"The Yanks led the league in hitting last season, with a .267 mark, and they were third in pitching. They made a crafty move when they obtained Stan Williams from the Dodgers for Bill Skowron. A 14-12 performer last year, Williams can really throw hard, and he figures to move in as the fourth starter behind Whitey Ford (17-8), Ralph Terry (23-12) and Bill Stafford (14-9).
I think Terry reached real pitching maturity last season, especially in the World Series, when he won two crucial games. He also led the AL in wins and in innings pitched last year, and he could take over as the leader of the staff now. Jim Bouton (7-7) figures as the fifth starter. The others are Marshall Bridges (8-4), who was effective for a while after Luis Arroyo's arm went bad; Jim Coates (7-6) and Bud Daley (7-5).
The departure of Skowron opens the door wide for young Joe Pepitone to become the new Yankee first baseman. A slender left-hand batter who reminds you a little of Joe DiMaggio, he batted .239 in 62 games after being recalled by the Yankees. Bobby Richardson (.302), Tony Kubek (.314 in 45 games after returning from the Army) and Clete Boyer (.272) round out a solid infield.
There isn't much room for improvement in the outfield, either, with Tom Tresh (.286), the AL's Rookie of the Year, in left; Mickey Mantle (.321, with 30 homers), winner of his third MVP award, in center; and Roger Maris (.256, with 33 homers) in right. Hector Lopez and Phi Linz are top utility men, and then there's rookie flash Jake Gibbs coming to Fort Lauderdale this spring with a good chance of sticking. Behind the plate are Elston Howard (.279), John Blanchard (.232) and a fellow named Yogi Berra (.224) who comes with the franchise."
-Phil Rizzuto, with Jack Zanger, Official Baseball Annual (1963 Edition)
"Cracks may show in the Yankee dynasty and there may be some concern over first base, the state of Mickey Mantle's health and the thin line of pitching. But as the men at Detroit and other points remark: "We should all have such problems."
There's just nothing in the field to challenge the supremacy of the Yankees, who, barring injuries of catastrophic proportion, should make off with their third straight flag under Ralph Houk.
There are but two questions to be answered at their training site this spring. Once these are resolved - whether Joe Pepitone can replace Bill Skowron at first, and whether Stan Williams can make the grade as a No.4 pitcher - New York is ready to open the season much more fortified than at this time one year ago.
Pepitone, secure in the knowledge that the job is his, will hit enough home runs to compensate for any sag in his average. Bobby Richardson, Tony Kubek and Clete Boyer return - and who can see any of them losing his job?
Tom Tresh, Mantle and Roger Maris patrol the outer rim. Go knock any of them. Tresh? Perhaps a sophomore slump. Mantle? So he no longer runs like a fawn or throws too strongly. Maris? He hits homers, drives in the runs and is impeccable on defense. So what if he's not a personality boy!
Replacements? Phil Linz can play outfield and infield; John Blanchard, catcher and outfield; Hector Lopez, outfield only (forget those plans for Lopez at first base if Pepitone flops); Yogi Berra, catcher only (he's too much of a liability in the outfield); Dale Long, first base. Elston Howard can play two other positions but only an act of Congress will take away his catcher's mask.
Ralph Terry, Whitey Ford and Bill Stafford - in the order stated - make up the Big Three. Williams will be given every chance to get into the starting rotation. If he fails, look for a deal involving Linz for a pitcher. Jim Coates and Bud Daley are spot starters and middle relievers. Marshall Bridges is the climax stopper if Luis Arroyo is still sidelined with a lame arm.
Too much balance will discourage any rookie from making too much of an impression with this bunch."
-Don Schiffer, The 1963 Major League Baseball Handbook
YES! THE YANKS WIN AGAIN IN '63
"An entire generation has grown up hoping someone would beat the Yankees, only to turn to more rewarding pursuits- like cross-pollinating orchids. The Yankees can be beaten, of course.
Ralph Houk made it two-for-two, beating back a Detroit challenge in '61, and a twofold attack by Minnesota and Los Angeles in '62. This year the Twins shape up as the main contenders.
The Yankees don't mind. Unless there's one of those Mantle-Maris homer things going, a close race is the only lubricant for a creaky set of turnstiles in the cool of September.
