Although they won 91 games in 1983, the New York Yankees missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season; which, by all accounts, is a season to forget in the estimation of owner George Steinbrenner.
However, the one lasting memory from the aforementioned season that should always bring a smile to the face of ‘The Boss’ came, coincidentally enough, on the day Steinbrenner was celebrating his 53rd birthday.
On July 4, 1983, after pitching his first major league shutout in his previous start, left-handed Yankees flame thrower Dave Righetti took the mound against Boston Red Sox and hurled his second; only this time ‘Rags’ didn’t allow the opposing team to get a hit in the process. The highlight of the Independence Day pitching gem was when Righetti struck out the venerable Wade Boggs for the final out in a 4-0 Yankees’ victory.
Righetti’s unexpected birthday gift to Steinbrenner was the first Yankee no-hitter since Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series and the first by a Yankee left-hander since George Mogridge in 1917.
Ironically, Righetti, who finished the season with a 14-8 record and an ERA of 3.44, was converted into a closer the following year and went on to lead the American League in saves three years later; becoming the first player in Major League Baseball (MLB) history to pitch a no-hitter and lead his league in saves.
Righetti, the current pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants, played for the Giants, the Oakland Athletics, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago White Sox prior to retiring in 1995 and completed his career with a record of 82-79, an ERA of 3.46 and 252 saves.
But among his career awards and highlights, including winning the 1981 Rookie of the Year Award, being a 2-time All-Star selection (1986, 1987) and a 2-time recipient of the American League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award (1986, 1987); pitching a no-hitter in a Yankees uniform in Yankee Stadium against the Boston Red Sox, on the birth date of the United States and George Steinbrenner, has to trump them all.
Thanks for the fond memory, Mr. Righetti and Happy 80th, Mr. Steinbrenner.
God bless.
Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video of Righetti's completion of his no-hit bid against the Boston Red Sox in 1983.
This Day in NY Sports History: Yankees Dave Righetti No-Hits Boston Red Sox
