Bronx Bomber Ball

Ahead of tonight’s Hall of Fame Class of 2023 announcement, the writers of the BBB held our own mock balloting, following the same rules as the BBWAA.  Each voter is allotted 10 total selections, and a candidate must receive 75% or more of the vote in order to be inducted into the HOF.  Voters are not required to use all 10 selections but may if they so choose. 11 out of 14 votes were required for enshrinement in our polling.

Photo credit: MLB.com The Yankees announced on February 22nd that they will be retiring No. 21 to honor the career of the great Paul O'Neill. O’Neill (who gave me my first-ever introduction to the Who’s ‘Baba O’Reilly’ as a kid as I’d watch him walk into the batter’s box) was a fan favorite especially for those of us who became Yankees fans thanks to the 1996-2001 group.  His continued commitment to the Yankees as a YES Network announcer (along with David Cone) is a reminder of a different time.  Per Yankees beat writer Bryan Hoch , “Paul O’Neill Day” will be celebrated at Yankee Stadium, featuring a number retirement ceremony, on August 21, 2022 prior to the start of the Yankees/Blue Jays game schedule to take place (barring any delays related to the CBA negotiations).  O’Neill will go down as the 23rd Yankee to have his number retired, and all guests in attendance on August 21 will receive a commemorative ticket.  Over his nine seasons as a Yankee, O’Neill hit .303...

On the heels of the most recent decisions made by the BBWAA, I’m not sure how much stock I actually put into election into the Baseball Hall of Fame . What’s actually the criteria here? Is it as clouded as the criteria for, say, Rookie of the Year ? However… the inclusion of my all-time favorite Yankee, Mariano Rivera, on the HOF ballot has peaked my interest. Not to mention, the possibility of several Yankees from the good ol’ days of the ‘90s dynasty making Cooperstown history brings out feelings of nostalgia and longing. The BBWAA may or may not be unqualified to make these choices, but the facts of the situation are that just being on the HOF ballot is considered an honor. Photo Credit: Rob Carr Some of these guys on the ballot this year were the reason I got to stay up past my bedtime in October of 1996, 1997 and 1998. And I’d be doing them a disservice if I didn’t do something to commemorate their recognition. As such, without further ado… which Yankees...

There are a few things about the Yankees that I’m very stubborn about, things that no matter how hard you debate with me I’ll just never change my mind on. For instance, Joe DiMaggio is the greatest baseball player the world has ever seen, if I ever have a son, I want him to grow up to be the man Lou Gehrig was, and the 1927 team is the greatest that baseball will ever see. However, while I am of the mindset the ’27 team is the greatest, there will never be a season more impressive than 1998. The team won 114 games in the regular season while losing only 48. They won the AL East by a mind boggling 22 games and went 11-2 in the playoffs sweeping the San Diego Padres in the World Series for the club’s 24th overall championship. Their win total regular season and postseason combined was 125 which is still a major league record to this day.   Photo Credit: Mlb.com

Earlier news broke by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com that the New York Yankees have resigned CC Sabathia to a one-year deal worth $10 million. Sabathia has been with the Yanks since 2009 when he inked a seven-year, $161 million deal. He's been the veteran pitching staff leader, a role that was once filled by fellow southpaw, Andy Pettite. In 2018, Sabathia will provide veteran leadership for rookie manager Aaron Boone and a young Yankee roster. Photo Credit: Paul J. Bereswill

CC Sabathia is entering his final year of the nine-year, $202 million contract he signed with the Yankees prior to the 2009 season. He will be 37-years-old in July and his future is uncertain after the 2017 campaign. He has struggled in recent years while battling injuries, resulting in multiple surgeries, and an alcohol rehab stint in 2015. As I mentioned in a previous article about Sabathia’s future in Major League Baseball ( which you can find here ), he added a cutter to his arsenal in 2016 with the help of Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac

CC Sabathia’s days with the Yankees, or even in Major League Baseball, might be numbered. The veteran pitcher is entering the final season of his contract that he signed prior to the 2009 season. After his alcohol rehab stint in October 2015 and multiple knee and shoulder surgeries in recent years, his future is uncertain after this season. Sabathia will probably have a couple of options following the 2017 campaign, and most notably retirement. Though, he could explore other options such as a short-term deal with another team or even with the Yankees. Photo Credit: Rick Schultz | Getty Images

The 2015 season was a fun and surprising one for the Yankees. An aging team that wasn’t expected to contend, they exceeded expectations in part to a lethal offense and shut-down back end of the pen. There were a lot of great moments and here are the BBB’s selections for the best ones of the season.

By: Frank Mello-Morales The following article will likely garner many various opinions and perhaps even complete disagreement. What we can all come to a consensus on, however, is that the Yankees, with the likely departure of Hiroki Kuroda and uncertainty surrounding other members of the rotation, could certainly use at least one more pitcher going into 2015- and preferably a good one. The two top pitching free agents this off-season are veterans Max Scherzer and Jon Lester, each of whom were All Stars in 2014. Both are hitting the open market for the first time in their careers, and will each be commanding top dollar contracts. Along with this mutual prospect, it can also be noted that both pitchers are thirty years of age, and are coming off statistically similar seasons (Lester had the edge in ERA [2.46], Scherzer in WAR [6.0], while both struck out well over 200 batters). To continue, they are both very durable as each have totaled north of 1,000 innings pitched over their las...