The date is July 30, 1990, and the Yankees - under Bucky Dent and Stump Merrill - are destined to finish 7th in the AL with 95 losses. They are already 15 games out and facing mighty Detroit, with Alan Trammel, Travis Fryman and Chet Lemon. It's the bottom of the fourth, 1-to-nothing, and Dave LaPoint is starting for the Yankees. (I suspect it predates his famous "La Lob.") Cecil Fielder is batting for the Tigers.
The news comes over the wire, and John is flat-out stunned. The Commissioner of Baseball has suspended the owner of the Yankees for his illegal political contributions. His broadcast partner, Jay Johnson, can only say, "Wow."
"George Steinbrenner - the pitch to Fielder is down low, isn't this amazing? - but it is that George Steinbrenner will step down as the managing general partner and stay on as a limited partner."
Folks, this is the Yankee Big Bang, Noah's flood, the asteroid that kills off the dinosaurs...Of course, it's punctuated with a blast, called by John without a homer-holler or even an IT IS HIGH...
"And this ball is way gone... a humungus home run by Cecil Fielder!"
Close your eyes and listen. This is golden.
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