![]() That was the end of the title run for the Clippers. That team was anchored by budding star Ricky Ledee who hit. The Clippers, like the big boys in the Bronx, would win a title in 1996. By 1995, they were gone and a year later, the greatest dynasty of recent history was underway. Rivera was realizing that his amazing cutter maybe wasn’t meant for a starting pitcher. Posada smashed 11 home runs and drove in 48. What the 1994 Columbus Clippers did have was the debut season of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. The ’94 team has no trophies to brag about. While they finished third in ’93, no one cared. 1993 saw Bernie and Bob Wickman make their big major league jump. The beginnings of a dynasty were brewing. The aforementioned Bernie Williams was leading the Clippers to back-to-back championships in 19. Of course, the 80s Clippers run ended with a young center fielder named Bernie Williams poised for greatness.Īs the decade switched over, the New York Yankees were hitting rock bottom. Even Deion Sanders and Buck Showalter made their name with the Clippers before major league stardom. Dan Pasqua, Otis Nixon, Dennis Rasmussen, Stan Javier, Mike Pagliarulo, Jose Rijo, Jim Deshaies, Bob Tewksbury, Doug Drabek, Roberto Kelly, Al Leiter, Randy Velarde, Jay Buhner and Hal Morris all got their start in Columbus in the 80s. Although they would win only one more championship in the 80s (1987) they continued to pump out major league talent at a pretty quick pace. Unlike their parent club in the Bronx, the Clippers never saw a fall off in the 80s. He wouldn’t last the entire ’83 season in the minors, and ten years later, he would be the Yankees captain. The long awaited Triple-A debut of the 19th-round draft pick out of Indiana of the 1979 draft couldn’t have gone better. The ’82 season saw the Clippers fall just short of the championship, however, the bigger news was the debut of a young first baseman. His Triple-A debut season saw him smash 33 home runs and drive in 98 RBI as the Clippers finished their first “threepeat”. Steve Balboni, more affectionately known as Bye Bye Balboni, came on the scene in a big way. Stick Michael was now the skipper in the Bronx and Righetti was having another sensational season (5-0 with a 1.00 ERA and two complete game shut outs) but this team saw the debut of a future Yankees and Royals slugger. 3 cost-effective free agents who can fill out Yankees roster after Aaron Judge dealĪfter winning again in 1980, the ’81 squad became more of a power happy bunch.2 Carlos Rodón hates Astros, dominates them Twins already bailing on Gary Sánchez emphasizes Yankees’ trade failure. ![]() Andrew Benintendi-White Sox deal proves Yankees were right to prioritize Carlos Rodón.Did Yankees fans bully Hal Steinbrenner into signing Aaron Judge, Carlos Rodón?.Even more impressive were his 44 strikeouts over 40 innings, his two complete game shutouts and 1.02 WHIP. Rags would have a spectacular debut, going 3-2 with a 2.92 ERA. That ’79 squad was built on pitching and while the aces of the staff, Jim Beattie and Rick Anderson, would be shipped off to the Mariners at season’s end, the Clippers featured the debut of one Dave Righetti. That year, Gene Michael led the team to the first of three consecutive International League titles. The Yankees acquired the Clippers in 1979. The Columbus Clippers are the long-forgotten Triple-A affiliate that gave the kids of the 80s and 90s their heroes, their captains and The Core Four. Today, instead of examining a single great Yankee, I thought it would be fun to revisit the factory that made so many great Yankees. Yanks Go Yard has been exploring greats of New York Yankees lore in our new series Days of Yankees Past. ![]()
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