Hello everyone, and a happy Monday to you all. Welcome to the new subscribers, too. So, I’ve sent four newsletters prior to this one with the new Beehiiv software. I am still noticing some issues with images that may not be appearing in some of your emails. Also, about 60 percent of you have opened - and I assumed read - those newsletters.

It seems odd that not everyone would open it since you’re on my email list specifically because you signed up for it. So I’m wondering if everyone is getting the email. I know even for me, last week’s edition found its way into my junk folder, even though it had been going into my inbox previously. Sending mass emails can be really weird and tricky so I hope this one finds the right spot for you.

With Kids on the Way, Torres Might Fetch a Nice Return

I have said this on multiple occasions during the offseason, either in conversation with friends, via my Twitter account, or even in this newsletter. I would be fully on board with the Yankees trading second baseman Gleyber Torres this spring, or perhaps at the trade deadline.

Torres has been a good player for the Yankees, I’m not denying that. But let’s face it, since 2019 when it looked like all the the glowing things that were said about him when he was a rising prospect in the Cubs system were true, he is not the player most thought he would become.

When the Yankees acquired him in the 2016 deal that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs, which ultimately helped Chicago end its 108-year World Series drought, Torres was considered a can’t-miss player who would eventually get to New York and enjoy a long, prosperous career in pinstripes.

He debuted in 2018 when he was 21 and put up solid numbers which included 24 homers, 77 RBI, a slash line of .271/.340/.480 and an OPS of .820. In the field he played most of his games at second base and made 12 errors, but what was concerning is that in the few games he played at short - the position he was supposed to ascend to - he had five miscues.

Then in 2019 he erupted for 38 home runs, 90 RBI, a slash line of .278/.337/.535 for an OPS of .871 which was great. But it became clear that his fielding was becoming a problem as he totaled 20 errors, 11 at short and nine at second base.

You know what has happened since. His fielding became so problematic at short that he was switched permanently to second base where he continues to be average at best. And from 2020-22, he has hit just 36 homers, has 143 RBI, and has slashed .256/.325/.406 with an OPS of .730. I believe he has reached his ceiling as a player, even though he’s only 26. What’s going to get better in the years to come?

This is who Torres is which is why now is the time to make a deal. The Yankees have plenty of middle infield options available at this point. D.J. LeMahieu is said to be healthy so he can be the full-time second baseman. Either rookie Oswald Peraza or polarizing veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa is going to win the starting job at shortstop, and both are capable of filling in at second if LeMahieu gets hurt or needs a day off. Also, super sub Oswaldo Cabrera can play second, which he did three times last year.

Ideally, what I’d like to see happen is this: Both Peraza and Anthony Volpe, the top prospect n the system, make the roster out of spring training and become the up-the-middle infielders, one at short (preferably Volpe) and the other at second. It’s possible to flip it, though, because while Volpe is primarily competing for the shortstop job, he has taken some reps at second in the early going. That would put LeMahieu back into his rover role, and would move IKF to the bench.

However, I’m pretty sure that even though he’s off to a 5-for-15 start at the plate with a home run, two doubles and two stolen bases, Volpe’s going to be sent down to Triple-A where he accumulated only 99 at bats last season after he was promoted late in the year. And in the likelihood that happens, if the Yankees move on from Torres it creates an eventual spot on the roster for Volpe if he lights it up at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and warrants a call to make his MLB debut.

Last week, two prominent middle infielders suffered major injuries: Gavin Lux of the Dodgers (torn ACL, out for the season) and Rockies Gold Glove second baseman Brendan Rogers (dislocated shoulder, could miss the season). Tell me why Brian Cashman, who would be dealing from a position of strength, shouldn’t get on the phone and call his counterparts in both LA and Colorado and offer up Torres.

Who knows, Torres could finally reach his predicted potential with a change of scenery, and what’s nice for the acquiring team is that he isn’t eligible for free agency until 2025. Maybe playing in the thin air at Mile High Stadium will unlock Torres’ lost power stroke.

➤ Clarke Schmidt is suddenly in the spotlight this spring thanks to the injury to Frankie Montas. The fifth spot in the rotation is up for grabs and Schmidt, the Yankees 2017 first-round draft pick, and Domingo German seem like the prime candidates. But Schmidt’s inconsistency has already reared its ugly head in spring training.

In his first start he pitched two perfect innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced as he began incorporating a cutter into his pitch mix. It all looked great. But then in his second outing Friday, he came on in the sixth inning and got shelled by the Tigers for four earned runs on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings.

One thing working against Schmidt is the fact that he still has minor league options so he can be sent to Triple-A. German is out of options so if the Yankees tried to send him down, other teams could sign him, and there would be probably be several who would do so.

