1999 New York Yankees season
The 1999 New York Yankees season was the 97th season for the Bronx-based Major League Baseball team. The team finished with a record of 98–64 finishing 4 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the playoffs, they got to the World Series and defeated the Atlanta Braves in 4 games to win their 25th World Series title. By winning their 25th World Series, the New York Yankees became the most successful team in North America, a record previously held by the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. In that year, free-to-air broadcasts returned to WNYW, which had been the first Yankees television broadcaster in 1947, while cable broadcasts continued on MSG.
Offseason
- November 10, 1998: Scott Brosius resigned as a free agent with the New York Yankees.
- November 11, 1998: David Cone resigned as a free agent with the New York Yankees.
- November 25, 1998: Bernie Williams resigned as a free agent with the New York Yankees.
- February 5, 1999: Jeff Juden was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees.
- February 18, 1999: Roger Clemens was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the New York Yankees for Homer Bush, Graeme Lloyd, and David Wells.
- March 30, 1999: Izzy Molina was traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks with Ben Ford to the New York Yankees for Darren Holmes and cash.
Notable transactions
- April 5, 1999: Darryl Strawberry signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees.
- July 31, 1999: Jim Leyritz was traded by the San Diego Padres to the New York Yankees for Geraldo Padua.
Season summary
David Cone's perfect game
- July 18, 1999 – The Yankees won 6–0 in Interleague Play against the Montreal Expos, which was also pitcher David Cone's perfect game. The perfect game was the last shutout he would throw in his career.
Line score
'''July 18, Yankee Stadium, New York'''Box score
Batting
Pitching
Game log
Detailed records
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | ||
| April | 21 | 14 | 7 | 121 | 92 | |
| May | 28 | 15 | 13 | 136 | 136 | |
| June | 26 | 17 | 9 | 147 | 113 | |
| July | 27 | 16 | 11 | 155 | 130 | |
| August | 29 | 19 | 10 | 169 | 108 | |
| September | 28 | 15 | 13 | 156 | 137 | |
| October | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 15 | |
| Total | 162 | 98 | 64 | 900 | 731 |
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 | Jorge Posada | 112 | 379 | 93 | .245 | 12 | 57 |
| 1B | Tino Martinez | 159 | 589 | 155 | .263 | 28 | 105 |
| 2B | Chuck Knoblauch | 150 | 603 | 176 | .292 | 18 | 68 |
| 3B | Scott Brosius | 133 | 473 | 117 | .247 | 18 | 71 |
| SS | Derek Jeter | 158 | 627 | 219 | .349 | 25 | 102 |
| LF | Ricky Ledée | 88 | 250 | 69 | .276 | 9 | 40 |
| CF | Bernie Williams | 158 | 591 | 202 | .342 | 25 | 115 |
| RF | 153 | 597 | 170 | .285 | 19 | 110 | |
| DH | Chili Davis | 146 | 476 | 128 | .269 | 19 | 78 |
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 |
| Joe Girardi | 65 | 209 | 50 | .239 | 2 | 27 |
| Shane Spencer | 71 | 205 | 48 | .234 | 8 | 20 |
| Chad Curtis | 96 | 195 | 51 | .262 | 5 | 24 |
| Luis Sojo | 49 | 127 | 32 | .252 | 2 | 16 |
| Jim Leyritz | 31 | 66 | 15 | .227 | 0 | 5 |
| Darryl Strawberry | 24 | 49 | 16 | .327 | 3 | 6 |
| Clay Bellinger | 32 | 45 | 9 | .200 | 1 | 2 |
| Tony Tarasco | 14 | 31 | 5 | .161 | 0 | 3 |
| D'Angelo Jiménez | 7 | 20 | 8 | .400 | 0 | 4 |
| Jeff Manto | 6 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 9 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Figga | 2 | 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 |
| Orlando Hernández | 33 | 214.1 | 17 | 9 | 4.12 | 157 |
| David Cone | 31 | 193.1 | 12 | 9 | 3.44 | 177 |
| Andy Pettitte | 31 | 191.2 | 14 | 11 | 4.70 | 121 |
| Roger Clemens | 30 | 187.2 | 14 | 10 | 4.60 | 163 |
| Hideki Irabu | 32 | 169.1 | 11 | 7 | 4.84 | 133 |
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 |
| Ramiro Mendoza | 53 | 123.2 | 9 | 9 | 4.29 | 80 |
| Ed Yarnall | 5 | 17.0 | 1 | 0 | 3.71 | 13 |
| Jeff Juden | 2 | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 1.59 | 9 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Mariano Rivera | 66 | 69.0 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 1.83 | 52 |
| Mike Stanton | 73 | 62.1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.33 | 59 |
| Jason Grimsley | 55 | 75.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3.60 | 49 |
| 39 | 30.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4.15 | 35 | |
| Dan Naulty | 33 | 49.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.38 | 25 |
| Allen Watson | 21 | 34.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.10 | 30 |
| Jay Tessmer | 6 | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.85 | 3 |
| Todd Erdos | 4 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 4 |
| Mike Buddie | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |
| Tony Fossas | 5 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36.00 | 0 |
ALDS
Series Summary:- Game 1 @ Yankee Stadium: Yankees 8, Rangers 0
- Game 2 @ Yankee Stadium: Yankees 3, Rangers 1
- Game 3 @ The Ballpark in Arlington: Yankees 3, Rangers 0
ALCS
New York wins the series, 4–1World Series
Game 1
October 23, 1999, at Turner Field in Atlanta.Game 2
October 24, 1999, at Turner Field in AtlantaGame 3
October 26, 1999, at Yankee Stadium in New York CityGame 4
October 27, 1999, at Yankee Stadium in New York CityAwards and honors
The 1999 New York Yankees team were awarded The Sporting News Sportsman of the Year award.- Orlando Hernández, Pitcher, ALCS MVP
- Mariano Rivera, Relief Pitcher, World Series MVP
- Derek Jeter, American League Leader in Hits, 219 Hits
- David Cone, pitcher, reserve
- Derek Jeter, shortstop, reserve
- Mariano Rivera, relief pitcher, reserve
- Bernie Williams, outfield, reserve
In popular culture
- In the 1995 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Past Tense", a character from the 2020s called the 1999 New York Yankees the best team he had ever seen. While it could be argued the 1998 team was better, it is considered remarkable that a television program that aired in 1995 could have even predicted such a successful season for a specific team.