Spring Training Reports - 2000

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Legends Field
1 Steinbrenner Drive
Tampa, Fla. 33614
Stadium Built: 1996
Years at park: 5
Capacity: 10,200
Dimensions: 318' to LF
314' to RF
399', 385' to alleys
408' to center
Parking: Paid at park
Workout Information
Pitchers, catchers report: Feb. 18
Others report: Feb. 23
Practice times: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Practice site: Legends Field
Stadium Directions
Stadium directions
Take Dale Mabry Hwy. North, Exit 23-A off I-275. Across from Raymond James Stadium on the left.
Ticket Info
Box seats: Sold out
Reserved, lower: $13
Reserved upper: $11, $9
Order by phone: (813) 287-8844
(813) 879-2244
Order online:
Legends Field
Seating diagram
Projected lineup
1. Chuck Knoblauch, 2B
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Paul O'Neill, RF
4. Bernie Williams, CF
5. Tino Martinez, 1B
6. Shane Spencer, DH
7. Ricky Ledee, LF
8. Jorge Posada, C
9. Scott Brosius, 3B
Probable rotation
1. Orlando Hernandez, RHP
2. Roger Clemens, RHP
3. David Cone, RHP
4. Andy Pettitte, LHP
5. Ed Yarnall, LHP

       Yankees SPRING TRAINING Attitude In 2000: 
       Joe Cool Relaxed Torre enjoys difference
Tampa-Dark clouds hovered constantly above the 1999 Yankees, from the first day of spring training, when Joe Torre arrived here with a vague sense that he was seriously ill, to the last day of the World Series, when Paul O'Neill's father died. But the sad and scary subtext to last season's championship has finally passed, and as the Yankees begin another spring training today, nobody reflects that more than their manager Tanned, fit and relaxed from a month in the tropics, Torre lounged in his office yesterday, casually chatting with a large group of reporters. The topics were varied, but the responses uniform: Torre's outlook on his life and his team are equally sunny and calm.
"I feel as good," Torre said, "as I've felt at any time." Torre has every right. Winner of three of the past four World Series, Torre completed radiation treatment for his prostate cancer in December and spent most of January in Hawaii with his wife and 4-year-old daughter. His trip was two weeks longer than normal and his vacation a lot longer than that.
"I didn't work all winter," he said, clearly content.
Since he was diagnosed with cancer last March, Torre said he savors the here and now more and has become far less preoccupied with what might lie ahead. He hopes that his team has learned to do the same, if not from the heartache they endured last year, when three players lost fathers, then at least from their ability to win back-to-back World Series, especially in the wake of a record-breaking season they initially struggled to duplicate.
"I think they learned from it last year," Torre said. "The first half of last year, you know, there were a lot of things: my cancer, I think they were uncomfortable with that, there was a little more turmoil, there was a lot of things going on, they were unsettled.
"I still sensed that guys were not satisfied with what they were doing because it wasn't as good as the year before." The Yankees eventually shed that burden and went on to breeze through the postseason. Now, Torre said, there are no pressures.
For the first time since taking over as manager in 1996, Torre said he is not concerned about his team's attitude. In 1997, he said, there was pressure to prove 1996 was not a fluke. There was a bitter taste in the spring following the 1997 Division Series loss in Cleveland and last spring there was the suffocating pressure of 125 victories in 1998.
"Last year was torture," Torre said. "As much as you talk about not trying to live up to that, you can't help yourself from being compared to that all the time." Now, Torre reflects only lightheartedness and optimism. Asked about his biggest concerns this year, Torre mentioned the advancing age of David Cone and Roger Clemens, who each will turn 37, before quickly explaining that he thinks each will be successful.
When assessing the rest of the AL East, he was blissfully ignorant, saying generally that he thought Toronto would suffer from Shawn Green's departure and "Baltimore, I have no clue," he said. "You have Mussina, you have Erickson and guys like that, but I have no clue what they're going to be like." Not even Chuck Knoblauch's throwing yips, which caused Torre to begin pulling the second baseman in the late innings of the postseason, registered on the manager's radar of concern yesterday.
"Starting this season, that is not something I would do or will do unless it's called for," Torre said. "But it's going to take a long, long time for me to be convinced of that." Torre's mind is not cluttered with negative thoughts, a marked change from a year ago. He didn't share his fear with reporters at the time, but he knew this time last year that doctors were alarmed by the results of a blood test taken the prior month. A few weeks later, his cancer diagnosis was the first bomb of a season-long bad-news campaign.
Now, the bad news and the cancer are in remission.
"That's that, until somebody taps me on the shoulder and says 'Hey, come on in here, we have to do something else,'" Torre said of his cancer treatments. "I'm not going to worry about that or anticipate it." There's no reason to. Pitchers and catcher begin working out today, what Torre called "the most boring time of year as far as baseball goes." And boring is beautiful for Torre, nothing but clear and calm skies.