➤ Tommy Kahnle, the righty reliever who the Yankees brought back over the winter after he’d been away a couple years, had a setback and has been shut down for a couple weeks, which is not great. He’s coming off Tommy John surgery, but the problem apparently is with his right bicep which is why he hasn’t yet pitched in spring training.

As for the rest of the walking wounded on the pitching staff, all appear to be on track for Opening Day which is, incredibly, a little more than three weeks away. Nestor Cortes (hamstring), Michael King (elbow) and Ron Marinaccio (shin) have all been throwing live batting practice in Tampa, and King has pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

King said of his progress, “We have plenty of time right now, so I think I’ll be totally fine.” Obviously, the Yankees need those four frontline guys to be ready. Cortes is coming off a breakthrough season, King was nearly unhittable last year before he got hurt, Marinaccio was almost as unhittable when he took over King’s role, and Kahnle is a proven high-velocity commodity.

➤ I’m going to assume that no one is panicking over the Yankee debut of Carlos Rodon Sunday. But suffice it to say, the $162 million free agent acquisition had a pretty shitty outing against the Braves. “Thank God it’s spring training,” Rodon said.

The lefty pitched two innings, plus five batters in the third without recording an out, allowing five runs on six hits and a walk. Two of the hits were two-run homers by Braves studs Matt Olson and Austin Riley.

“My message to him was, ‘Stay in your mechanics and execute, and you’ll get to that spot as you can continue to work,’” Aaron Boone said. “Hopefully as the month unfolds, he’ll start climbing and get to that point.”

➤ It hasn’t gone too well for Luis Severino, either. He has pitched twice and his ERA is 13.50 in 4.2 innings, shelled for seven earned runs on five hits (including three homers) and one walk. It’s only spring, it’s only spring, it’s only spring. And hey, it is.

The Untimely Death of a Legend

For many years, almost without fail, the afternoon of Aug. 2 would arrive and Diana Munson noticed, no matter where she was or what she was doing, when the clock ticked to 4:02 p.m.

If she was out and about she’d see 4:02 on a bank sign or hear it on the radio. If she was at her home in Canton, Ohio where she and her deceased husband, former New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson, began raising their three children, the home she has never moved from, she’d notice it on the kitchen clock or maybe the television cable box.

It was uncanny, really; almost as if Thurman was calling her from the heavens, which maybe he was.

It is not a happy time, 4:02 on August 2, because that was the precise moment of the afternoon in 1979 when the Yankee captain, just 32 years old, left this world, crashing his twin-engine Cessna Citation jet into a field near Akron-Canton Regional Airport while practicing takeoffs and landings.

According to flight records, it was at 4:02 when Munson lost control of his plane and it fell from the sky about 1,000 feet short of a runway, careening into a field and coming to a halt when it crashed into a large tree stump. Two companions were miraculously able to escape with their lives, but they could not save the Yankee captain who was trapped inside and perished in the fiery wreckage.

That day, the Yankee captain lost his life, but he never lost his pinstripes. Until the day old Yankee Stadium closed in 2008, Munson remained in their spirit, his locker still sitting vacant in the Yankee clubhouse - sacred ground as another Yankee captain, Derek Jeter, once called it - serving as a memorial to a natural leader and winner who embodied the Yankees during his too-short career.

“That locker symbolizes Thurman and is there for his memory,’’ said Yankee broadcaster Bobby Murcer, a teammate of Munson’s who tearfully delivered one of the eulogies at his good friend’s Aug. 6, 1979 funeral, then hours later drove in all five runs to lead a dramatic come-from-behind, nationally-televised 5-4 victory over Baltimore at Yankee Stadium. “Thurman is there and will always be there. He was a very special player and those type of players don’t come along very often.’’

The Yankees were two-time defending World Series champions in 1979, but their quest for a three-peat got off to a bad start and it never improved. By the start of August the Yankees were mired in fourth place in the AL East, 14 hopeless games behind front-running and eventual AL champion Baltimore.

In the last game of his life, Wednesday, Aug. 1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Munson was not behind the plate because his aching knees were too sore. Instead he played first base and went 0-for-1 with a walk and a strikeout, making two putouts at first before leaving in the third inning because, as he told manager Billy Martin, he had nothing.

The Yankees won 9-1, and while the rest of the team flew back to New York after the game to enjoy a day off Thursday, Munson flew his own plane to Canton to spend time with his family, and get some flying time in. His teammates never saw him again.

“I started crying as soon as I heard, and I cried for hours,” Martin said after hearing the news of Munson’s death. When Murcer learned of the tragedy, he and his wife Kay flew to Canton to be with Diana and the kids. They spent the night at the kitchen table, friends and family - “the worst day of any of our lives” Diana said - trying to make sense of it all.

The Yankees began a four-game series with Baltimore Friday night, Aug. 3 at Yankee Stadium. Outside of perhaps the first home game following the 9/11 tragedy, there has never been a night quite like it. A photograph of Munson was displayed on the scoreboard in right-center field accompanied by words chosen by team owner George Steinbrenner: “Our captain and leader has not left us today, tomorrow, this year, next ... our endeavors will reflect our love and admiration for him.’’

