On September 4, 1993 I took my son (then age 9) to what I consider to be the greatest athletic feat I have ever seen.  It was the Yankees versus the Indians at Yankee

Yankee Stadium Matinee, ltd ed litho

Stadium and Jim Abbott, born with one arm, pitched a no-hitter against one of the best hitting teams in baseball.  Nobody ever seems to talk about it.

As a hoot in about the 4th inning I said to my son, “Abbott hasn’t allowed a hit yet, but let’s not jinx him.”  So instead of talking about it I suggested we wink every time he got an out.  Wink wink wink wink wink wink wink wink… When Carlos Baerga, who hit .321 that year,  grounded out to short to end the game, the place went nuts.  When we got home, my wife said to our son, “I don’t ever want to hear you say, ‘I can’t.’”

It was the second no-hitter I attended.  On my 18th birthday, June 4, 1964, I went with

Dodger Thirty-Two, ltd ed litho

a friend to Connie Mack Stadium to see my beloved Phillies play the Dodgers.  Sandy Koufax against Chris Short (remember the 1964 Phillies: Short and Bunning and then start running- collapse).  Koufax was damn near perfect that day. He faced the minimum. He walked Dick Allen who was promptly erased by a double play, and he never allowed another runner.

Someone else shared both of those no-hitters with me, Frank Howard.  Howard had won the game for Koufax with a 3 run homer in the 6th, the only runs of the game.  He was also the the first base coach for the Yankees in 1993.   Me and Frank Howard. Frank Howard and me. However, back to Jim Abbott.

Does anyone care to comment on a greater athletic feat than Jim Abbott’s no-hitter?

No Hitter Box Score June 4, 1964 Connie Mack Stadium

Name Pos AB R H RBI Willie Davis cf 4 0 0 0 Maury Wills ss 4 0 1 0 Jim Gilliam 3b 4 1 1 0 Tommy Davis lf 4 1 2 0 Frank Howard rf 3 1 1 3 Ron Fairly 1b 1 0 0 0 Ken McMullen 1b 3 0 1 0 Wes Parker rf 1 0 1 0 Doug Camilli c 4 0 0 0 Dick Tracewski 2b 3 0 1 0 Sandy Koufax p 3 0 1 0 Totals 34 3 9 3 Name Pos AB R H RBI Cookie Rojas cf 3 0 0 0 Johnny Callison rf 3 0 0 0 Dick Allen 3b 2 0 0 0 Danny Carter lf 3 0 0 0 Gus Triandos c 3 0 0 0 Roy Sievers 1b 3 0 0 0 Tony Taylor 2b 3 0 0 0 Ruben Amaro ss 3 0 0 0 Chris Short p 2 0 0 0 Ed Roebuck p 0 0 0 0 Ray Culp p 0 0 0 0 Bobby Wine ph 1 0 0 0 Totals 26 0 0 0 Hitting & Fielding Notes Doubles: Tracewski, Parker. Double Play: Philadelphia 1. Error: Allen. Home Run: Howard. Left On Base: Los Angeles 4, Philadelphia 0.

Line Score Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Los Angeles 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 9 0 Philadelphia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Name IP H R ER BB SO Sandy Koufax (W) 9 0 0 0 1 12 Name IP H R ER BB SO Chris Short (L) 6.2 8 3 3 0 4 Ed Roebuck .1 0 0 0 0 0 Ray Culp 2 1 0 0 0 2

Vintage Yankee Yarn, ltd ed litho

There’s been quite a bit of talk about the New York Yankees “buying” their championships over the years. 34 years worth of talk and it’s not going away. The complaints are so numerous and uniform and almost sound as if the Yankees are allowed to live by a different set of rules than the rest of the Major League Baseball teams. Ever since Mr Steinbrenner signed his first free agent, Jim “Catfish” Hunter, on New Years Eve 1974, fans and sportswriters have complained that the 27 time World Champions are throwing their money around at an unfair rate, stealing the best players every year.

Let’s do a “fer instance”.