True, the Yankees had troubles in '62- as did everyone else. In late June they dipped to fourth. The Indians were flexing their muscles and Mel McGaha was dreaming of a pennant in his first year of managing. The Yankees didn't take this lightly.
'Pshaw,' snapped Roy Hamey, the outspoken Yankee front office boss. 'Either we get pitching and no hitting, or hitting and no pitching.'
Most troubles in baseball trace to the failure of a club to put these two together. But the Yankees managed to do it again after they stumbled (losing Mickey Mantle for more than a month with a leg injury helped them to stumble, too). They came back to lead from the first week in July to the end.
The factor that hurt the Yankees most in '62, besides Mantle's injured leg, was the loss of Luis Arroyo, their best bullpenner in a decade. Looey came up with a sore shoulder, went on the disabled list and was of no value in the race. His place was filled only partially by Marshall Bridges. The Yankees may have to show concern over their bullpen problem in 1963.
The other clubs, though, will certainly have to show concern about the Yankee batters their pitchers will be required to face- Bobby Richardson, Tommy Tresh, Roger Maris. After they get past Bobby, who had the most hits in the league last year, they have to face two hitters who can sock it into the seats. Then there's Mickey Mantle, MVP in '62, plus Elston Howard, Tony Kubek, Clete Boyer, etc. As far as first-line batting goes, 1963 will be no different from most years against the Yankees; there'll be no rest for the opponents' wearying pitchers.
Ralph Houk said the team he was taking into the '62 World Series was better than the one he had in '61, and he perhaps believed it because Mantle was at full strength. (What Mickey did in the Series is irrelevant; anyone can have a bad week or two.)
But the Yankees of '62 won 13 fewer games than the '61 team and that gives pause for thought about the New Yorkers' starting pitchers. The '61 Tigers won more than the '62 Yankees and the '61 White Sox won almost as many. The only way the Yankees can avoid a battle down to the wire is to win more games through better mound performances, which may sound something like, 'if I'm not asleep then I must be awake.' But it behooves the Yankees to match the improved pitching on several clubs.
To do this the Yankees traded first baseman Bill Skowron for L.A. righty Stan Williams. Dreamers who believe the Yankees will lose the '63 pennant had better realize that they're not idly standing pat while the league moves past them. And in addition to the frontline material, the reserve strength looks good.
Reasonably safe to stick with the team for a while are youngsters like Joe Pepitone, considered by many to be Skowron's successor at first, and Mike Hegan (son of the catching coach, Jim), another prized first base prospect. They are definitely tabbed Yankees-of-the-future, just as were Mantle and McDougald of an earlier era, and Richardson and Kubek who followed.
The Yankees, moreover, are in a continuing state of change. When George Weiss was dropped as general manager and Casey Stengel went with him, it wasn't only a considerable slice of fandom that predicted the end of the Yankee empire. Rival front offices smiled thinly, muttered, 'Well, finally,' and made preparations for the big assault.
But the Yankees, no matter who tries to take the credit, have never been a one-man ball club. Their strength begins with their scouting talent, which has sent up an unending flow of bright prospects, with the Yankees keeping the best and trading the others for men they need.
Like every other club, the Yankees contracted their farm operations, dropping down to a half-dozen clubs. 'Ah, we got'em here,' said the rivals. 'They haven't any place to put their new men and they'll have to let them go.'
The Yankees merely became more selective; the men they let go were almost always less talented than the ones they kept, although they have made mistakes, too.
But through the years, en route to the eminence of the No. 1 sports operation of all time, they have always come up with the right man for the right job. Larry MacPhail replaced Ed Barrow in the front office in the '40s and he, in turn, was followed by George Weiss, the best of the Yankee traders.
Roy Hamey, not especially successful in front office roles in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, followed Weiss, and the royal toga draped around him as though tailor-made.
Essentially, the Yankees will win because their scouts-players-management progression has no weak links. Even on top, Dan Topping, the co-owner with Del Webb, has someone snapping at his heels. Dan Jr., 25, got his feet wet at Class D last year, running the Fort Lauderdale club and is now assistant to Hamey in the front office.
Does Dan Jr. aspire to the role of front office boss someday? 'No,' he says in all seriousness. 'What I want is my father's job.'
