by Bill Chuck
Special to CSNNE.com
I know its the NHL Finals time, I know its NBA Finals time, and I think something is going on with the Bachelorette on ABC. But for me, my heart pumps a little louder when the Rivalry resumes. Starting tomorrow in the Bronx, the 33-24 first-place New York Yankees face the 33-26 second-place Boston Red Sox.
As a stats and baseball history guy, I never find a shortage of ways to slice, dice and julienne this match-up, so heres my latest Nine to Know:
1. All-time -- The Yankees and Sox have played 2088 games against each other; the Sox record is 947-1127 (.457). Heres your frame of reference: the Orioles and the Sox have played 2087 games; the Sox record is 1143-930 (.551).
2. Since 2000 -- The Yanks and the Sox have played 204 regular season games; the Sox record is 97-107 (.475). Heres your frame of reference: the Jays and the Sox have played 203 games; the Sox record is 111-92 (.547).
3. Three homer games -- Mo Vaughn (4301997) and Kevin Millar (7232004) are the only Sox to hit three homers in a game against New York. All six homers were solo shots. Lou Gehrig (6231927) and Mark Teixeira (582010) each hit three homers against Boston. Each batter had four hits and five RBI.
4. One hitters -- Four Red Sox starters have tossed one-hitters against the Yankees since 1919 (no no-nos): Howard Ehmke (9111923), Billy Rohr (4141967), Ray Culp (9211968), and Pedro Martinez (9101999). Five Yankees have tossed one-hitters against the Sox, but we should start here by saluting Allie Reynolds who pitched an 8-0 no-hitter (four walks) against Boston on September 28, 1951 and Dave Righetti who no-hit the Sox on July 4, 1983 (he also walked four). The one-hitters came from Rip Collins (6261920), George Pipgras (5181929), Bill Bevens (8301945), Jim McDonald (4191954), and Mike Mussina (922001).
Boston Red Sox
5. Batting streaks -- The longest batting streak that a Red Sox has had against the Yankees was a 21-gamer that Nomar Garciaparra had from September 29, 1996 to May 25, 1999. Jim Rice had both an 18-game and 17-game streak against the Yankees. On the other side of the ledger, you will not find it surprising that Joe DiMaggio had a 33-game streak covering the 1937-38 seasons. Bob Meusel hit in 23 straight against Boston, and Derek Jeter, Gil McDougald, and Lou Gehrig all had 18 game streaks.
6. Since 1950 -- Red Sox pitchers have allowed 8650 homers and 1016 have been against the Yankees, 515 at Fenway, 460 at the original Yankee Stadium, 35 at the new Stadium and six when the Yankees played at Shea Stadium. The pitcher who has surrendered the most is Tim Wakefield with 42. The leading slugger, Mickey Mantle, hit 69. In that same time frame, Yankee pitchers have allowed 8055 homers, with 921 against Boston, 508 at Fenway, 378 at the original Yankee Stadium, 28 at the new Stadium, and seven at Shea. Whitey Ford and Mike Mussina each threw 26 Sox gophers and Carl Yastrzemski hit 52 blasts against New York.
7. 13 vs. 13 -- This is not a soccer game with two extra players, this is number 13 of the Red Sox, Carl Crawford, versus number 13 of the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez. Crawford, in his career against New York is a .291 hitter and has been successful in 47 of 56 steal attempts. A-Rod has hit .287 against Boston with 50 homers and 138 RBI.
8. Second base -- Arguably the two best second basemen in the American League face off against each other in this match up. It is a joy to watch Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano at bat and in the field. This season, Cano has committed five errors to Pedeys three. Cano has 134 putouts and 158 assists (when you divide that by games, Robinson has a Range Factor of 5.21 per game) while Pedroia has 101 putouts and 169 assists (Range Factor of 4.82 per game). Cano has a Total Zone contribution of 1 (measuring a number of fielding variables, this means Canos fielding is worth an extra run). Pedroias Total Zone contribution is 6.
9. Countdown to a milestone -- Derek Jeter needs 14 hits to reach the 3,000 mark. Uh, okay the Sox dont have an equivalent, but I will tell you that Adrian Gonzalez needs 17 hits for his first 100 hits as a member of the Red Sox.
Enjoy the Bruins comeback against the Canucks. Enjoy the Mavs battle back against the Heat. Enjoy whatever is going on with Bachelorette Ashley. But I hope you will join me in enjoying the latest showdown in the Bronx: it's the Red Sox and the Yankees in June!