For nearly eight minutes a crowd of more than 51,000 stood and cheered, most of them wiping tears from their eyes.

“The fans started to cheer and they didn’t stop,’’ recalled Baltimore pitcher Steve Stone, who was a former teammate of Munson’s at Kent State University. “It went on and on and on. It was one of those rare moments you don’t forget.’’

Jeff Torborg, a Yankee coach at the time, said, “I still get goose bumps thinking about that night. It was a tremendous spontaneous outpouring by the fans for a player they knew was very special.’’

The Yankees took the field for the National Anthem - Jim Spencer at first, Willie Randolph at second, Bucky Dent at shortstop, Graig Nettles at third, Lou Piniella in left, Bobby Brown in center, Reggie Jackson in left, and Luis Tiant, the former Red Sox hurler, on the mound. The catchers’ box remained poignantly empty, and Jerry Narron did not squat behind the plate until Tiant was told to begin his warm-up.

The Yankees lost that night 1-0 on a John Lowenstein home run. The next day New York built a 4-0 lead behind Catfish Hunter’s six scoreless innings, but aging veteran Jim Kaat came on and gave up five runs in the eighth to lose 5-4. On Sunday Chris Chambliss hit an RBI double and scored on Nettles’ two-run homer in the third and Tommy John out-dueled Mike Flanagan 3-2 for the first victory of the post-Munson era.

And then came Monday, Aug. 6. As Larry Brooks of the New York Post once said, “It was a day on which there was crying in baseball.’’

Steinbrenner chartered a plane that flew the entire team and various members of the organization to Munson’s funeral in Canton. During his eulogy, Murcer, choking back sobs, chose the words of poet and philosopher Angelo Patri who said, “The life of a soul on earth lasts longer than his departure. He lives on in your life and the life of all others who knew him. He lived, he led, and he loved.’’

Among the 1,000 in attendance at the funeral were dozens of baseball men including many former teammates of Munson’s who were playing in various cities. Joe Torre, then the manager of the New York Mets, was there, as was baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn. After the mass, mourners lined the streets of Canton to say goodbye to their native son, kids in their Little League uniforms, their parents crying as the buses carrying the Yankees departed for the return trip to New York where the Yankees somehow had to gather themselves and play the Orioles on Monday Night Baseball with Howard Cosell up in the broadcast booth.

No one wanted to play a game, but as Murcer said, “I just know that’s what Thurman would’ve wanted. If he was sitting here and I said I couldn’t play, he’d say, ‘You’re crazy.’’’

That night, 36,314 came out to the Stadium. It was not a meaningful game in the standings, not a playoff game, not a World Series game. Nonetheless, the fans who showed up were witnesses to one of the greatest moments in Yankee history.

Ron Guidry, enduring a frustrating season one year after winning 25 games and the Cy Young Award, started for New York and spotted the Orioles a 4-0 lead through six innings, two of the runs courtesy of a home run by Ken Singleton, who, like Kaat and Murcer, later became a Yankee broadcaster.

But in the seventh, the Yankee magic began. With two outs, Dent drew a walk from Dennis Martinez, Randolph doubled him over to third, and Murcer - who had just returned to the Yankees a month earlier in a trade from the Chicago Cubs - blasted a three-run homer to cut the deficit to 4-3.

It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth. Dent again drew a walk, this one from reliever Tippy Martinez. Randolph then attempted to advance Dent with a sacrifice bunt. Martinez fielded the ball but threw it into right field for an error, Dent scooting to third and Randolph to second. Up came Murcer, one of Munson’s best friends ever since they came up together in the Yankee farm system in the late 1960s.

Murcer fell behind 0-2 before punching a fastball into left field for a single that plated Dent with the tying run and Randolph with the winning run as the crowd celebrated as if the Yankees had won a pennant.

“Everybody was so tired, I think we were playing on the spirit of Thurman,” said Murcer, who collapsed into Piniella’s arms in a tearful hug in the dugout moments after his hit. “I think that’s what carried us through the game. I know it did me. There is no way to explain what happened. We used every ounce of strength to go out and play that game. We won it for Thurman.”

The bat Murcer used to win that game never saw another pitch. He gave it to Diana Munson. A month shy of the 25th anniversary of Munson's passing in 2004, Diana and her children - Tracy, Kelly and Michael - came back to Yankee Stadium on Old-Timers' Day. They toured the Yankee clubhouse and for the first time saw Thurman’s preserved locker, which today now resides in the Yankees museum at the new stadium.

Diana threw out the first pitch before the game, and Michael, then 28, went out to Monument Park, knelt in front of his father's plaque and retired No. 15, and proposed to his girlfriend, who accepted.