Yankees mourn the passing of Moose Skowron
Posted by: Josh Thomson - Posted in Misc on Apr 27, 2012 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Bill “Moose” Skowron played 14 seasons with the Yankees and was a beloved fixture at Old Timers’ Day. The organization remembered Skowron this afternoon after he passed away earlier today of congestive heart failure at 81.
Skowron died Friday morning at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Ill.
“Moose will always be remembered as being one of the key members of the Yankees’ dynasties in the 50s and early 60s,” Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. “He was a winner in every sense of the word, and someone the Yankees family cared deeply for. Baseball lost one of its finest ambassadors, and on behalf of the entire organization, I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Cookie, and his entire family.”
Skowron signed with the Yankees in 1950 out of Purdue. He played first base for 14 seasons in the Major Leagues, including 1954-62 with the Yankees. He won four World Series in New York (1956, 1958, 1961-62) and appeared in eight overall. That included a fifth championship in 1963 with the Dodgers.
Skowron hit eight home runs in 39 career World Series games, highlighted by a three-run, eighth-inning homer in Game 7 of the 1958 Series against the Milwaukee Braves. It came on the heels of his game-winning RBI in the 10th inning of Game 6.
Moose was an eight-time All-Star who batted .282 with 211 home runs and 888 career RBI.
“There weren’t many better guys than Moose,” Yogi Berra said. “He was a dear friend and a great team man. A darn good ballplayer, too. I’m going to miss him.”
In his retirement, Skowron was a popular face at Old Timers’ Day for fans and players alike.
“He was always one of the people you looked forward to seeing on Old Timers’ Day,” Derek Jeter said. “I’m going to miss him.”
“He was great to be around,” Joe Girardi said. “Very energetic. I went to some of the fantasy camps that he put on. I’d see him every year. … A real zest for life. He loved the game. He loved to talk about the game. He was really fun to be around.”
The Yankees will hold a moments of silence prior to tonight’s game to honor Skowron. Funeral arrangements are pending, according to the team.
I can’t believe my luck.
Having a damn photo shoot on the same night that my favorite Pitcher starts.
Life just sucks sometimes.
MTU,
Yes, that’s bad luck. To lose Nova K’ing back to back Cabrera and Fielder is tough
jmv-
You’ll have to tell me all about his heroics.
Betsy,
You wouldn’t want a talent like Chatman in the system for only $30.25 million over six years? Who’s to say the Yankees viewed him as a reliever?
Sure, Aroldis Chapman, who is still in the bullpen for the Reds – that’s a great investment they made
–
This is due to the Reds incompetence. He had a great spring as a starter.
Mike, they obviously didn’t feel giving out that much $$$ to an unproven pitcher was the right move and I agree completely with that………only the Reds felt he was worth it, the Reds and the Jays. It’s not something I ever think about, that’s how little I care about not signing the guy. I wouldn’t have signed Darvish either.
Either way, Jerkface, I was fine not signing him. The handling of Pineda in ST is the only thing I can really think of that has gotten me fired up like this.
Chapman has been unhittable. In hindsight for the 30.25M he would have anchored the Yankees starting rotation as the second lefty.
JF-
Did you have a chance to read this attached article about the Yankees starters?
http://riveraveblues.com/2012/.....ade-67617/
Always interested.
MTU
I promise to do that
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE
“SMH what wall will he run into behind the plate or as the DH a**hole lol”
Kevin Brown and AJ Burnett both found ways to “run into” stuff without even being on the field.
Of course it helps not to be a headcase pitcher.
jmv-
catch u later.
Thanks. I appreciate it.
Nick in SF April 27th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
“SMH what wall will he run into behind the plate or as the DH a**hole lol”
Kevin Brown and AJ Burnett both found ways to “run into” stuff without even being on the field.
Of course it helps not to be a headcase pitcher.
————————–
lol good point.
Repost:
jmv says:
April 27, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Hi, YT
May I jump into the
interested wagon? I’d
like to share your
research with my wife
(she’s an Arthroscopic
Surgeon)
Sorry if this has been posted already, I’ve been out of the loop for a few hours, but the Texas couple that Micheal Kay went after in Foulballgate is upset with him. Shocker.
http://deadspin.com/5905580/te.....ichael-kay
Talk about a tempest in a teacup………….like that spot deserve the 5 minutes it got on ABC news last night (it didn’t).
jmv-
I’m not a researcher. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
I’ll fill you in another time.
Have to go.
YT,
Ok! I’ll be waiting
From “Harvard Magazine”, May-June, 2012:
Talking about a Harvard softball pitcher, Rachel Brown, “One of her lethal pitches is the rise ball, which doesn’t exist in hardball. Thrown fast, with tremendous backspin, the pitch defies gravity to some degree and rises as it approaches the plate” According to the Harvard coach, Brown “can fire a rise ball at the knees that breaks up a few inches into the strike zone — and above the bat of a swinging hitter.”
Harvard may be anti-liberty, but usually they take science seriously. Does the size of the ball make a difference. or the shorter distance to the plate?
Harvard may be anti-liberty, but usually they take science seriously. Does the size of the ball make a difference. or the shorter distance to the plate?
–
I believe the difference is that they throw from below… If you start below the strike zone, of course your pitch can angle up through the zone.
Tom,
I read somewhere that it has to do with the weight of the ball in softball, but I don’t recall exactly… I’ll try to find it and, if I do, I’ll post a link
Chad Bradford can throw a ‘rising fastball’, because he is pitching from the dirt.
http://www.ehow.com/video_4954.....-rise.html
She’s just throwing it from below… to up. Baseball pitches can’t do that because their pitches start from up.
Betsy,
Again, $30.25 million over six seasons for someone that profiled as a starter when he came stateside is a great deal. He’s also a lefty that hits triple digits, and I don’t think I need to say how rare that is.
Given the Yankees’ lack of significant activity in IFA over the last couple of years, I wouldn’t have minded them going after Darvish. The Steinbrenners seem hellbent on reaching the $189 million mark.
There is no anti-science here.
Bryce Harper only has a .708 OPS in AAA (.250/.333/.375), and his 2011 AA performance was similar, so did the Nationals only send him down for years of control reasons? Or did they have some desperate need for an outfielder?
Harper is probably the one positional player I wouldn’t mind the Yankees giving a big contract to. It should help that he grew up a Yankees fan (and was rooting for them on Twitter during the playoffs last fall).