1996 New York Yankees season

The 1996 New York Yankees season was the 94th season for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. The Yankees played its home games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
In Joe Torre's first season as manager, the team finished first in the American League Eastern Division with a record of 92–70, 4 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, for their first division title since [1981 New York (state)|New York Yankees season|1981].
The Yankees defeated the Texas Rangers, three games to one, in the American League Division Series, then defeated the Orioles in the American League Championship Series, four games to one.
In the World Series the Yankees beat the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, four games to two, for the club's 23rd World Series title and its first since 1978, winning four straight games after losing the first two at home. They finished the post-season with an 8–0 record on the road while going just 3–4 at home.
It was the final season for Hall of Fame announcer Phil Rizzuto, who retired after a forty-year career as a radio and TV announcer for Yankee games.

Offseason

November 2, 1995: The Yankees name Joe Torre as their new manager.
December 4, 1995: Jalal Leach was drafted by the Montreal Expos from the New York Yankees in the 1995 minor league draft.
December 7, 1995: Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock were traded by the Yankees to the Seattle Mariners for Tino Martinez, Jeff Nelson and Jim Mecir.
December 11, 1995: Mariano Duncan was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
December 21, 1995: David Cone was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
December 28, 1995: The Yankees traded a player to be named later to the Chicago White Sox for Tim Raines. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Blaise Kozeniewski to the White Sox on February 6, 1996.
February 20, 1996: Dwight Gooden was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
February 24, 1996: Tim McIntosh was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
March 31, 1996: Rafael Quirico was released by the Yankees.

Regular season

Notable transactions

June 4, 1996: 1996 Major League Baseball draft
*Nick Johnson was drafted by the Yankees in the 3rd round. Player signed June 14, 1996.
*Scott Seabol was drafted by the Yankees in the 88th round. Player signed June 25, 1996.
June 12, 1996: Rich Monteleone was traded by the Yankees to the California Angels for Mike Aldrete.
June 12, 1996: Wally Whitehurst was selected off waivers by the Yankees from the Montreal Expos.
July 4, 1996: Darryl Strawberry was purchased by the Yankees from the St. Paul Saints.
July 31, 1996: Rubén Sierra and Matt Drews were traded by the Yankees to the Detroit Tigers for Cecil Fielder.
July 31, 1996: Dave Weathers was traded by the Florida Marlins to the New York Yankees for Mark Hutton.
August 22, 1996: Luis Sojo was selected off waivers by the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners.
August 23, 1996: Bob Wickman and Gerald Williams were traded by the Yankees to the Milwaukee Brewers for Pat Listach, Graeme Lloyd and a player to be named later. The Brewers completed the trade by sending Ricky Bones to the Yankees on August 29.
August 30, 1996: The Yankees traded a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Charlie Hayes. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Chris Corn to the Pirates on August 31.
September 6, 1996: Robert Eenhoorn was selected off waivers from the Yankees by the California Angels.
September 12, 1996: Wally Whitehurst was released by the Yankees.

Game log

Detailed records

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %
April	23	13	10		126	115
May	27	16	11		147	124
June	29	18	11		141	141
July	26	16	10		125	122
August	30	13	17		170	178
September	27	16	11		162	107
Total	162	92	70		871	787

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C		124	422	124	.294	2	45
1B		155	595	174	.292	25	117
2B		109	400	136	.340	8	56
3B		132	501	156	.311	2	41
SS		157	582	183	.314	10	78
LF		59	201	57	.284	9	33
CF		143	551	168	.305	29	102
RF		150	546	165	.302	19	91
DH		96	360	93	.258	11	52

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	88	265	70	.264	7	40
	99	233	63	.270	5	30
	63	202	53	.262	11	36
	53	200	52	.260	13	37
	113	189	37	.196	3	13
	46	88	25	.284	2	16
	32	68	17	.250	3	12
	20	67	19	.284	2	13
	35	54	11	.204	1	9
	18	40	11	.275	0	5
	13	21	3	.143	0	2
	12	14	1	.071	0	2
	8	14	1	.071	0	0
	6	12	2	.167	0	0
	3	3	0	.000	0	0
	1	0	0	----	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	35	221.0	21	8	3.87	162
	30	179.0	12	8	4.68	92
	29	170.2	11	7	5.01	126
	30	169.1	12	11	4.68	116
	11	72.0	7	2	2.88	71
	12	53.0	4	5	6.79	34
	2	8.0	1	1	6.75	1

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	15	46.1	2	4	5.44	37
	12	30.1	0	2	5.04	25
	7	22.2	1	2	11.12	15
	11	17.1	0	2	9.35	13
	4	7.0	0	0	14.14	4

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	62	2	3	43	2.83	69
	73	4	4	2	4.36	91
	61	8	3	5	2.09	130
	58	4	1	0	4.67	61
	32	1	3	0	7.89	14
	26	1	1	0	5.13	38
	25	0	1	1	6.35	5
	16	0	0	1	2.35	18
	13	0	2	0	17.47	6
	4	1	0	0	9.53	8
	4	0	0	0	6.23	3
	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

ALDS

Postseason

ALCS

Jeffrey Maier

On October 9, 1996, the Yankees trailed the Orioles 4–3 in the bottom of the eighth inning when shortstop Derek Jeter hit a deep fly ball to right field. Right fielder Tony Tarasco moved near the fence and appeared "to draw a bead on the ball" when then-12 year old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence separating the stands and the field of play 9 feet below and deflected the ball into the stands. While baseball fans are permitted to catch balls hit into the stands, if "a spectator reaches out of the stands, or goes on the playing field, and touches a live ball" spectator interference is to be called.

1996 World Series

Game 1

October 20, 1996, at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York

Game 2

October 21, 1996, at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York

Game 3

October 22, 1996, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Game 4

October 23, 1996, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Game 5

October 24, 1996, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Game 6

October 26, 1996, at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York

Awards and honors

1996 New York Yankees – 1997 Outstanding Team ESPY Award
Cecil Fielder, Babe Ruth Award
Derek Jeter, SS, American League Rookie of the Year
Bernie Williams, ALCS Most Valuable Player
John Wetteland, World Series Most Valuable Player

All-Stars

All-Star Game

Wade Boggs, third base, starter
Andy Pettitte, pitcher, reserve
John Wetteland, relief pitcher, reserve