without a homer-holler or even an IT IS HIGH...
"And this ball is way gone... a humungus home run by Cecil Fielder!"
Close your eyes and listen. This is golden.
Pretty amazing. Now if only something could be done about Hal and Cashman. What kind of scandal will it take if the Kinky Boots didn't get rid of the first, and exactly what was Cashman's relationship with his stalker? Enquiring minds want to know.
ReplyDeleteHow about . . . the discovery of a secret subterranean sex salon and batting cage, located many hundreds of feet beneath Yankee stadium. Overseen for decades by Steve Donohue - this ultra posh club was sanctioned by Cash and the Steinbrenner boys and often featured off-beat and unusual themes that all staff and visiting vips would participate in - like dressing up as Teletubbies or past presidents, or playing popular board games from the sixties as they received their, "THERE IT GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOES!" round tripper.
ReplyDeleteCan anybody say . . .fidelio?
It is amazing, thanks, Duque.
ReplyDeleteBUT...I believe that Dallas Green had already come and gone by 1990 (which was not a bad thing). No pushing into the holy trinity of Stick, Buck, and Bob.
Above,
ReplyDeleteNice try but sadly we pretty much live in a post-shame world so I'm afraid no scandal would be big enough to take Hal out. While GM's and assistant GM's can be fired owners are pretty much untouchable.
Gambling - forgiven especially with Fan Duel an official partner of MLB.
Prostitution - Didn't take Robert Kraft out.
Abusing female employees - Last time I checked Dan Snyder was doing just fine.
Racism - Robert Sarver, who owns the Phoenix Suns still hanging in there.
Sigh.
"...illegal political contributions..."
ReplyDeleteNope, that was back in 1974. This was for the Dave Winfield / Howard Spira affair:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Spira
A great moment in Yankees radio. The thought that the Boss might be banned forever must have been very frightening for people.
ReplyDeleteEven if HAL did go down for some terrible offense—I think it would have to be a blatant, public murder nowadays, though I guess not in the state of Wisconsin—one of the other Steinbrenner brood would just take over.
ReplyDeleteIt's too late, we've let them spawn!