The Bronx is Boiling: Yankees Offseason Vol. II

Mandatory Credit: nymag.com

MICKEY RIVERS AND ED FIGUEROA

Circa 1975, Rivers was making a name for himself as a speed demon. He had led the league in triples from 1974 to 1975 (hitting 24 over that span) and led the league with 70 stolen bases in ’75, but his talents were being misused for the sub-mediocre California Angels. The Yankees would go and pull off a steal of a trade, sending Bobby Bonds across the country for Ed Figueroa and Mickey Rivers.

Once acquiring Figueroa and Rivers, the Yankees would go on to the next three World Series, winning two of them. While the Bronx Zoo was afire in New York City, Rivers and Figueroa were playing unsung heroes to one of the more charismatic runs in baseball history. Figueroa would win 55 regular season games over the three year World Series stretch in the late 70s. He never performed very well in the post season, but the Yanks would have undoubtedly not been there were it not for his regular season stuff.

Mandatory Credit: Bettman/CORBIS

Rivers would go on to have the best four years of his 16-year career in pinstripes. He was beloved by Yankees fans for his all out hustle and blazing speed. He hit .299 in the Bronx, smashing 34 home runs and driving in 209 runs, all of which were the highest amongst any of his stops.He would go on to be a menace in the ALCS (batting .417 over his career) and the World Series (hitting .333 in the ’79 Fall Classic).