Yankee4Life

Elston Howard With African Americans making their way in Major League Baseball, the most successful team in baseball, the New York Yankees, needed to break their color barrier. Elston Howard was the man to do that. On April 14, 1955 Howard made his Yankee debut against the Boston Red Sox. He had one at-bat in his first game, one hit, and one RBI. While he loved catching behind the plate, Yankee skipper Casey Stengel was content with Yogi Berra catching the Yankee hurlers. But Howard was so versatile; he could catch and play the outfield, a quality Stengel liked. He caught nine games in ’55 and played 75 games in the outfield. In 1955 overall, Howard played in 97 games, averaged .290 at the dish, hit 10 home runs, and drove in 43 runs. He also played in his first career World Series, and homered in his first Fall Classic at-bat against Don Newcombe in the second inning of game one. Unfortunately, the Yankees lost the series to the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. In 1956, Howard played in 98 games for the Yankees, one more than the previous season. He caught 26 games and played 65 from the outfield. His numbers declined slightly from 1955, but overall he crushed five homers, knocked in 34 runs, and averaged .262. Howard had one of his better years in 1958, hitting .314 with 11 home runs and 66 RBI for the season. He caught a grand total of 67 games behind the plate for the Yankees, and played in 103 games. Stengel regarded Howard as the best platoon man in the game at the time. “You can say that Howard is our most valuable utility player,” Stengel said. In 1963, Howard made history. With his batting average at .287, his home run total at a career-best 28, an incredible .528 slugging percentage, and an RBI count at 85, Howard won the American League Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the first African American to ever accomplish this feat. After his ground-breaking accomplishment in being the first African American to win the AL MVP, the Yankees headed into a bit of a decline. Although they made it to the Fall Classic in 1964, the Yankees would not see another title while Howard was with them. In 1967, Howard would say good-bye to the Yankees, as he was traded to the rival Red Sox on August 3. He was sent to Boston to aid the Red Sox in winning the ’67 pennant, which they did with Howard’s assistance. Although only hitting .147, he was essential in handling the pitching staff. Tony Conigliaro, a pitcher for the Red Sox that season, once said, “I don’t think I ever saw a pitcher shake off one of his signs. They had too much respect for him.” In 1979, Howard was diagnosed with myocarditis, a rare heart disease that causes rapid heart failure. He had considered a heart transplant, but his condition quickly worsened and claimed his life on Dec. 14, 1980. He was only 51 years old. Howard accomplished so much over the course of his career. Four World Series titles as a player, two as a coach, nine All-Star game appearances, the 1958 Babe Ruth Award, the 1963 AL MVP Award, two Gold Glove Awards, and his number is retired. What some people may not know is that Howard is the player who is credited for inventing the doughnut. The circular weight that the batters use for practice swings in the on-deck circle is Howard’s responsibility. Just as George Washington Carver invented peanut butter and James Forten invented the sail hoist, Howard was an inventor of a device still used by players today.

ENGLISH only in here. Thank you.

Thank you for these major improvements to this latest roster Gordo!

He is the man who owns the website.

I'll give you credit you sure as hell put a lot of work into this.

Here's my advice. Stop trying to get in touch with 2k because you'll be lucky if they get back to you about this. Like I told the other guy check Amazon and eBay because even if they don't have one right now they are not going to be selling it for as much as you found it for on the UK website.

No game is worth that much.

Go to Amazon and see if someone is selling it there. Also you can try eBay.

I think this opinion piece by S.E. Cupp says things a lot better than I can.

English only, thanks.

I have been watching Domingo German for awhile now and all this time I could have sworn he looked like someone and tonight it finally hit me. Does anyone remember an old movie called The Gods Must Be Crazy? German looks like the guy who played the little bushman in the movie. Check it out. Tell me if you agree with me or if I am seeing things. Domingo German The actor from the Gods must be crazy movie.

Good! Because back on the 31st I had to delete about five spam threads. Thank you!