Whitey Ford

As the New York Yankees opened spring training in 1967, they had many question marks, not the least of which was the status of 38-year-old Whitey Ford.

The greatest pitcher in Yankees' history was a free agent, but only because he didn't want to occupy a spot on the roster until he discovered if he could still pitch.

Three of the greatest pitchers in New York Yankee history have a lot in common.

Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry, and Mariano Rivera each were great.

Ford is in the Hall of Fame, Rivera is a lock for it, and Guidry would have made the Hall if injuries had not shortened his career.

Number 16 is permanently attached to the wall in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium.

So is Number 49.

Number 42 will be there as soon as he retires.

All three of these guys were big game pitchers.

All three of them played their entire careers only with the Yankees.

Giants' fan Larry Levensen always argued that Leo Durocher could run rings around Casey Stengel when it came to managing. Durocher never blew a World Series the way Stengel did in 1960.

Casey Stengel's Error

Nothing was better than seeing the Yankees beat the Pirates in just about every category in the 1960 World Series, except for the only category that counts, which is games won.

Few teams have dominated a World Series the way the Los Angeles Dodgers dominated in 1963.

The Dodgers won 99 games during the season, and faced the defending World Champion Yankees in the Series for the first time since they abandoned Brooklyn.

Outstanding Los Angeles Pitching

Sandy Koufax had the first of his four outstanding years, going 25-5 with a minuscule 1.88 ERA, a 159 ERA+, and an 0.875 WHIP.

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