I'd hate to own another club in the league."
-Harold Rosenthal, Baseball Writer, New York Herald-Tribune, Sports All Stars 1963 Baseball
"As noted elsewhere in this magazine, reports of the Yankees' demise are grossly exaggerated. While it's true that the Yankees won shakily last year, and for the first time seemed ripe for the taking, the fact is that they won- without Mickey Mantle for a sizeable segment of the season, and with a dangerously thin seven-man pitching staff that repeatedly had to be bailed out by the hitters. The Yankees do not like that shaky feeling, and with one off-season coup, appeared to have established a firmer foundation for another pennant.
On the surface, New York seems to have gotten the best of the trade that sent veteran first baseman Bill Skowron to the Dodgers for pitcher Stan Williams, a 6-4, 220-pound right-hander who won 14 games in the National League last year. Skowron is 32 and injury prone. He is a streak hitter whose hot streaks have been getting further and further apart. His unquestioned power is to left-center, center and right-center- and his drives were often long outs in Yankee Stadium. Williams, 26, throws very hard and could easy climb to the 20-game pinnacle with the Yankees if he finally manages to put his talents together.
The addition of Williams gives the Yankees a firm four-man pitching rotation, as Stan teams up with Whitey Ford, Ralph Terry and Bill Stafford. Ford is the dean of the starters at 34. The others are all 26 or younger. Terry comes fresh from a 23-12 season and heroic World Series work. Stafford, considered one of the league's coming greats before last season began, had late-inning and injury trouble, yet finished at 14-9. Ford's 17-8 is disappointing only in comparison to his 1961 mark of 25-4. Whitey will, however, try to throw fewer sliders, since that seems to be the pitch that hurts his arm, and probably get additional rest between starts.
In anything, the Yankees could use more left-handed pitching. Of their starting group, only Ford is a southpaw. Manager Ralph Houk hopes young Al Downing or lefty Hal Stowe will offer left-handed assistance. Both are fast and have great stuff, but must learn to control it. Rounding out the staff will be right-handers Roland Sheldon, Jim Coates and Jim Bouton, lefty Bud Daley (who started and relieved effectively last year), and the relief lefties, screwball pitchers Marshall Bridges and Luis Arroyo (if he's shaken off his arm miseries). Bouton, 7-7 as a rookie, has a wicked curve ball, but his problem is also acquiring consistent control. Sheldon, the '61 whiz, sank to 7-8 after the Yanks unsuccessfully tried to revamp his pitching motion. Others fighting for jobs will be right-handers Tex Clevenger (mostly a lost-cause mopup man in '62), knuckleballer Hal Brown, former Kansas City sinkerballer Bill Kunkel (picked up in the draft), Jack Cullen, Hal Reniff and curve baller Jim Bronstad, back for a second tour with the Yankees.
Manager Houk's only infield problem is at first base where he would like 22-year-old Joe Pepitone to replace Skowron. 'Pep' hits left-handed with good wrist action that lets him pull with power. He shuttled between the outfield and first base last year before going back to Richmond for more experience. The Yankees discount the .239 average he compiled for them. They point to his terrific extra-base splurge with Richmond as a truer line on his batting ability. If Pepitone has trouble hitting left-handed pitching, he'll be spelled either by Dale Long or all-purpose right-handed hitter Hector Lopez, hitherto an outfielder or third baseman. Long bats left-handed but doesn't care which arm a pitcher uses. At 37, he can't play every day, but is most valuable as a pinch hitter.
The rest of the Yankee infield is set. Second baseman Bobby Richardson and shortstop Tony Kubek are All-Stars at their positions and productive hitters. Third baseman Clete Boyer, always a glove magician, hit .272 with 18 homers. Bespectacled Phil Linz, who can play third, short, second- and maybe first- will be the league's best utility man. Every club in baseball has made trade inquiries about the delightfully kooky Linz, who hit .287 last year. Former Ole Miss quarterback Jake Gibbs, a $125,000 bonus third baseman, will try to pay back the Yankees' investment. He showed sharp hitting ability at Richmond in '62, but still may need a final season to get that lapidary finish.