Spring Training Roster - New York Yankees
Pitchers: Ryan Bradley, Mike Buddie, Roger Clemens, David Cone, Luis De Los Santos, Craig Dingman, Darrell Einertson, Todd Erdos, Ben Ford, Jason Grimsley, Orlando Hernandez, Jeff Juden, Ramiro Mendoza, Jeff Nelson, Todd Noel, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Mike Stanton, Jay Tessmer, Allen Watson, Jake Westbrook, Ed Yarnall. Catchers: Jim Leyritz, Jorge Posada. Infielders: Clay Bellinger, Scott Brosius, Derek Jeter, D'Angelo Jimenez, Nick Johnson, Chuck Knoblauch, Tino Martinez, Wily Mo Pena, Alfonso Soriano. Outfielders: Terry Jones, Ricky Ledee, Donzell McDonald, Paul O'Neill, Shane Spencer, Darryl Strawberry, Bernie Williams. Non-roster invitees: IF Mike Coolbaugh, C Michael Hernandez, RHP Domingo Jean, RHP Mika Jerzembeck, OF Felix Jose, OF Roberto Kelly, RHP Brandon Knight, IF Juan Melo, C Julio Mosquera, C Tom Pagnozzi, OF Ryan Thompson, C Chris Turner, C Victor Valencia, C Tom Wilson, OF Jon Zuber.

                  TAMPA, Fla. -- Don Mattingly smacked a fist into his glove and tugged
                  at his pinstriped pants. He'd been gone too long, and was eager to get
                  busy. 
Five years after walking away from baseball, he jogged up the dugout steps Wednesday and joined Derek Jeter and Reggie Jackson in the sun-splashed outfield. A hundred fans cheered the Spring Training instructor, wearing his retired No. 23 jersey. "This is probably the first time I've put on a uniform since taking it off," Mattingly said. "Maybe they took care of me by giving me another belt size." Donnie Baseball and the New York Yankees. It always was a neat fit. Still trim at 38, Mattingly looked like he never missed a beat. The Yankees' last captain walked into the clubhouse with Ron Guidry, played catch with coach Chris Chambliss, joked with Yogi Berra and Don Zimmer and visited with old teammate Paul O'Neill. "The time was right for me," Mattingly said. "One of the great things about this club is the history and the legacy. Hopefully, I'll be a part of it and help someone." Said owner George Steinbrenner: "He's part of the family." Mattingly spent his first day ever at Legends Field roaming the diamonds. On the main field, the nine-time Gold Glove first baseman stood behind the bag in a pickoff drill and watched Tino Martinez, the man who replaced him. On a back field, he studied 21-year-old Nick Johnson, the Yankees' first baseman of the future. Johnson will be Mattingly's pet project for the next few weeks. The six-time All-Star will travel over to nearby Dunedin to watch the rookie play in the Yankees' exhibition opener Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays. "I think everyone will benefit from him being here," Johnson said. "Just watching him and learning from him. I want to soak up everything he has to say." Noted Jeter: "I think he was more of a lead-by-example guy. He'll be working with Nick. He'll be accessible for all of us." Mattingly, a career .307 hitter, did not swing a bat on his opening day in camp. Asked if he knew the team needed a left-handed DH, he laughed. "No, I'm not aware of that," he said. Manager Joe Torre, however, did not want Mattingly for his swing. His mere presence will be enough. "Donnie has been threatening to come year after year. I think he finally feels comfortable with it," Torre said. "He's a little antsy on the first day. He doesn't want to step on anybody's toes." Mattingly traveled to Tampa from his home in Evansville, Ind., where he owns and operates a horse farm. He said it was difficult to leave his wife and three children, even for a few weeks. Mattingly played 14 seasons for the Yankees and ended his career after a playoff loss to Seattle in 1995. He never got to play in the World Series, and left right before New York's three championships. He said he had no regrets. "You could take the three World Series rings and put them in my right hand and I'll take the time with my kids and family in the other hand, and if you looked at a scale, my left hand is just down to the ground," he said, tilting his arms to illustrate. "I feel like I did the exact right thing. It was perfect for me. It was the right time," he said. Mattingly said he'd thought about coaching full-time in the future, or possibly even managing. For now, he was glad to be a Yankees spring instructor, just like his friend, the late Catfish Hunter, once was. "I always wanted to do what he was doing," he said. Clearly, Mattingly's arrival was appreciated all around. Mike McAfee, a 30-year-old Yankees fan from Olean, N.Y., got teary eyed when his hero signed an autograph for his 1-year-old son - Bradley Mattingly McAfee. "I always said I wanted to name a child after him," McAfee said. "He was the best."
2000 New York Yankees Roster

