The New York Yankees vast history of legendary ballplayers who have graced their uniform is unequaled throughout sporting history. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Joe Dimaggio are only some of the legends. However, yesterday during Old Timers’ Day, it wasn’t a legend who shined, but a fan favorite who gave those in attendance a glimpse of the recent past.

With David Cone on the mound and Bernie Williams standing on the third, Tino Martinez entered the batter’s box. The Yankee favorite who was booed heavily after replacing a retired Don Mattingly in 1996, zeroed in on a pitch on the inside corner, promptly turned on it and planted in the right field stands.

Martinez had homered into the short porch in right, something he did in numerous situations with the Yankees, none greater than his World Series grand slam against the San Diego Padres in 1998.

The 43-year-old received a big cheer from the crowd on hand, it didn’t seem to matter that this was not the World Series of ’98 because in those fans minds, they were reliving past greatness.

Sure, Martinez is no Hall of Fame player or a perennial All-Star. The former Home Run Derby Champion never once hit .300 in a season, coming only as close as .293, but he brought the intangibles, the leadership and willingness to win to every game. His focus for every pitch, every at bat, every swing is something almost unparalleled, but it was a trademark of those past Yankees’ teams.

The 1998 team, one that accounted for 114 wins during the regular season, displayed the never-say-die attitude right from the get-go. Fans may not remember, but the magical season actually started off on the wrong foot.

The Yankees would begin their campaign loser’s of their first two series, prompting those in N.Y. to panic about the sub-par start, but those fears would be alleviated once the winning attitude began to mold to form. The 1998 Yankees, a team with no true star, had 25 players with a common goal: Win.

David Cone won 20 games during the 1998 campaign and displayed the winning mentality during each and every one of his starts on the mound. Cone was a veteran pitcher with moxie, he knew what pitches were working for him by the first inning, yet no matter how bad his stuff was, he always got the job done.

Cone would jokingly say he made up pitches on the mound, but teammates say that is exactly what he did. Current Yankees manager Joe Girardi played behind the plate during Cone’s tenure and has said the righty would change arm angles on all his pitches, trying any trick in the book to retire hitters.

He wasn’t alone, prior to the start of the season, the Yankees made a move based on Gene Michael’s evaluation of a relatively unknown middling third baseman toiling in Oakland, his name, Scott Brosius.

Brosius had just come off of a miserable campaign where he barely hit above the Mendoza line with a .203 average in 526 plate appearances. However, the Yankees noted the then 31-year-olds intangibles — his keen batting eye, excellent defense and desire to help the team anyway he can.

Brosius would endear himself to Yankees’ fans by earning himself a first-ever All-Star selection, hitting .300 for the season, blasting 19 home runs and making bare hand plays across the diamond. The former All-Star, like his many Yankee teammates, never failed to do what was needed such as moving a runner over into scoring position.

However, there was one player who displayed a desire to win more than their right fielder — Paul O’Neill. O’Neill arrived in N.Y. after a trade sent him over from Cincinnati in 1993, and he quickly earned a warrior label from the boss — George Steinbrenner.

Surrounding O’Neill were remarks of him being a selfish player, but that could not be further from the truth as Torre has since stated. The only aspect of O’Neill that could be considered selfish was his desire to hit every time he stepped up to the plate and if he didn’t — well, staying away from the water coolers would be good advice.

O’Neill left his heart on the field, hustling out every ball hit, throwing to the cutoff men on defense and giving veteran leadership in tight situations.

The Yankees of 2011 do not have these kinds of players, they have a team consisting of future Hall of Famers and perennial All-Stars. They currently sit a season-high 14 games over .500 after their victory over the Colorado Rockies yesterday, but they seemingly lack the desire Yankees teams of the past had.

They can’t play small-ball, rarely move runners over and fail to capitalize on opponents miscues. Yankees teams were known to take advantage of every extra out that was handed their way, but no more.

On this Old Timers’ Day, Yankees fans witnessed another win, pitting the Bombers in first place, but also received a glimpse into the past, one that featured a team with a killer-instinct and helped reaffirm a winning tradition.

Fans can only hope the current team took notes.

Ryan Lazo is a Senior Writer covering the A.L. East for BaseballDigest.com. He can be reached at RMLazo13@gmail.com, followed on Twitter @RMLazo13 and read his Blog Artificially Enhanced.

