The 1996 Yankees - 20th Anniversary

If you became a fan of the New York Yankees in the late 1960s/early 1970s like I did, you suffered for your sport. The Yankees won 14 American League pennants and nine World Series from 1949 through 1964, but aging veterans (Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford), early retirements (Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson), and a weak farm system led to back-to-back last-place and next-to-last-place finishes in the 10-team American League. There were few players to get excited about, outside of Bobby Murcer, Thurman Munson, and Mel Stottlemyre.

Two moves changed all of that and took the team out of its first "declinasty". CBS sold the team to Michael Burke and George M. Steinbrenner III in 1973 for a mere $8.7MM. Soon, Burke was out and Steinbrenner was running the show. Then on December 23, 1975, free agency was born. Eight days later, on New Years Eve, Oakland A's All-Star Jim "Catfish" Hunter put his name on the dotted line of a Yankees' contract. Hunter would be one of the veteran players that would teach the current and new Yankees how to win. The team captured three AL pennants and a pair of championships from 1976-1978, but things started going sideways in 1979 when Munson was killed in a private plane crash and Hunter retired due to a worn out right arm. Though the team would make it to the league championship series in 1980 and the World Series a year later, they didn't win any of the coveted hardware. Then came the second "declinasty." In many ways the second time around was worse than the first. Constant managerial and coaching changes - many involving Billy Martin - poor trades that weakened the farm system (Willie McGee for Bob Sykes, Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps), bad free agent signings (Steve Kemp), a career-altering back injury to their best player, Don Mattingly, and a meddlesome owner that couldn't leave well enough alone. The turning point for the franchise came when then Major League Baseball commissioner Faye Vincent suspended principal owner George Steinbrenner for life during the summer of 1990. (Steinbrenner had paid off a two-bit sleaze named Howard Spira to dig up dirt on Yankees All-Star outfielder Dave Winfield.) With Steinbrenner unable to run the day-to-day operations of the team, the Yankees turned to general manager Gene Michael to handle decisions regarding players on the team. The one-time Yankees' shortstop had served two separate stints as manager over the 1981-1982 seasons. The team had not reached the playoffs since the strike-shortened 1981 season, but they were in the hunt to make the postseason in the 1994 season. While the 1981 campaign was temporarily interrupted in the middle of the season by a players' strike, the 1994 players' action ended the season in August and subsequently led to the cancellation of the World Series. The 1995 team made it to the postseason, but they were eliminated in a heartbreaking five-game divisional series after being up two games to none. The offseason that followed led to many changes. The first change was a major one. Manager Buck Showalter had helped lead the team out of the darkness and his four years as manager was the longest tenure by a Yankees' skipper since Ralph Houk's seven-year run from 1967-1973. (Billy Martin had a five-year run, but only lasted through two full seasons.)

Steinbrenner decided to hire Joe Torre, whose combined record as manager of Atlanta, St. Louis and the New York Mets was 894-1003 (.471). The New York Daily News headline blared "Clueless Joe". An even bigger decision shaped the team for years to come. There were some in the Yankees' front office who felt Derek Jeter wasn't ready to be the everyday shortstop. A trade was discussed to send pitcher Mariano Rivera to the Seattle Mariners for shortstop Felix Fermin. Thankfully, Michael convinced Steinbrenner to stick to the original plan - Jeter at shortstop, Rivera in the pen. The Yankees and Mariners made a major trade that greatly benefited the Bronx Bombers. New York sent prospects Sterling Hitchcock and Russ Davis to the west coast for first baseman Tino Martinez and reliever Jeff Nelson. Torre built a strong coaching staff around him, including long-time manager Don Zimmer as bench coach and Stottlemyre as pitching coach. Zimmer recommended that the Yankees go out and get catcher Joe Girardi, who played for Zimmer from 1989-1991 with the Cubbies. It was such an unpopular move with the fan base, who were big supporters of the incumbent, Mike Stanley, that they booed Girardi at the team's annual Fanfest. The team added bench strength when they acquired Tim Raines from the Chicago White Sox for a minor leaguer, and bolstered the starting staff when they gave free agent right-hander Doc Gooden another chance. With veterans Paul O'Neill, Wade Boggs, David Cone and Jimmy Key on the squad, youngsters like Jeter, Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Bernie Williams were a good compliment to the experienced nucleus. April was an up-and-down opening month. The team won just six of their first 13 games, but there were some bright spots. Jeter homered in the season opener in Cleveland and later that day he made an over- the-shoulder catch in the outfield, a play that would become part of his standard repertoire. The Yankees won their home opener against Kansas City despite a snow squall. The team finished off the month with seven wins in 10 games to take a half-game lead in the AL East. Except for two days when they were in a tie for the top spot, the Yankees remained in first place for the rest of the season.

