Happy Birthday to the first DH ever

Today, August 23, 2014, marks the 66th birthday of DH (that’s also Designated Hebrew) Ron Blomberg. Happy Birthday, Ron!

This is also the day Joe Torre’s (right: here pictured closer to 1966) number 6 was retired by the New York Yankees. Many of the good reasons JT had his lucky number retired, and “made this day necessary” as Yogi Berra (frail but also on hand) might say, returned: Bernie Williams (number 51: that’s 5 +1), Paul O’Neill, Andy Pettitte, Tino Martinez, and Jorge Posada.

My co-writer Martin Rowe was fortunate to be in attendance today. The first baseball game Martin ever watched was at the old Yankee Stadium, September 21, 1996. I believe this is his second game at the new Stadium and roughly his tenth altogether. The Yankees actually won today. (It’s been that sort of season.) I don’t believe Martin’s ever seen the Yankees lose in person

In the interests of full disclosure, I ought to point out that 6 is my birth day and lucky number.