"Not since the Oklahoma land rush of 1889 have so many been poised to reach for so much. That's an exaggeration, of course, but it should give you some picture of the upcoming American League pennant race, now that the Yankees have lost their monopoly on the high ground.
Ironically, the Yankees aren't the team to beat this time; they don't even have their usual psychological edge. The Yankees are assigned to the grouping of clubs not endowed with pennant credentials- the Angels, Senators, Red Sox and Athletics- who may have a tournament of their own deciding where they finish.
1966 Forecast: Sixth"
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1966
"Maybe New York should be declared a disaster area, after all. The latest victims are the once-invincible Yankees, who were struck by a holocaust over the winter that threatened to pin them down in sixth place for another season.
If there were any lingering doubts that last year's sixth-place finish was just one of those things that couldn't happen again, they were blown away by the staggering bad news on Mickey Mantle and Tony Kubek. Mantle had to undergo another operation - his fifth in 15 years - for the removal of a bone chip in his right shoulder in January. And Kubek, sub-par physically the last couple of years, learned he's had a pinched nerve in his neck that was creating pressure on the spinal column, and accepted the doctors' advice by announcing his retirement at 29.
Johnny Keane deserves better breaks than these, but he is the kind of man who can adjust to adversity. His work is cut out for him. If Mantle is recovered enough to be serviceable, he will see service in left field. Nobody knows how much he'll really be able to play this year, or how effective he will be hitting against the right-handers. And file away those speculations about converting Mickey into a first baseman at this risky stage of his career. As if worrying about Mantle's availability weren't enough, there is also the problem of right fielder Roger Maris. Until Maris has had a chance to fully test the right hand which was operated on during the winter, he, too, is a towering question mark. A healthy Tom Tresh (keep your fingers crossed), who had his finest season in '65, will play center field.
But with M&M in doubtful shape, Roger Repoz may be pressed into regular duty, ready or not. He has the power and the defensive skills, but the consistency may still be lacking. Lou Clinton, obtained from Cleveland, and perennial sub Hector Lopez are spare outfielders who can also deliver as pinch-hitters.
Joe Pepitone at first base poses another kind of problem. Keane says Joe will have to give up his careless habits if he is to regain the form that saw him hit 55 homers in his first two years with the Yankees. Bobby Richardson is still a classy little second baseman, but the Yanks will start grooming rookie Roy White against Bobby's eventual retirement. It's highly possible that Clete Boyer, a magician with a glove, will move over and play short. That would turn third base over to Horace Clarke, a rookie who batted .301 at Toledo last season. Ruben Amaro, who came from the Phillies for Phil Linz, is an accomplished shortstop but a light-weight hitter, or promising rookie Bobby Murcer may get a full shot at the job.
Mel Stottlemyre presents the only stopper on the pitching staff. Whitey Ford will still have his good days, but he is 37. Jim Bouton is ten years younger and his bad year in '65 was blamed on a tired arm. Al Downing still is plagued by wildness and inconsistency. Perhaps Bob Friend, an old pro from Pittsburgh, will lend some support here. Pedro Ramos, Jack Cullen, Steve Hamilton, Bill Stafford and Hal Reniff form the bullpen brigade. The best pitching prospect on the club is Rich Beck, who was 13-7 at Columbus but who may be in the Army when you read this.
Ellie Howard carries the burden of an undermanned catching corps on his 37-year-old shoulders, but it's not his shoulders the Yankees are concerned about. It's the arm which was operated on last year. Ellie's sub is Jake Gibbs, the former football star from Ole Miss who has yet to spend a full season in the majors."
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1966
1966 Yankees Depth Chart
C Elston Howard, Jake Gibbs
1B Joe Pepitone, Ray Barker
2B Bobby Richardson
3B Horace Clarke
SS Clete Boyer, Ruben Amaro
LF Mickey Mantle, Roger Repoz
CF Tom Tresh
RF Roger Maris
UTILITY:
Lou Clinton
Hector Lopez
Roy White
Bobby Murcer
PITCHERS:
Mel Stottlemyre Pedro Ramos
Whitey Ford Steve Hamilton
Jim Bouton Hal Reniff
Al Downing Bill Stafford
Bob Friend
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1966
"The Bombers should be better than last year, but '65 was no accident. Prediction: fifth.
The trademark of the New York Yankees for many years was the home run, but in 1965 it became the question mark.
Tyrants of the American League for 40 years and the most successful team in baseball history, the Yankees experienced a total collapse in 1965, to the consternation of manager Johnny Keane and general manager Ralph Houk.
Keane and Houk have chosen to write off the 1965 campaign as one that was ruined by injuries. But the evidence suggests that the Yankees came apart because of a combination of old age and declining careers. In short, the facts indicate that the era of Yankee supremacy is over and that the New Yorkers are faced with the tremendous task of rebuilding their empire from the ground up.
Why? Because the key men are all doubtful performers. How many games can Mickey Mantle play? Is Elston Howard still a star at 37? Has Roger Maris leveled off after a meteoric fling as a superstar? What about Whitey Ford?
The team that once terrorized the American League with its slugging was ninth in team batting, seventh in runs and hits, sixth in total bases and fifth in home runs! Unbelievable as it sounds, the Yankees' big problem is a lack of offense.
Where will the new offensive strength come from? Joe Pepitone's average has gone from .271 to .247 in the last three years. Bobby Richardson's .247 average was 24 points below his lifetime figure. Starting with the 1962 season, Tony Kubek's average went from .314 to .257 to .229 to .218. Finally, injuries forced him to quit. The most effective offensive player on the team in 1965 was Tom Tresh with 26 homers and 74 runs batted in. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig could be counted on to have totals like those by July 4.