In May, Gooden topped Hitchcock and the Mariners 2-0 with a 9-inning no-hitter. It was a welcome performance considering Cone was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his shoulder, underwent surgery four days earlier and was out indefinitely. The month ended with the Baltimore Orioles a game back. They would chase the Yankees all season. The pennant race wasn't the only stressful thing going on in Torre's life. During a June doubleheader in Cleveland, the Yankees manager was informed that his brother Rocco had died of a heart attack. It was particularly shocking news since his oldest brother/idol, Frank, had been waiting for a heart transplant. As for the Yankees, they enjoyed the warm weather. The ball club finished 18-11 for the month to push their lead over the Orioles to 4.5 games. The team also underwent a makeover as the season progressed. What started out as a small-ball team that stole bases, hit and ran, and worked the count, morphed into a power-hitting squad as well. On July 4, the Yankees signed another reclamation project, Darryl Strawberry. Then at the July trade deadline, the Yankees sent unhappy outfielder Ruben Sierra to the Detroit Tigers for slugger Cecil Fielder. The team also dealt for right-handed hitting third baseman Charlie Hayes to split time with Boggs at third base. The division lead stretched to nine games in August, but the never-say-die Orioles whittled it down to 2.5 games when Cone made his return on September 2. "Coney" blew through the Oakland A's lineup and produced a remarkable seven innings of no-hit baseball. Torre saw the big picture though, and didn't let Cone continue after 85 pitches. Rivera lost the no-no an inning later, but the Yankees got the victory and Cone got a big boost of confidence. The Yankees would have to weather one more storm in September to win the division. The Orioles came to town for a three-game series with the teams separated by three games. Williams' RBI single tied the opener in the bottom of the 9th inning and one frame later the Bronx went wild when Ruben Rivera singled in the game winner. The Yankees split a twin-bill the next day with Mariano Duncan, the provider of the "We Play Today, We Win Today, Das It" team t-shirt, driving in three runs to beat O's ace Mike Mussina. The Orioles won the nightcap, but the Yankees had increased their lead to four games. The rest of the season was a cakewalk by comparison and the Bombers finished 92-70. The Yankees toppled Texas in the playoff opener and again met up with the Orioles in the league championship series. Game 1 set the tone as the Yankees won with the help of 12-year old Jeffrey Maier's interference on Jeter's home run ball to right field. Williams won it with a blast in the 11th inning. The Yankees won the round in five games and moved on to their first World Series in 15 years. In the World Series, things started out ugly with Pettitte pummeled in Game 1, 12-1, led by 19-year old rookie Andruw Jones' two home runs. Ace right-hander Greg Maddux blanked the Yankees in Game 2, 4-0, for a commanding two-games-to-none lead. Torre didn't despair, however, and told Steinbrenner that the Yankees would win all three games in Atlanta and return home to close out the series.

Cone and the pen did the job in Game 3 with a 5-2 victory, but Kenny Rogers put the Yankees in a 6-0 hole in Game 4. Like the great Yankees teams of the past, the '96 Bombers rose to the occasion. With the score narrowed to 6-3, Jim Leyritz hit a game-tying 3-run home run off closer Mark Wohlers in the 8th inning to tie it up. The Yankees went on to win in extra innings and took Game 5 when Pettitte got his revenge by outdueling John Smoltz 1-0. The Yankees returned to the Bronx up 3-2, just as Torre had guaranteed. Even better, a donor was found for his brother Frank's heart transplant. Girardi, the guy the fans hated from day one, ignited a three-run 3rd inning with an RBI triple. The Braves would cut the lead to 3-2, but Hayes caught Terry Pendleton's foul pop-up with two outs in the 9th inning to give the Yankees their first World Series championship since 1978. The second "declinasty" was over and a new dynasty was born.