The outfield is at least the equal of any in baseball. Many say it's the best. Rookie of the Year Tom Tresh will be in left, Mickey Mantle in center, forgotten man Roger Maris in right. The switch-hitting Tresh should be an even better left fielder with a spring training season behind him; the brittle Mantle is still the number one man in the league and almost certain to hammer more than 30 homers- if he stays fit. Last year Maris suffered from a reaction to his super-human 61-homer performance of 1961. Never a high-average hitter, Rog hit .256 last year, but hit 'only' 33 home runs. He should slam 40 or more in '63, now that the 'another Ruth' pressure is off. Jack Reed returns as Mantle's late-inning 'legs,' while Hec Lopez, Pepitone and catcher Johnny Blanchard can play the outfield in an emergency.
Speaking of catching, the Yankees are still three-deep. Elston Howard, .279 and 21 homers last year, is the workhorse. Blanchard, game-breaker of 1961, seemingly lost his magic last year, but he and 37-year-old Yogi Berra should give Ellie the occasional rest he needs to operate at peak form. Blanchard and Berra are also formidable pinch hitters, particularly in the Stadium, where their left-handed home run power makes them positively poisonous. And if the Yanks get Duke Snider from the Dodgers, look out! Duke, 36, could pinch-hit, play the outfield- or even first base.
Essentially, this will be a battle-hardened Yankee ball club, with only a smattering of new faces. The club will give a long look to $50,000 bonus first baseman Mike Hegan, 6-3, 195-pound son of bullpen coach Jim Hegan. But Mike, who hit .306 in Class D ball, will probably require more minor league schooling.
With Stan Williams stepping into the mound rotation, with a full season of Kubek reeling off double plays at short, with Tresh improving as an outfielder and hitter, with the Mantle-and-Maris duet singing a thundering anvil chorus again, the Yankees should win far more authoritatively than they did in 1962."
-Harold Rosenthal, 1963 Baseball Yearbook
"Looking for a longshot to bet in the 1963 American League pennant race? Forget it. The World Champion New York Yankees will win it again.
The Yankees have the precedent with 13 pennants in the last sixteen seasons. They also have the hitting, fielding, pitching, managing, and mental attitude. 'We always figure we'll win the pennant,' says left-hander Whitey Ford, who has helped win nine by compiling the highest pitching percentage (.711 on 175 victories and only 71 defeats) in major league history.
With two World Series victories in two tries, manager Ralph Houk has the same optimistic outlook. Last season, after stumbling through August and losing five straight games to Baltimore, the Yankees looked in serious trouble. 'Don't bet too much against us,' warned Houk. 'We ought to get caught up on things in September.' The Yankees won the pennant by five games.
Their margin could be larger in 1963. Seven of the eight regulars return, led by Tom Tresh, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris- the best all-around outfield in baseball. 'It's a home run outfield, yet all of them can cover ground and throw,' explains manager Houk. 'That outfield will get stronger. Mantle is a very young 31, Maris is 28, and Tresh, at 24, looks as though he'll be around for a long time.'
Rookie of the Year Tresh, 20 home runs, was the biggest surprise last season. 'We felt he was a big-league hitter,' says Houk, 'but no one expected that he'd develop that kind of power from both sides of the plate.' The successful switch from shortstop, where Tresh made the All-Star team, to the outfield was much less of a surprise. 'I never considered that a gamble,' explains Houk. 'Tresh has youth, speed, a strong arm and the ability to judge fly balls. You could tell that by the way he got a jump on those Texas League pop-ups.'
No matter what Tresh does or what Maris has done (133 home runs and 354 runs batted in during his three seasons in New York), the usually unemotional Yankees have only one leader- Mantle. Injured last May, Mantle was recuperating away from the team for nearly two weeks until general manager Roy Hamey asked him to come back. 'Maybe,' said Hamey, 'the players will feel better if he's around.' When Mantle rejoined the team, second baseman Bobby Richardson was the first player to see him. 'It's hard to explain, but just seeing him gave me a lift.' With Mantle out of the lineup, the Yankees won 15 of 30 games. When he returned, they won 12 of 18 and lifted the team batting average from .248 to .265.