Say you own a hamburger stand. Suppose that you serve a good product at a fair price and people come from near and far to sample your burgers. All of a sudden, you find yourself more profitable than your competition. Do you plow those profits back into your burger stand to make it better and more enjoyable for your customers or do you go with the status quo and pocket the additional profits? The smart businessman would try to enhance his business and make it grow, attract more customers and thereby create even more business and even more cash flow that can be invested back into his stand. The American way.

Okay, let’s step away from the burger stand for awhile.

Baseball ceased being a “sport” a long time ago. It’s now a business. The arbitrators that declared Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith free agents in 1973 made it that way. Until then, players were “owned” by the club that they played for, there was no player movement unless these “good-old-boys” that were the owners decided to make a trade. Players did not control their destiny in any way, shape, manner or form. Once the players were set free, a business developed from a sport. Once Charlie Finley decided to not pay the money he owed the Catfish, the best pitcher in baseball was allowed to field offers from all of the “new” business owners and decide where he wanted to set up shop.

Back to the burger stand.

Suppose that the owner of the above mentioned burger stand decided to take the excess profits and stick them in his pocket. His competition down the street, seeing that there was more money to be made by improving his stand, adopts a similar plan for his joint but decides to plow those profits back into his business. His brand grows and keeps growing because he keeps trying to stay ahead of the competition. By re-investing and making his business better, he’s increasing his revenues.  All of a sudden, he’s hiring the best cooks, the best service people and promoting his business at a rate that was unheard of prior to that point. Is that an unfair business practice? No, that’s the American way.

Ok, back to baseball. The greasy fries are starting to get to me.

When Charlie O, the arrogant guy with the profitable team, the arrogant guy who’d won 3 consecutive Championships, decided that he didn’t want to plow those profits back into his club, didn’t want to pay what he, by contract, owed, the sport of baseball turned into the business of baseball. The Catfish was set free, as McNally and Messersmith had been, and the reserve clause was rendered null and void, as Curt Flood had attempted  in 1970. Some of the competition, George Steinbrenner in particular, decided that he wanted to become the best and most profitable owner in the business and started paying the best players to come to work for him. Year after year, player after player, good choice or bad, Steinbrenner used the open marketplace to attempt to create the situation that would render the competition as also-rans. As any business owner would do that wanted to be the best. The American way. It paid immediate dividends, as the Yankees won the American League pennant in ’76, losing the Championship to the Cincinnati Reds, and the World Championship in ’77 and ’78, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers, due in no small part to the signing of Reggie

Reggie's Amazing Night, ltd ed litho

Jackson. Success breeds the need for more success, just as the smell of a good burger breeds feeling the need to eat. By creating the successful franchise, the Yankees began enjoying more and more profit. Instead of playing in front of empty seats, the Yankees were playing in front of packed stands. The profits grew. With all of the happy customers, sales of Yankees paraphernalia grew and profits grew even larger. Investment of those profits back into the business allowed the business owner to grow the business even more. The Yankees became a international brand, not just a local brand. That interlocking NY was soon found globally, on a the hat of a kid in England, a tee shirt in the Netherlands, a uniform in the Dominican Republic, a banner in Asia. And it brought that marketing possibility to all MLB teams, another way to grow the brands that had been long established in the United States.

