About Yesterday: Yankees 6, Orioles 1

By Mike Whiteman September 21, 2025 Happy Birthday Devin Williams! Happy Birthday Cecil Fielder! The player nicknamed "Big Daddy" didn't have an extensive career in the Bronx, but his contributions to the 1996 Yankees, particularly his .309/.390/.519 postseason will always make for a soft spot in this fan's heart.

On this day in 2008, the Yankees played their last game in the original Yankee Stadium. While Cecil Fielder warmed this fan's heart, the shutting down of The Stadium broke it a bit. I get the need for progress and updated facilities, but how do you just tear down the place where Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra and Mantle roamed?

The Yanks closed out their cathedral with a 7-3 win over Baltimore. https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/september-21-2008-the-final-game-at-yankee-stadium/ Quick Stats: They Yankees are 87-68, two games behind Toronto in the American League East. They have the second best record in the AL. The Yanks lead the Wild Card standings and are two games ahead of Boston for the desirable home stadium advantage. Carlos Rodon took the win, and is 17-9, 3.04 on the season. Rodon and Max Fried (18-5, 2.92) are among the best 1-2 combos in the sport. The last time the Yanks had two pitchers with 17 or more wins was in 2010 - CC Sabathia (21-10) and Phil Hughes (18-8). Big Story: The Yankees started the game just the way we like - they put up a three spot in the first inning when Giancarlo Stanton smacked a three-run homerun to right field, and then handed the game to Carlos Rodon.

Rodon cruised through six innings, allowing only three singles. All the while the Yankees tacked more runs on the board. Aaron Judge homered in the third, Jazz Chisholm singled in Cody Bellinger in the fifth, and Trent Grisham's RBI single in the sixth scored Anthony Volpe. It was 6-0 after six frames. In the seventh Rodon lost his touch just a bit, walking leadoff hitter Tyler O'Neill, who came home on Colby Mayo's double, and Baltimore was within 6-1. That was as close as the O's would get, as Luke Weaver and David Bednar threw hitless eighth and ninth innings. Yankees win, 6-1. Player of the Game: After being handed the early lead, Rodon worked quickly, efficiently, and was in total control of the game. Notable Performances: Congratulations to Stanton on his 450th career home run, his 183rd as a Yankee. Stanton is 41st in MLB history in career homers, and could pass Carl Yastrzemski (452) before the end of the season. Of the 40 batters ahead of Stanton, 27 are in the Hall of Fame, two (Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera) will be inducted upon eligible, nine have some sort of PED questions, and two (Adam Dunn and Carlos Delgado) just didn't get the votes. I'm not projecting Cooperstown enshrinement for Stanton, but if he gets a couple more relatively healthy seasons and moves close to 500, the conversation gets more interesting. In a nice twist, Stanton's homer was caught by a young fan wearing a Stanton shirt! I saw a video of a meeting between Stanton and the boy along with his family, and it was a cool moment. In team interviews last night, it's obvious how popular and respected Stanton is by his manager and teammates.

Better to Forget: Ryan McMahon was hitless and is slashing .207/.299/.324 since his acquisition from Colorado July 25th. He did make a nice play in the field in the first inning. They Said It: "It's pretty cool. We like round numbers, but even better helped us win" - Giancarlo Stanton on his 450th career home run. My Take: A really good win. The Orioles have the potential to be dangerous, even if they aren't that good. They have nothing to lose, and would love nothing more at the end of their miserable season to put a dent in the Yankee playoff hopes. Last night was the desired formula - get off to an early lead, keep adding on the runs, and don't let them get close. Changing gears, I've had some random items have come to mind recently. Item one: I was in "get off my lawn" mode in a conversation with a co-worker this week, talking about the four-division setup of my youth. Just for fun, here are the leaders in the divisions should teams be moved to their 1980s alignment (standings through Friday's games): AL EAST - Milwaukee (.610), Toronto (.578, 5 GB), New York (.558, 8 GB) AL WEST - Seattle (.553), Texas (.513, 6 GB), Kansas City (.500, 8 GB) NL EAST - Philadelphia (.597), Chicago (.571, 4 GB), New York (.519, 12 GB) NL WEST - Los Angeles (.565), Houston (.545, 3 GB), San Diego (.539, 4 GB) Not much in the way of tight races. Maybe in a season like this one, today's format is better? Now, of course take this with a HUGE grain of salt, as two teams (Milwaukee and Houston) have changed leagues, there's interleague play, more balanced schedules, etc., etc. It's fun to think about. Item two: How 'bout those Bronx Burners? Somewhat quietly, the Yankees have stolen 132 bases this season. Last night, Bellinger and Volpe stole second base and were driven in with singles. It has been a fairly balanced attack, with six Yanks stealing in double figures. The running game was supercharged with the acquisition of Jose Caballero, who has swiped 14 bags in Pinstripes. Since August 1st the Yanks have 55 steals in 45 games, and the leader has actually been Chisholm, who has 16 thefts during that time. An effective running game could be very helpful in close postseason games. Item three: Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement this week, and in 2031 should cruise to Hall of Fame enshrinement. What a career! As of today, he's 226-96, 2.54, and his 154 ERA+ is fourth all-time for qualifiers at baseball-reference. Truly, one of the all-time greats. Who else are we watching now who could make it to Cooperstown? If judging by the sometimes referenced 60-career WAR threshold, we get the following active players: Aaron Judge Manny Machado Freddie Freeman Paul Goldschmidt Mookie Betts Max Scherzer Clayton Kershaw Justin Verlander Mike Trout Aling with Nolan Arenado, Chris Sale, and Jose Ramirez about a season away from joining them. From the Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton has 46 WAR, Gerrit Cole has 43. Some retired Yankee favorites meet this soft threshold - Andy Pettite, Tommy John, David Cone, Willie Randolph, and Graig Nettles - yet don't look close to enshrinement. I'm excited about an Aaron Judge Hall-of Fame speech. Hopefully he'll be able to express fond remembrance of the World Series rings he accumulated before his career ended. Next Up: Take the series! Cam Schlittler (3-3, 3.41) takes the mound against righthander Kyle Bradish (1-1, 2.45)