NO. PITCHERS            B  T   HT   WT      BORN  
 
58  Randy Choate        L  L  6-3  180    9/5/75
22  Roger Clemens       R  R  6-4  230    8/4/62
36  David Cone          L  R  6-1  190    1/2/63
60  Craig Dingman       R  R  6-4  195   3/12/74
56 X-Darrell Einertson  R  R  6-2  190    9/4/72
17  Dwight Gooden       R  R  6-3  210  11/16/64
38  Jason Grimsley      R  R  6-3  180    8/7/67
26  Orlando Hernandez   R  R  6-2  210  10/11/69  
63  Randy Keisler       L  L  6-3  190   2/24/76
56  Ted Lilly           L  L  6-1  180    1/4/76
55  Ramiro Mendoza      R  R  6-2  170   6/15/72
12  Denny Neagle        L  L  6-2  225   9/13/68
43  Jeff Nelson         R  R  6-8  235  11/17/66
46  Andy Pettitte       L  L  6-5  235   6/15/72
42  Mariano Rivera      R  R  6-2  170  11/29/69
29  Mike Stanton        L  L  6-1  215    6/2/67
62  Jay Tessmer         R  R  6-3  190  12/26/71
27 X-Allen Watson       L  L  6-3  212  11/18/70

NO. CATCHERS            B  T   HT   WT      BORN   

20  Jorge Posada        S  R  6-2  205   8/17/71
25  Chris Turner        R  R  6-3  200   3/23/69

NO. INFIELDERS          B  T   HT   WT      BORN   

35  Clay Bellinger      R  R  6-3  195  11/18/68
18  Scott Brosius       R  R  6-1  202   8/15/66
 2  Derek Jeter         R  R  6-3  195   6/26/74
11  Chuck Knoblauch     R  R  5-9  170    7/7/68
24  Tino Martinez       L  R  6-2  210   12/7/67
14  Luis Sojo           R  R 5-11  175    1/3/66
53  Alfonso Soriano     R  R  6-1  180    1/7/78  
13  Jose Vizcaino       S  R  6-1  180   2/26/68

NO. OUTFIELDERS         B  T   HT   WT      BORN  
 
33  Jose Canseco        R  R  6-3  240    7/2/64
31  Glenallen Hill      R  R  6-3  230   3/22/65
28  David Justice       L  L  6-3  200   4/14/66
19 X-Roberto Kelly      R  R  6-2  202   10/1/64
21  Paul O'Neill        L  L  6-4  215   2/25/63    
19  Luis Polonia        L  L  5-8  150  10/27/64  
47 X-Shane Spencer      R  R 5-11  210   2/20/72
45  Ryan Thompson       R  R  6-3  215   11/4/67
51  Bernie Williams     S  R  6-2  205   9/13/68    

(X) - DISABLED LIST 

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