From 1981 to strike shortened 1994, the Yankees, even though Steinbrenner kept re-investing, were not winners. For 12 years, other teams made the playoffs, other teams won the pennant, won the World Championship.  5 different teams won in each of the two American League Divisions. The Blue Jays won the American League East 4 years in 5, the Red Sox 3 of 5. The Oakland A’s won the AL West 4 years in 5. There were 5 different winners in the NL East and 6 in the NL West in that same span of time. The Pirates won the NL East 3 consecutive years and the Braves did the same in the NL West. Most of these 21 different division winners won with the help of talent acquired through free agency. The problem is, not all owners grasped the concept, that they too could elevate the marketing of their teams by signing the best free agents at market price and becoming a more successful franchise and thereby enhance their revenues and create a more even field of competition. They wanted to keep their profits, not take that chance, not sign that free agent. So, they’d be complacent after winning, expecting to rake in the profits that come after winning and not be a player in the free agent market every year. When it became obvious that these franchises were falling behind, both in revenue and in competition, they blamed their small market status and claimed that that was the reason for consistent poor showing in the standing.  The Yankees? Still signing free agents but making poor choices. Continuing to invest. But not continuing to win. Taking chances with the hope of making their business better. Then, for a while, signing with the Yankees meant having to constantly defend yourself in public spats with ownership, physical confrontations with the manager, the booing of the fans who expected a yearly winner. The Yankees became a disdainful destination for players but the players still used Yankee offers as a  valuable bargaining chip.  The problem then became one of collusion. Owners didn’t want to spend the big bucks that players were commanding. They stopped falling for the threat of Yankee offers. They knew that most players didn’t really want to go there, have to deal with that. They kept market prices down. The Yankees, meanwhile, retooled their front office. Retooled their leadership on the field. Refined their image. Steinbrenner’s suspension didn’t hurt. Other voices in the organization were heard and became the sound of  better judgement. Player development became a more important part of the plan. They became a bit more of a desired destination for the players. Showed some success. Brought up players developed in their own organization. Made some important trades for quality players. Still worked the free agent market but became more of  a home grown team, too. Then the ceiling fell in. The players went on strike during the 1994 season. Fans became former fans, to a much higher degree than in the strikes of ’72 and ’81. There was no postseason in ’94. No winner for the 1st time. Only losers. Owners, players and fans. Then a shortened season in ’95. Diminished attendance, diminished revenues.

The Yankees minor league system was starting to produce major league talent. Championship caliber talent. Bernie Williams first, in ’91. Then Andy Pettitte in ’95. After cups of coffee in ’95, Derek Jeter

Jeter Reaching Greatness, ltd ed litho

and Mariano Rivera

Yankee Stadium Finale, ltd ed litho

in ’96. Jorge Posada in ’97. The foundation for 4 World Championships in 5 years. Traded for Paul O’Neill prior to the ’93 season, David Cone and John Wetteland in ’95, Joe Girardi and Tino Martinez in ’96 season. All major plyers in the start of the Yankees run. Acquired the old fashioned way. Signed Jimmy Key in ’92, Wade Boggs in ’93, Kenny Rogers and Dwight Gooden prior to the ’96 season. All but Key were not major factors. All free agents. But still the Yankees were vilified for “buying” the Championships.

Fast forward to 2009. Pettitte, Posada, Jeter and Rivera are still the foundation. Add more homegrown talent – Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner, Ramiro Pena, Alfredo Aceves, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Coke, Dave Robertson, Chien Ming Wang, Francisco Cervelli. Most are major contributors, some minor and some not at all. Make some trades – Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, Damaso Marte, Xavier Nady, Chad Gauvin, Eric Hinske – some worked out, some didn’t. Throw in what’s left of the last 7 years of free agent signings – Hideki Matsui (’02), Johnny Damon(’06), Jose Molina (’08), CC Sabathia

Rebirth in the Bronx, ltd ed litho

, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira(’09) and you have this year’s World Champions.  4 of 9 starting offensive positions are manned by homegrown talent. 2 others came via trades. 3 in free agency. Starting staff is 3/5ths homegrown. 2 via free agency. Bullpen? Other than Marte, all homegrown.

So, my question is: Did the Yankees just build the better hamburger stand by investing back into it or did they buy it?

Derek Jeter, '53 (Topps Style)

Derek Jeter is a model athlete, team player and human being.  Rolls up his sleeves and does his job. He is our personal MVP for the Yankees over the past 15 years.  What a cool, calm, powerful and steadying influence during the 2009 World Series. While not the MLB  World Series MVP, the Captain was a large part of the reason that the Yankees are World Champions again. Jeter batted .344 over the 15 games the Yankees played in the postseason, had 5 doubles and 3 home runs while walking 11 times and played exquisite defense as evidenced by yet another Jeter highlight film play, catching Bobby Abreu as he took too big of a turn around 2nd base in the ALCS. His calm leadership, coupled with his outstanding ability have made him baseball royalty without creating the “spoiled athlete” personna that many of the elite players carry.

