New York Yankees reliever Mike Stanton (Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport)
The New York Yankees stole a relief ace when they signed Mike Stanton in 1997.
The 1996 Yankees did pretty well for themselves — after all, Charlie Hayes’ catch summoned the bubbly for the first time in 18 years. All in all, you’d probably call that a rousing success.
But entering 1997, New York had some…bullpen questions? That can’t be right. Didn’t they have a young Mariano Rivera with a 15-year career ahead of him?
Well, yes, but…he wasn’t Rivera yet. He wasn’t a closer — and they’d lost one of those when they let John Wetteland walk to Texas on a four-year deal coming straight off his World Series MVP honors.