Farm Fresh to Your Table

In a Yankee season brimming with impressive home grown talent such as Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery, Miguel Andujar made a debut for the Bronx Bombers like no one had in the club's 115 year history. Two weeks and a day after I saw him playing (darned well) for the Double A Trenton Thunder, the Dominican native became the first Yankee ever to have three hits and four RBIs in his first major league game. Those 4 RBI set a debut game record -- erasing the old record of three held by Marv Throneberry and Billy Martin.

Run down the list of the retired numbers -- the home grown guys. You know the names from Gehrig to DiMaggio, Rizzuto, Berra, Mantle, Munson and Jeter. None of those beloved players broke in quite the way Andujar did. Of course, he was hardly alone in a 12-3 putdown of the White Sox. Aaron Judge continues to be the Leader of this Pack with a laser shot for his 27th home run (and we're still in June). Tyler Wade, no longer the New(est) Kid on the Block, had his first hit and first RBI.

But let's circle back to Andujar. While other infield prospects such as Gleyber Torres, Jorge Mateo and Rob Refsnyder drew more attention over the last couple of years, Andjuar flew under the radar.  In his case, seeing was believing. When you saw him -- and heard the sound of the ball coming off bat -- you knew this was a strong prospect. Good power, the knack of driving in runs, a smooth and steady glove at 3rd base.

Up until Gleyber Torres' injury, he looked like trade bait, a promising talent who might be swapped for some pitching help. And, with the ultra-impressive Torres expected to make a complete recovery by Spring Training, he still might be. But there's an old addage about showing up for a job being 90% of succeeding. It wasn't Torres' fault that he was injured. But fate erased him from the Yankees 2017 plans. And when Andujar got the call, he was prepared, he was healthy, he delivered.

It's just one game. A game that became a badly needed victory. And a showcase for the Yankees prioritizing home grown talent, in particular Miguel Andujar.

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