Welcome to the relaunched This Day in
Yankees History. With the offseason well underway, the Pinstripe Alley team has decided to continue the revived program in its new format. These daily posts will highlight two or three key moments in Yankees history on a given date, as well as recognize players born on the day. Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with us!
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37 Years Ago
For the third time in his career, Billy Martin is removed as the Yankees manager, as George Steinbrenner places him in a front office job. Hired for the 1983 season, the Yankees won 91 games but couldn’t play well enough down the stretch to catch the eventual World Series champions, the Orioles. Replacing Martin is Yogi Berra, beginning his second stint as the team’s manager, which culminated in him being fired 16 games into the 1985 season and sparking the legend’s self-imposed exile from Yankee Stadium.
Oakland A’s should absolutely not spend on new outfielder this winter
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Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
The Oakland A’s have a lot of roster needs to address this winter. With 10 free agents departing, some of them key stars, they’re losing their starters from both middle infield positions and left field. On their pitching staff, they’re saying goodbye to their closer and two setup men, plus a workhorse veteran starter.
The offseason checklist is long, and in this uniquely weird winter it doesn’t sound as if there will be much if any money available to retain any of the departing names or replace them with established free agents. Maybe one or two positions could see some spending, as a reunion with second baseman Tommy La Stella still isn’t out of the question, but they’re going to have to go cheap somewhere and most likely somewheres, plural, which spell check tells me isn’t a word but this is an A’s site so we’re all about pioneering new th
New A s outfielder Blaze Ka ai Tom ready to seize his big-league opportunity
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Outfielder Blaze Ka’ai Tom, then in the Indians organization, poses for a portrait during photo day in February at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Ariz.Icon Sportswire / Getty Images 2020
What’s in a name? In the A’s newest outfielder’s case, a whole heck of a lot.
Blaze Ka’ai Tom, acquired in the Rule 5 draft Thursday, uses his two first names interchangeably: Blaze imagine the outfield sign possibilities and Ka’ai (pronounced “Kai”), which is Hawaiian.
“I’m pretty sure my mom has said it means to strive for more, to be hungry for success, along those lines,” said Tom, who grew up in Honolulu. “That’s what it means, just to really be hungry for what you want to do.”
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland A’s made two picks in the 2020 Rule 5 draft, adding two new prospects to their depth chart. Each of them will have to remain in the majors all season in order to stay in the A’s organization, but both have clear paths to the bigs if they can make good on their potential.
In this post we’ll take a closer look at
Blaze Ka’ai Tom, an outfielder drafted away from the Cleveland Indians.
Before we get to his player profile, let’s clarify Tom’s name. His official full name includes all three parts as written above in bold, but he’s “happy to use either Blaze or Ka’ai (pronounced ‘Kai’) as his first name,” reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle. Both are excellent choices and you could make a compelling case for either, and only time will tell which one ultimately takes hold in the MLB zeitgeist.