On This Date in 1964...

This gentleman and his musical instrument became part of Yankee lore on this date in 1964. On the team bus following a 5-0 loss at Chicago -- where they were swept in a game series -- Yankees infielder Phil Linz whips out his harmonica and starts to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb."The music annoys a stressed-out manager Yogi Berra who orders his shortstop to be quiet. But Linz keeps playing and Berra walks back to his player and slaps the harmonica out of his mouth.

While that story grabbed the headlines and a place in our collective memory, Linz told me at last winter's BAT Dinner that he and Yogi soon patched things up and remained good friends since.

And the incident paid off for Linz. The next season, Hohner Harmonicas took out a full page ad in the Yankee Yearbook with the caption, "Play It Again, Phil!" In those days where backup infielders were paid about as well as school teachers, the endorsement paid Linz $10,000, according to a 2013 YES network story.

Three years later, after the Yankees had collapsed and Berra become a coach for the Mets, Linz credited Yogi with "recommending him" just before he was traded to New York's other team, where he spent his final year and a half in the majors as a utility player.

So it was hardly a surprise when Phil Linz was among those on hand to honor Yogi Berra at the 2013 BAT Dinner in New York.