February 19, 2013 – In addition to interviewing Jorge Posada at Bucky Dent’s golf outing in Lake Worth, Florida, I also spoke with former NFL fullback Keith Byars.

Byars became a star for the Ohio State Buckeyes before playing for four NFL teams during a 13-year pro career.

When Byars was with the Miami Dolphins, he etched his name in the team’s record book. On a snow-covered field at the old Texas Stadium on Thanksgiving Day of 1993, Byars raced 77 yards for a touchdown. To this day, no Miami Dolphin has recorded a longer run.

“I don’t think it’s snowed in Dallas since then,” Byars said. “I got a great block from [former Miami Dolphins tight end] Keith Jackson. I made a move to make one of their linebackers miss me, and all I saw was snow. That’s when I turned back into the track star I was in high school. I didn’t want to get caught from behind, and fortunately, I was able to outrun everyone. I had always taken short steps, and that was perfect for those weather conditions.

As great as the run was, Byars made the moment even more special when he reached the end zone. What I will also remember from that game — which I watched from my parents’ home in New Jersey — is that Byars made an angel in the snow.

“I just wanted to make it memorable,” Byars said. “I grew up in Ohio where we spent a lot of time playing in the snow. That wasn’t the first snow angel I ever made. When I woke up that morning, I was happy it was snowing in Dallas, because that’s what I grew up playing football in.”

Lastly, I asked Byars about Bucky Dent’s efforts in raising funds for the Delray Beach American Little League. The former Yankees shortstop has literally kept the league in business for nearly three decades by donating the funds from each of the twenty-nine annual golf outings he has hosted.

“I’ve coached Little League baseball in Delray Beach for a few years, and the proceeds from Bucky’s events make it possible for those kids to play,” Byars said. “Bucky does a tremendous job of helping out the kids in this area. He’s a great guy, and I’m happy to be here to support his efforts.

The rest of the interview with Byars will be published in Yankees Magazine later this season.

–Alfred Santasiere III

January 24, 2013 – On Thursday January 16, I spent a few hours interviewing former Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone in Scottsdale, Arizona for a feature that will be published in the October Issue of Yankees Magazine.

The story will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Boone’s epic 11th inning home run in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.

I met Boone at True Food Kitchen, which is an eatery in the Scottsdale Quarter. For nearly two hours, Boone shared his memories of the 2003 season with me — which was my first year with the organization — from the time he found out that he was going to be traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the New York Yankees to the postgame celebration that followed his historic home run.

While enjoying a warm afternoon in the outdoor mall, I watched Boone’s level of excitement increase when he began speaking of the 2003 postseason. When he got to the point in the story that mattered most — ALCS Game 7 — he was more descriptive and more animated than at any other time.

One of the anecdotes that I found to be most interesting was Boone’s description of the bench-clearing brawl in Game 3 of the ALCS. As most fans remember, things got heated at Fenway Park when Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez hit former Yankee Karim Garcia in the back of the neck with a fastball. In the next inning, Roger Clemens, who was already the least popular player among the Red Sox faithful, tossed a high fastball that Boston slugger Manny Ramirez believed was intended to brush him off the plate. Ramirez approached the mound with his bat in hand — and from there, things got crazy.

Moments later, Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer, who was 72 at the time, charged after Martinez and was violently thrown to the ground by the Red Sox pitcher.

“Whenever we faced Pedro, Zim used to wear him out,” Boone said. “Zim would just yell at him the whole time he was on the mound, and it seemed to get into his head at times. I can’t repeat most of what Zim would yell at him, but it got all of our attention.

“After Pedro threw at Karim, we knew it was going to get real hairy in a hurry,” Boone continued. “When you see a ball fly into a teammate’s neck, you know things are going to escalate. There was bad blood with Jorge [Posada] and Pedro, and the whole situation was intense. It was a full fledged rivalry from that moment on, and the brawl ratcheted up in the world’s view of that series.”

The Yankees won Game 3, and a few nights later, they took on the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in what would be one of the greatest games in franchise history.

“We knew what was at stake that night,” Boone said about Game 7. “It was the kind of game every athlete dreams about playing in, but at the same time, we were all trying to stay calm and stay in the moment. I felt like I had to keep things as routine and as relaxed as possible. That was the biggest challenge for me.”