Another reason that Derek is our MVP is the way he handles his success. Jeter

Jeter Reaching Greatness (ltd ed litho)

established his Turn 2 Foundation in 1996, and since then it has awarded more than $10 million in grants for programs that motivate kids to turn away from drugs and alcohol.  Turn 2 is managed on a day-to-day basis by the Jeter family with Derek in a hands-on role as Founder. In addition to contributing his own funds, Jeter hosts the annual “Derek Jeter Celebrity Golf Classic” and the “Turn 2 Foundation Dinner” to raise funds needed to successfully continue programs.

Individual awards are many. Jeter began reaching greatness by winning the “Rookie Of The Year” in 1996, garnered both the All Star MVP and World Series MVP in the championship year of 2000, has 3 American League Gold Gloves (2004 – 2006) and 3 Silver Slugger awards (2006-2008) as the best hitting shortstop in the

Yankee Two Treasure (ltd ed litho)

American League. He’s been the A L recipient of the Hank Aaron Award, which recognizes the most outstanding offensive performer in each league, in both 2006 and 2009 and has received the Roberto Clemente Award,which recognizes the player who combines giving back to the community with superlative skill on the field, in 2009. He’s truly been a Yankee to treasure over the years and should be a lock to receive baseball’s ultimate award, Hall of Fame induction, as soon as he’s eligible.

The Lee brothers, Cliff and Ut of  Phil Lee’s branch of the family help the Phightins to  take games one and 5 of the World Series! But before game 5, a Philadelphia paper erroneously(?) ran an ad congratulating the Phils for back to back World Championships.  I am hoping it was prescient.

As a life long Philadelphia Phillies fan, it couldn’t be more gratifying that the cosmic tumblers might be clicking once again. I don’ think I’ve ever seen better clubhouse chemistry than with the 2009 Phils.

As a four year old, I first became aware of Phillies fever in 1950 when the Whiz Kids won the pennant. Let me jump off for a second here.  The New Phillies could easily be called the Biz Kids as they always seem to take care of business;  or maybe the Fizz Kids because they are popping a lot of champagne; or maybe the Sizz Kids because of the sizzle in their bats and arms.  But enough of that. I have no specific memories of the 1950 season, but I remember vividly how disappointed I was 2 years later when my father came home with 2 tickets for the 1952 All-Star Game at Shibe Park (soon to be renamed Connie Mack Stadium)

and informed me that my mother, not at all a baseball fan, was going with him, not me. To this day I do not understand.

The Yankees swept the Phillies 4-0 in the 1950 World Series and I am hoping for a little payback– after 59 years. But first the Yankees put away the Angels, no easy task.  I am a bit conflicted.  As a marketer of NY Yankees lithographs, I want them to succeed. I certainly hoped they beat the Angels.  When they get to the team of my childhood, loyalty trumps avarice. -Bill Goff

I truly believe Bill Goff Inc / goodsportsart.com is the most exciting place on the internet to find good baseball art.  BASEBALL!  ART! HISTORY!  in a nutshell.

From Hilltop Park to Yankee Stadium, from a Brooklyn Dodgers jersey to Derek Jeter’s uniform, from Babe Ruth’s called shot to Henry Aaron’s 715th home run to David Cone’s perfect game, from Ebbets Field to Dodger Stadium, from Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium to Veterans Stadium to Citizens Bank Ballpark, we have it all (almost).

Hank Aaron's 715th

Celebrating Cone's Perfection

Ruth's Called Shot

For ballpark art prints, action art prints, great moment art prints, still life art prints and player art prints, we have the most diversified, complete portfolio. I have been in this business since 1977 and I think I have seen it all. I would be interested to receive any feedback on this subject anyone out in cyber-land might care to respond with. – Bill Goff