Spotlighting a Pair of Yankee Legends



This post belongs to the two greatest pitchers in Yankees history -- Whitey Ford and Mariano Rivera.
Planning this entry, I found that July 17th is the anniversary of the first of Ford's 236 career victories. According to baseball-reference.com, it wasn't the most spectacular performance - the rookie lefthander went 7-2/3 innings, gave up three runs and struck out just three. But it was enough to help the Yankees get by the White Sox 4-3 in the Bronx. Greater days -- and many of then -- would still be in his future.
As for Rivera, last night was special -- a warm welcome from fans at Citi Field as the game's greatest reliever took the mound (accompanied by his theme, Metallica's "Enter Sandman") in the 8th inning for his final All Star Game appearance. It was a typical 1-2-3 inning, two infield grounders and fly ball. While it didn't earn him a save, his lifetime numbers in All Star competition (where he never gave up an earned run) resulted in his being named MVP of the game.


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