WP – Chamberlain (5-2)  SV – Rivera (26)  LP – Jackson (7-5)

Even those who were steadfast against moving Joba Chamberlain back to the bullpen were beginning to re-think their stance after watching the objection of their affection stink up the joint in his three starts prior to the All-Star break.  But yesterday, their fist-pumping, fireball throwingJoba returned in the Yankees 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers in front of a house packed for Old Timers’ Day.   Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira provided the offense with solo home runs against Tigers starter Edwin Jackson as the Yankees moved to within one game of Boston in the AL East.  After the Old-Timers’ Day festivities, it was time for Joba to turn back the clock a bit.

The game didn’t start out that smoothly though for Chamberlain, who threw 23 pitches in the first inning to escape a 2-on, 1-out jam, but Jobamania hit it’s peak in the 5th inning of a 1-1 game.  The Tigers put two men aboard with one out, but Chamberlain retired the dangerous Miguel Cabrera on a pop up and struck out Marcus Thames with 97- and 95-mph fastballs.  The swing and miss for strike three brought the patented, and controversial, Joba fist pump, accompanied by a “spin-o-rama”.  The crowd roared their approval as their hero strode towards the dugout.

Clete Thomas‘ 4th home run of the season had given the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 4th, but A-Rod tied it up in the home half of the inning with a tremendous blast into the Tigers’ bullpen in left-center.  The home run was #571, putting him two behind the Twins‘ Harmon Killebrew for 9th place on the career list.

Then it was Teixeira’s turn to leave his calling card in the 6th inning, when he belted a solo shot into the 2nd deck in right field.  It’s quickly becoming the favorite landing spot for the 1st baseman’s blasts.

Joba would hear boos in the 7th, but they weren’t for him.  They were directed at manager Joe Girardi, who came out to remove his starter after Chamberlain struck out Gerald Laird and Ramon Santiago to start the inning.  But the bullpen was solid and Joba picked up his first win since June 24.

Game Notes

Phil Hughes pitched a scoreless 8th inning and struck out two Tigers.  Of the last 9 outs Hughes has recorded, 8 have been by strikeout.

Mariano Rivera issued just his 4th walk of the year, in the 9th inning, but picked up his 26th save.

The Yankees begin a 3-game series with the Baltimore Orioles this evening (7:05 p.m. EDT).  Andy Pettitte will try to get back on the winning side of the ledger as he faces rookie David Hernandez.

WP – Sabathia (9-6)  SV – Rivera (25)  LP – Verlander (10-5)

The Yankees and the Detroit Tigers were locked into the expected pitcher’s duel between CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander Saturday afternoon.  Then came the biggest at-bat of the day, a power vs. power showdown between Verlander and Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod and the Yankees won out when the 3rd baseman lined a 97-mph fastball into the right field seats for a 1-0 lead.  The Yankees went on to win their second game in a row, 2-1, and moved to within 2 games of Boston in the AL East, the Red Sox having lost 6-2 to the Blue Jays.

CC Sabathia struggled with his control, but battled his way through 7 scoreless innings and 116 pitches to earn his 9th win of the season.  The Tigers’ lone run came in the 8th when Marcus Thames belted a solo home run off of Al Aceves. But Mariano Rivera retired the side in order in the 9th for his 25th save in 26 tries.

Sabathia had no room for error in the ball game, because Verlander was dealing.  It appeared the Yankees would be kept off the board all day as they had only had two base runners reach 2nd base through the first six innings.  But Verlander’s 1-1 pitch to Rodriguez got too much of the plate and supplied much of the power for A-Rod’s laser to right.  Thames got back to the wall too late to make a leaping attempt and the ball landed a few rows in, leading to a sarcastic grin from the Tigers’ ace.  Apparently, though he wouldn’t talk about it afterwards, he thought that the ball wouldn’t have gone out in the old park (actually, it probably would have).

Whether or not Verlander was rattled, the Yankees took advantage for a key insurance run.  Robinson Cano laced a 2-out single to center and Nick Swisher followed with a double to left-center.  Melky Cabrera fought off several upper 90′s fastballs before hitting a changeup in the hole at short.  Adam Everett made a nice play throwing across his body, but the Melkman beat the throw for an infield single and an RBI.  Verlander escaped further trouble when Derek Jeter’s line drive landed in the glove of 1st baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Sabathia had to work out of several jams all day.  With two aboard and one out in the 1st inning, he struck out Thames and retired Magglio Ordonez on a fly ball to Cabrera in center.  Sabathia faced the same situation in the 2nd, but retired Everett on a fly-out and struck out Curtis Granderson on a 3-2 pitch.

Sabathia was the beneficiary of a couple of key double play balls and got Rayburn and Brandon Inge on pop-ups to escape a 2nd and 3rd, 1-out situation in the 6th.  His 7th and last inning may have been his best, as he retired the side in order on just 10 pitches.