Boone, who had struggled at the plate during the postseason and who didn’t start the contest, took the field for the first time as a pinch runner in the bottom of the 8th. By that time, the Yankees had come back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the game.

“It was a cool, autumn night,” Boone said. “I’m wasn’t used to coming off the bench so it was an odd feeling. I’m glad I got to pinch run because it threw me into the fire a little bit before I had to go into the field.”

Two innings later, Boone stepped to the plate to take on knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

“When I was running off the field after the top of the 11th, I had a good feeling,” Boone said. “I hadn’t swung the bat very well in the series but I felt like I was going to do something good.

“When I was walking to the on-deck circle, Joe [Torre] said to me, ‘Hey, stay through the middle. It doesn’t mean you won’t go deep, but just stay through the middle,’” Boone continued. “The whole time I was on deck, I was thinking, I might take a pitch to start the inning. But as I walked to the plate I said to myself, ‘I’m going to hit the first good pitch I get.’”

Boone hit the first pitch of the at-bat into the left-field seats. The home run defeated the Red Sox in one of the most awe-inspiring series in baseball history, and Boone became a big part of Yankees lore.

In the feature, Boone will tell the story of his memorable season and his classic home run in the first person. This special piece will include much more than what is in this blog entry, along with a few anecdotes that have never been published before.

–Alfred Santasiere III

January 8, 2013 – On the final day of the trip to Bermuda with Curtis Granderson, we received a special visit at Tucker’s Point resort.

Bermuda’s attorney general and minister of legal affairs, the Hon. Mark James Pettingill, [L in the photo below with Granderson and I] and the island’s minister of tourism development and transport, the Hon. Shawn Granville Crockwell [R] presented the Yankees centerfielder with a few gifts including a photo book about Bermuda.

In return, Granderson autographed a baseball for each of the dignitaries.

–Alfred Santasiere III

January 8, 2013 – Shortly after our cruise around Hamilton Harbor ended, Curtis Granderson and I, along with the rest of our group did some sightseeing in downtown Hamilton, and we visited the place that holds more Yankees history than any other spot in Bermuda.

In 1913, the New York Yankees held spring training at a complex in Bermuda’s capital city. That’s right, the Yankees spent one spring in Bermuda, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of that season.

The organization was officially given the name “New York Yankees” during the 1913 season, which meant the last spring training the organization spent as the New York Highlanders took place in Bermuda.

The Highlanders trained at a sports complex located next to the little Hotel Bruswick, which is where they stayed — and which is no longer in existence. According to the Society for American Baseball Research, the Highlanders, which were led by manager Frank Chance, scrimmaged against a minor league team from New Jersey named the Jersey City Skeeters, and after posting a 57-94 record in 1913, then Yankees brass decided not to return to Bermuda the following spring.

Today, the grounds located between Bruswick Street and Dutton Street that once featured the baseball diamonds that the likes of Birdie Cree, Roger Peckinpaugh and Hal Chase played on, feature a soccer field, a 500-seat tennis stadium, a few other clay tennis courts and a softball field.

For Granderson, the visit marked a meaningful part of the week.

“The legacy of the New York Yankees can be felt throughout the world,” the centerfielder said. “This shows that the tradition extends beyond the Bronx, beyond New York City and beyond the United States. We’re in Bermuda, and we’re visiting a place where the team prepared for a season. Regardless of where you travel, you can’t escape Yankees lore, and that is one of the many things that makes the organization so special.”

–Alfred Santasiere III

January 8, 2013 – On the third day of the trip to Bermuda with Curtis Granderson, we again received some VIP treatment and got to see much of the island.

At 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, Granderson and his friends, Yankees team photographer James Petrozzello and my family and I boarded Holding Firm 11, which is a 40-foot modern classy Searay boat, and we cruised through Hamilton Harbor for almost two hours.

The cruise enabled us to see about half of the island from the water including the capital city of Hamilton. As we cruised past mansion after mansion, the boat captain, Damian Tucker, educated us on the history of influential business people who have lived in Bermuda or who are currently property owners, including New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg along with Warren Buffett and Ross Perot.

While the mansions were fun to look at, the sunset that we were graced with in the last half hour of the boat ride was unforgettable. And, the glow of the setting sun off the water enabled Petrozzello to capture yet another unique and special photo of Granderson (below), which will be published in the May Issue of Yankees Magazine.

–Alfred Santasiere III