The big lift has to come from Mantle, Maris and Howard - or it isn't going to come at all. Mantle is a physical wreck. Both his knees are troublesome and his right shoulder was operated on in January. At his peak, Mickey was Superman in a baseball uniform, but the ravages of time have cut him down to human proportions.
Maris is a contradiction. He is a better ball player than most people realize, but a weaker hitter than is generally assumed. Sure he hit 61 home runs in 1961, but he'll never top 40 again if he plays until he's 100 and he, too, was sidelined for much of '65 with an ailing hand.
Howard has had a tough career. He has labored to make the most of his skills and he has worked hard to attain stardom. Few players at any position last long as stars after 36, and there's no reason to believe that Howard can cheat the advancing years.
Ford, working with a circulatory ailment in his left arm, slipped in 1965. His 13 losses were the most of his career, he completed only nine of 36 starts and his 3.25 ERA was merely ordinary. The handwriting is on the wall for Whitey, too, and it says he is near the end of a gallant career.
Mel Stottlemyre (20-9 in 291 innings last season) is the new ace of the staff and should be a winner for campaigns to come. But Al Downing and Jim Bouton are both question marks. Downing has gone from a 2.56 earned run average in 1963 to 3.40 in 1965, and Bouton has gone from 2.53 to 3.02 to 4.83 during the last three seasons. The evidence suggests that the hitters have caught up to both."
-Allan Roth, 1966 Baseball Guidebook
YANKS HOPES DEPEND ON CONVALESCENTS
"Five of the Yankees' top stars had physical problems in 1965, and the Yanks tumbled all the way to sixth place. Such misfortune doesn't figure to strike again- but the New Yorkers don't figure to dominate the game as they have in the past, either.
Outfielders Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, shortstop Tony Kubek, catcher Elston Howard and pitcher Jim Bouton were the main injury sufferers last season, and Maris and Howard appear to have the best chance to bounce back with normal years. Their return should materially aid the attack, and the Yanks were ninth in team batting in 1965, the lowest they have ever been.
With Kubek being forced to retire, Manager Johnny Keane can only hope the others will be able to produce. Mantle, who batted .255, hit 19 homers and batted in 46 runs while hampered by a sore shoulder in addition to his usual leg problems, may not be able to play half the time after his operation, while Bouton, who won only four games, lost 15 and had an earned run average of 4.83, must overcome his sore arm or drop out of the starting rotation.
Howard (.233, 9, 45), who had a chip removed from his right elbow early last season and never gained top form, could be the most important cog in the Yankee comeback. The Yankees have nothing worth mentioning behind him on the catching staff.
Mel Stottlemyre (20-9, 2.63) and southpaw Whitey Ford (16-13, 3.25), who did better than many expected last year after his arm trouble, head the pitching staff. Bob Friend (8-12, 3.24), obtained from Pittsburgh, may help, as would comebacks by Bouton and lefty Al Downing (12-14, 3.40), who has been puzzlingly inconsistent.
Bill Stafford (3-8, 3.57), who pitched better than his record, and a couple of Toledo grads, Horace Womack (10-4, 2.17) and Jack Cullen (14-5, 2.68), are other starting candidates and could also help a none-too-strong bullpen. Pedro Ramos (5-5, 2.93), Hal Reniff (3-4, 3.81) and lefty Steve Hamilton (3-1, 1.40) head the relief corps.
The outfield figures to have Tom Tresh (.279, 26, 74) in center and Maris (.239, 8, 27), who played in only 46 games before undergoing surgery on his right hand, in right. Mantle will play as often as able, backed by young Roger Repoz (.220, 12, 28). Hector Lopez (.261, 7, 39) is also available.
The Yankee infield should be most competent on defense, but may again lack punch. Joe Pepitone (.247, 18, 62), who had a bad year and was in the doghouse, will be the first baseman again, backed by Ray Barker (.246, 7, 31). Bobby Richardson (.247, 6, 47), in what may be his last season, will be at second, and Clete Boyer (.251, 18, 58) at third.
Former Phil Ruben Amaro (.212, 0, 15) will take over at shortstop for the departed Kubek. Horace Clarke (.301, 2, 32 at Toledo), being groomed to succeed Richardson, will probably be the top infield reserve."
-Allen Lewis, Philadelphia Inquirer (Baseball Digest, April 1966)
QUICK RUNDOWN ON THE YANKEES
Strength: outstanding infield defense.
Greatest Need: good health for its injured stars.
Outlook: should bounce back into the first division and possible pennant contention.
-Allen Lewis, Philadelphia Inquirer (Baseball Digest, April 1966)
NON-ROSTER PLAYERS INVITED TO YANKEE SPRING TRAINING
"Catcher Bill Madden, who hit .269 at Columbus (Southern League); first baseman John Miller, who hit .262 with 10 homers and 55 RBIs in 123 games, also at Columbus, and right-handers Stan Bahnsen, 2-2, 2.73 in 53 innings at Columbus, and Jerry Walker, 6-8, 3.79 at Portland (Pacific Coast League)."
-Herbert Simons, Baseball Digest, April 1966
1966 Yankees Spring Training Depth Chart
C Elston Howard
1B Joe Pepitone
2B Bobby Richardson
3B Clete Boyer
SS Bobby Murcer
LF Mickey Mantle
CF Tom Tresh
RF Roger Maris
UTILITY:
C Jake Gibbs
3B Horace Clarke (2B)
SS Ruben Amaro
LF Ross Moschitto
CF Roger Repoz
RF Lou Clinton
PH Hector Lopez (OF)
PH Ray Barker (1B)
PITCHERS:
Mel Stottlemyre
Whitey Ford
Al Downing
Jim Bouton
Bob Friend
Bill Stafford
RELIEF PITCHERS:
Pedro Ramos
Steve Hamilton
Hal Reniff
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