March 24 – Happy Birthday Steve Karsay
Yankee GM, Brian Cashman recently admitted he’s had his heart broken by glowing spring training assessments of past Yankee bullpens that ended up going bad during the regular seasons that followed. He then specifically mentioned the name Steve Karsay. The Yankees had signed the big right-hander to a four-year $21 million free agent contract after the 2001 season. Up to that point, the Queens native had pitched for three different big league teams and his best years had been 1999, when he won 10 of 12 decisions for Cleveland and the following season, when he saved 20 games for the Indians.
At first, Karsay looked like a great investment for New York. He was a workhorse for Joe Torre during the 2002 season, appearing in 78 games, winning six of ten decisions and even stepping in to save 12 games when Mo Rivera went on the DL that year. But all those innings took a toll and Karsay needed back surgery that November. Unable to work out during the off season, he reported to spring training with his arm out of shape and injured his shoulder. He made a total of thirteen appearances for the Yankees during the next three seasons earning about $1.2 million for every inning he pitched. The Yankees finally released him in May of 2005 and after trials with the Rangers and the A’s, Karsay hung up his glove for good after the 2006 season.
This former Yankee pitcher, this former Yankee first baseman and this three-team-teammate of Babe Ruth also celebrate birthdays on March 24.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | NYY | 6 | 4 | .600 | 3.26 | 78 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 88.1 | 87 | 33 | 32 | 7 | 30 | 65 | 1.325 | ||||||
| 2003 | Did not play in major leagues (Injured) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1.050 | |||||||
| 2005 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2.000 | |||||||
| 11 Yrs | 32 | 39 | .451 | 4.01 | 357 | 40 | 151 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 603.1 | 636 | 289 | 269 | 59 | 199 | 458 | 1.384 | |||||||
| CLE (4 yrs) | 15 | 14 | .517 | 3.23 | 164 | 4 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 223.0 | 210 | 84 | 80 | 15 | 69 | 191 | 1.251 | |||||||
| OAK (4 yrs) | 8 | 16 | .333 | 4.97 | 45 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 219.0 | 254 | 129 | 121 | 29 | 74 | 145 | 1.498 | |||||||
| NYY (3 yrs) | 6 | 4 | .600 | 3.39 | 91 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 101.0 | 102 | 41 | 38 | 9 | 34 | 74 | 1.347 | |||||||
| TEX (1 yr) | 0 | 1 | .000 | 7.47 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.2 | 26 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 1.979 | |||||||
| ATL (1 yr) | 3 | 4 | .429 | 3.43 | 43 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 44.2 | 44 | 21 | 17 | 4 | 17 | 39 | 1.366 | |||||||
Pinstripe Birthdays 