The Yankee infield of 1963 has only one possible problem: first base. The trading of veteran slugger Bill Skowron (143 home runs in his last seven injury-plagued seasons) leaves a vacancy that will probably be filled by quick-handed Joe Pepitone. If Pepitone, a .239 hitter as a 1962 rookie, is not ready, outfielder Hector Lopez may alternate with slowed-down Dale Long. Richardson, a steady hitter and steadier fielder, and Army returnee Tony Kubek provide a highly skilled double-play combination. Though not as heavy a hitter as Tresh, Kubek has a wider range at shortstop. At third base, stylish, strong-armed Clete Boyer last year retained all his fielding finesse and, by punching hits to right field, raised his batting average from .224 to .272.
Despite Ford (17-8), Ralph Terry (23-12) and Bill Stafford (14-9), New York needs more pitching. Right-hander Stan Williams, obtained from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Skowron, may be the fourth starter. In relief, Marshall Bridges (eight victories and 19 saves) helped, but he could not compensate fully for the fall of sore-armed screwballer Luis Arroyo.
How strong are the Yankees? They have Yogi Berra, a three-time Most Valuable Player, sitting on the bench, waiting to fill in for clever catcher Elston Howard or to pinch-hit.
'I figure,' says Berra, 'I still got enough to help the Yanks win another pennant.'"
-1963 Official Baseball Almanac
EVEN YANKS HAVE A COUPLE OF PROBLEMS
"The Yankees fail to win the pennant only often enough to keep the other A.L. teams from committing harakiri and they are favored to win their thirteenth flag in 15 years in 1963.
About the only problem the Yanks ever have is pitching, but Manager Ralph Houk may have an added one at first base this year since the New Yorkers traded Bill Skowron to the Dodgers for right-hander Stan Williams in an effort to improve the mound corps.
Favored to replace Skowron, who averaged better than 20 home runs and 80 runs batted in for his last seven seasons, is young Joe Pepitone. Houk is confident that Pepitone will make the grade, but will also try Hector Lopez at the post and can always fall back on veteran Dale Long.
Williams may help but he doesn't figure to be the entire answer to the Yanks' lack of mound depth. Inconsistent and wild at times, Williams threw as if bothered by arm trouble most of last season. Still, he figures to be no worse than the Yankees' fourth starter behind Whitey Ford, World Series hero Ralph Terry and Bill Stafford.
Two N.L. reject southpaws, Luis Arroyo and Marshall Bridges, had key roles in the last two Yankee pennants, taking turns serving as No. 1 bullpen hands. Arroyo, a hero in 1961, was almost useless because of a sore arm last year. If the miseries are still present, the burden will again fall on Bridges.
Except for first base and pitching, the Yankees are solid. Behind the plate, they have talented Elston Howard, backed up by Johnny Blanchard, who slumped badly, and aging Yogi Berra, who has taken on added duties as coach.
Three-quarters of the infield is manned by second baseman Bobby Richardson, who had his finest year in 1962; third Baseman Clete Boyer, who improved markedly as a hitter, and shortstop Tony Kubek, who spent two-thirds of last season in the Army.
Last season's Rookie-of-the-Year, Tom Tresh, who started 1962 as the shortstop, should be even better as the left fielder after his experience of last year, and he makes the Yankee outfield difficult to match. With Tresh will be the siege guns in center and right, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. The latter may be better with less pressure on him this season."
-Allen Lewis, Philadelphia Inquirer (Baseball Digest, April 1963)
QUICK RUNDOWN ON THE YANKEES
Strength: power and defense.
Greatest Need: another top-flight starting pitcher.
Bench: strong and mobile.
-Allen Lewis, Philadelphia Inquirer (Baseball Digest, April 1963)
1963 Yankees Spring Training Depth Chart
C Elston Howard
C Yogi Berra
1B Joe Pepitone
2B Bobby Richardson
3B Clete Boyer
SS Tony Kubek
LF Tom Tresh
CF Mickey Mantle
RF Roger Maris
UTILITY:
C Johnny Blanchard
3B Pedro Gonzalez (2B)
SS Phil Linz (3B)
CF Jack Reed
PH Hector Lopez (LF-RF)
PH Dale Long (1B)
PITCHERS:
Whitey Ford
Ralph Terry
Bill Stafford
Stan Williams
Jim Bouton
Al Downing
RELIEF PITCHERS:
Marshall Bridges
Jim Coates
Bud Daley
Rollie Sheldon