Game Notes

David Cone threw out the game’s first pitch to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his perfect game on July 18, 1999.  He then came up to the YES booth to reminisce with Ken Singleton and Al Leiter.

A-Rod’s home run was his 570th, putting him 3 behind Harmon Killebrew for 9th place on the all-time list.

Derek Jeter has an 8-game hitting streak, during which he’s hitting .417 (15-36).  He’s batting .414 in July with a 1.010 OPS.

Today’s game will be preceded by the 63rd annual Old Timers’ Day.  The game will mark the return of former coach Don Zimmer, who vowed not to return after a falling out with George Steinbrenner in 2003.  It will also be the first OT Day for Mike Mussina, who retired after the 2009 season.  Perhaps the Yankees can use him in the regular game if starter Joba Chamberlain has another early exit.  Others coming back for the first time include Tony Cloninger, Chad Curtis, Mike Easler, Dwight Gooden, Charlie Hayes, Lindy McDaniel, and Jerry Narron.

The Trenton Thunder host tonight’s Eastern League All-Star game.  Thunder team members, and Yankees prospects, Jesus Montero, Zach McAllister, Mike Dunn, Josh Schmidt, Reegie Corona, Eduardo Nunez, and Jorge Vazquez will represent the Northern squad.   Trenton manager Tony Franklin will be at the helm of the North along with his coaching staff.

The Yankees begin a 10-game homestand beginning Thursday night with Detroit.  After 3 games with the Tigers, the Orioles come to town for 3 before the A’s finish the homestand with a 4-game set.  The Tigers series includes Old-Timer’s Day on Sunday, July 19.

When the Chien-Ming Wang’s spot in the rotation comes up, the Yankees will probably go with Sergio Mitre and move Al Aceves back to the pen.

The Yankees will also look elsewhere for a starting pitcher.  According to the NY Post, Pittsburgh’s Ian Snell is among those who have piqued the Yankees interest.  The Bombers are also looking into Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman.

In commemoration of one of the most significant speeches of all time, Lou Gehrig’s words from that day 70 years ago, will be read aloud in every major league park today.

photo courtesy of lougehrig.com

Gehrig’s words live on long after his death (he lost his life to the disease, that would later bare his name, in 1941).  They’ve been referenced in other speeches since and epitomize the courage of the man.

There is still no cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.  To volunteer your time, make a donation, or to learn more, go to ALS.org.  To learn more about Lou Gehrig and hear audio clips of the speech, visit the official Lou Gehrig Website.

The park they played in, Memorial Field, is long gone, replaced by Camden Yards in the early 90s.  The football team they shared that stadium with, the Colts, has been gone so long that they were replaced by another franchise.  The basketball team from those days, the Bullets, had to change their name to something more politically correct (“Wizards“?), and the hockey team has never been a contender, despite retaining the best player in the league at the present time (Alexander Ovechkin).

Baltimore has had a rough decade (or two) sports-wise, and despite their problems, the Orioles still have the same name, the same colors, a great park and some very enthusiastic fans.  Seeing families at Camden Yards, which was a consistent sell-out for much of the 90s, and diminishing hope over the past few years, it seems like this would be a good time to commemorate the great times the O’s had in the past.  As mentioned, it wasn’t a fluke those teams made the Series in 69 and 79 – Weaver’s O’s were a consistent force in the American League for many years.

When sizing up Dave Trembley‘s spotty rotation, maybe it isn’t so great to think about the four twenty game winners (McNally, Cuellar, Palmer and Dobson), but in my opinion, the Orioles have the makings of a great O(ld) Timer’s Day, as many of the key participants in their history are still alive.  Why not bring back Palmer, Frank and Brooks, Eddie Murray, Weaver, the Ripkens and everyone else?  The popularity of Boog Powell‘s barbecue ought to tell you something… how many people go up to him for an autograph every game?

Surely it would cost a lot in plane tickets and hotel rooms, but my guess is it would sell a commensurate amount of tickets and remind everyone that the Orioles were, and are, one of the best franchises in all of sports, not just baseball.

They had many, many great players, even in the years they didn’t win the championship.  I was lucky to see Frank Robinson‘s retirement/farewell speech as Nationals manager a few years ago, but it seems that he should make a similar address to the Oriole fans one more time.  Even players like Eddie Watt and Paul Blair were very well-loved… a lot of great baseball has been played in Baltimore.

What players would you like to see back in a Baltimore Oriole uniform one more time?