A great day for three Yankees with bad timing

The Giants and their coaching staff got their World Series rings yesterday. And for three members of the coaching staff it was especially sweet.

Dave Righetti, Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens and Roberto Kelly were all supposed to be big parts in a revamped Yankees team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Unfortunately for them, the Yankees were dreadful when they played for them.

Had they played for the Yankees for a few more years, they may have had a chance to win a World Series (or 4) with the Joe Torre led squad. Instead they went through their playing career without a ring.

I am sure watching the many Yankee World Series ring celebrations over the years put a little bit of envy into them.

Now they’ve got rings of their own.

As I wrote last October, Yankee fans should have rooted for the Giants in the post season.
Now I hope a few Yankee fans are happy for some of the representatives of some not as lucky times in the Bronx.

Rookie of the Year Synergy Happens Once Every 3 Decades

Neftali Feliz and Buster Posey won the Rookie of the Year for 2010 and frankly the picks are spot on.

They both had great years, both look like future stars and both sparked their teams to the post season.

Voters made their selection before the post season began, so they had no idea that Feliz’s Rangers and Posey’s Giants were going to meet in the World Series. It was a nice coincidence. And it got me thinking… how often has the Rookie of the Year been awarded to players who faced off against each other in the World Series?

And we here at Sully Baseball can’t just have an idle thought like that.

The Rookie of the Year was first awarded in 1947. Jackie Robinson won it for the NL Champion Dodgers. Alvin Dark won it in 1948 for the NL Champion Braves.

Starting in 1949, both the American League and National League were naming their Rookie of the Year.

And since then, both rookies have faced off three times in the World Series.

1951

WILLIE MAYS – Giants GIL McDOUGALD – Yankees

Gil McDougald of the Yankees played against Willie Mays of the New York Giants. McDougald homered and helped the Yankees win. Mays struggled to a .182 average and no extra base hits.

1981
FERNANDO VALENZUELA – Dodgers DAVE RIGHETTI – Yankees

Dodger ace Fernando Valenzuela took his mania to the World Series against Dave Righetti and the Yankees. The two squared off in Game 3. Ron Cey hit a three run homer off of Righetti who only lasted 2 innings and got a no decision. Bob Watson and Rick Cerone homered off of Valenzuela but he settled down and went all 9 innings for the Series turning win.

2010

BUSTER POSEY – Giants NEFTALI FELIZ – Rangers

Feliz shut down San Francisco in Game 3, giving the Rangers their first World Series victory. But Posey and the Giants had the last laugh. He hit a home run in Game 4 to put the score out of reach and went 2-4 in the Game 5 clincher.

Don’t feel badly for Rookie of the Year, World Series runners up Dave Righetti and Willie Mays. They both had good Octobers this year.

Rags?
He finally got a World Series ring as a coach for the Giants this year.
And Willie?

Well he got to be part of the World Series celebration.

Stay tuned to see if the 2040 American League and National League Rookies of the Year match up.

It gets lonelier for Don Mattingly

I started thinking about Don Mattingly at the end of the 2010 World Series.

Why?

Because, as I wrote in a previous post, the Giants had three former Mattingly era Yankees on their coaching staff.

Dave Righetti, who was the Rookie of the Year in the AL for 1981, just before Mattingly arrived.

Roberto Kelly, who was supposed to be the next great Yankee superstar and make a 1-2 punch with Mattingly.

And Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens, who was supposed to be the fan favorite right handed slugger.

They all toiled with Mattingly in disappointing season after disappointing season in the Bronx and shared with Donnie Baseball in ringless frustration.

Except now… they will all be fitted with rings… and Mattingly still has yet to participate in a World Series.

His luck, as I wrote before, is staggeringly bad.

And if his managerial abilities are any indication, he won’t be getting a ring any time soon as the Dodgers skipper.

Man, he can’t catch a break. Maybe he can as Bam Bam to take a look at HIS ring.