The Yankees traded infielder Wilson Betemit and righties Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez to the Chicago White Sox for switch-hitting outfielder/first baseman Nick Swisher and righthander Kanekoa Texeira on November 13, 2008. Although the trade for Swisher seemed to mean he would be playing first base, the subsequent signing of free agent Mark Teixeira settled that, and Swisher would be pushed to right field. And he had four solid power and RBI seasons, though didn’t do as well in the post.
Although most trace the origin of the Yankees to the 1903 New York Highlanders, for years the franchise was actually considered to have entered the American League on November 13, 1900, as the Baltimore Orioles. They would play in that Maryland city for two seasons, and then be moved to New York.
Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were the two Yankee players presented with Silver Slugger Awards on November 13, 2008.
On November 13, 1978, Luis Tiant joined the Yankees. He had been with the Red Sox, but was the first veteran to sign following that year’s re-entry draft. El tiante would go 13-8 for the Yanks in 1979.
The ball Babe Ruth hit for the first home run in Yankee Stadium, back in 1923, was bought at auction on November 13, 1998, for $126,500. A personal check signed by Lou Gehrig was acquired for $15,306 on the same day. The figures pale, it seems, compared to what the items would fetch today.
The Newark Bears franchise of the International League was purchased by Jacob Ruppert, owner of the Yankees, on November 13, 1931. They would dominate their league for a decade and provide their parent club with a steady flow of good young ballplayers.
Following the death of Bill Dickey the day before, the lone Yankee player to succumb on November 13 was also a catcher, Muddy Ruel (1963). Ruel played 170 games for the Yanks from 1917-1920, delivering one home run and 47 rbi’s on 130 hits in 517 at bats.
Yankee November 13 birthdays lead off with a touch of class, Mel Stottlemyre (1941). Mel bridged the great Yankee teams that culminated with his 20 wins in 1965 and carried himself with dignity in the tough years that followed, starting with the 20 losses he suffered in 1966. He pitched at least 250 innings in each of his nine full seasons. He posted a 164-139 record with one save in his Pinstriped career, and only played for the Yankees, after signing with them as an amateur free agent before the 1961 season. He served with distinction as Joe Torre‘s pitching coach with the Yanks from 1996 through the 2005 season, winning four rings during that time, and filled the same role with the Mets, the Astros, and the Mariners. Mel passed away in January 2019.
The other Yankee players born November 13 start with lefty-hitting outfielder Jim Delsing (1925), who had a home run and five rbi’s in 21 games for the 1949-1950 Yanks, but whose greatest claim to fame was as the guy who pinch-ran for midget Eddie Gaedel once Eddie walked in his only major league at bat for the Browns in 1951. Tom Daley (1884), also a lefty-hitting outfielder, knocked in 10 runs in 79 games for the 1914-1915 Bombers; while third baseman Ezra Midkiff (1882) hit from the left side too, and drove in 23 teammates while playing for the 1912-1913 club.
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