The Midsummer Classic has been played in New York City eight times – on four occasions at Yankee Stadium, twice at the Polo Grounds, once at Ebbets Field and once at Shea Stadium. The first All-Star Game was played at Comiskey Park in 1933, and from 1959 to 1962 two All-Star Games were played each season. The MVP Award wasn’t handed out until 1962. Here’s a look back at all eight New York All-Star contests.

1934 (Polo Grounds): This was the second All-Star Game, and is most remembered for Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell striking out five Hall-of-Famers in a row. Starting in the first inning, the lefty screwball artist punched out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin consecutively. The AL went on to win the game, though, by a score of 9-7. Ruth, Gehrig and Foxx were arguably the greatest 3, 4, 5 hitters ever put into a lineup. They only went a combined 2 for 11, though, with Foxx getting both hits and driving in the …

After taking a two-week absence to quietly ponder the Hot Stove Player of the Week’s place in modern society and how it can benefit mankind as a whole, it’s back and better than ever (ok, I was on vacation two week’s ago and just didn’t feel like doing it last week; and it’s still as mediocre as ever). Over the Fourth of July weekend, the Mets were hit over the head with the Liberty Bell by the Phillies in the City of Brotherly Love, but the Yankees made America proud by taking three out of four against the Blue Jays and showing our country’s biggest rival and threat to national security – Canada – who’s the boss. Next up between the two countries: The battle for bacon supremecy. The other big news around baseball this week was the return of Manny Ramirez. In some circles he was treated like a conquering hero instead of the ass-clown that he really is. He’s selfish, fakes injuries to get out …

Marty Appel is the behind-the-scenes Mr. Yankee. He was the PR guru for the Yankees back in the 1970s, and you’ve seen him in Yankeeographies and anywhere else a Yankee expert is needed. He was around the team for Thurman Munson’s whole career, and, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Munson’s tragic death, he’s just written a book about the former Yankee catcher, Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain (Doubleday), which will be released on July 7th. Appel was friends with Munson, and his insights into the grouchy, yet lovable Yankee are far-reaching and detailed, and include a minute-by-minute account of the Captain’s fateful last flight. He interviewed Munson’s siblings and former teammates, and Appel was there himself as a first-hand witness to the Munson era. After his PR days with the Yanks ended, Appel moved on to produce Yankee broadcasts on WPIX, started his own PR firm, has written countless books, including having co-written Munson’s autobiography in the late ’70s, and was …

When I was a little kid, coloring books were still really popular. Nowadays, with the spread of the Internet and new forms of electronic entertainment, it seems like books are taking a real hit. Sad to think that, 20 years ago, a nice new book could be someones prized possession for the week or month or year it takes to complete. In today’s society, kids are using the Internet before they can even understand many of the words on the screen.

But every once in a while something comes along that brings us back, to that stinky paper smell that we love. In 1997 it was Harry Potter, and in 2003 it was The Da Vinci Code. Well another six years have gone by, and there’s a new must read on the shelves. The New York Yankees Coloring & Activity Book by Peg Connery-Boyd and Brendan Fitzgerald is the new feel good book of the year! Talk about a crowning achievement for children’s literature. This is the best coloring book I have ever seen. The crossword …

The Yankees’ major league record of 18 straight errorless games came to an end this week. They also lost a game started by Carl Pavano, whose record of four straight years of stealing the Yankees’ money came to a halt this year (I haven’t seen somebody do less in that amount of time since the four years I spent in junior high school). There was a revolving door on the local teams’ pitching staffs the last few days: Chien-Ming Wang is back in the rotation (do they want a do-over on that decision?), with Phil Hughes heading out to the bullpen (he wasn’t demoted, though, he was just “relocated”); J.J. Putz, on the other hand, was demoted to the seventh inning (but now may be out for the season; who knew that the crown jewel of the Seattle trade would turn out to be Jeremy Reed?), and Bobby Parnell will work the eighth. And more roster moves were needed by the Mets, as the injuries continued to pile …

Since the Yankees are over .500, I’m feeling the pinstripe bandwagon right now. Let’s talk about someone who doesn’t get enough credit, and that man is Derek Jeter.

Over the past decade, analysts and statisticians alike have given their opinion on why Derek Jeter is OVERrated……

Sabermetrics can kiss my ass.

First, let’s take our cap off to the CAPTAIN of the NEW YORK YANKEES, the greatest franchise in the history of professional sports. There have only been 11 captains in the Yankee’s 108 year history. Names like Gehrig, Ruth, Munson, Guidry, Mattingly, and of course, Derek Jeter.

What player in this league could keep so many big, overpriced ego’s in check? Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi.

Bill James. This guy has never picked up a bat in his life, yet somehow his mathematical calculations say that Derek Jeter is the worst shortstop in the league. Here’s an interesting point. James’ Range Factor, which is essentially the BCS of baseball statistics, puts Rafael Furcal as the SS with …

The Yankees are red hot, with a nine-game winning streak that included three walk-off wins in a row over the weekend. And they’re having so much fun, that they’ll be starring in a 1970s-like summer replacement series, The Yankees’ Summertime Funtime Razzle Dazzle Variety Hour, which will co-star Charo. The Mets’ season, on the other hand, is  going right down the toilet. And speaking of toilets, here’s a tip of the cap to the Mets fan of the week. This faithful Met follower got her arm stuck in a toilet at Citi Field trying to retrieve her gold tooth, which fell in the commode. The Mets finally have working toilets in their stadium, but the fans don’t know how to use them. How did her tooth fall in there anyway? Maybe she caught a case of the yips from Mike Pelfrey. A plumber stated, “People have probably been getting their hands stuck in toilets as long as there have been toilets.” If I had a …

Is there anything more heartwarming than a cheating, lying, adulterous phony hitting a home run on the first pitch he faces after coming off the disabled list? I couldn’t stop crying when Alex Rodriguez smashed his storybook-like four-bagger against the Orioles on Friday night. The last time I wept like that was at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life (or was it Planet of the Apes?). Speaking of disgraced drug cheats, Roger Clemens came out of the woodwork this week and is still in complete denial about his steroid use. He also denied ever playing for the Blue Jays. When presented with proof, he stated, “I don’t think the Toronto Blue Jays even exist, so I couldn’t have possibly played for them. Besides, I don’t even know where Toronto is.”

Winner

CC Sabathia: The Yankees’ big-money ace is beginning to look like an ace. He tossed a complete-game shutout against Baltimore on Friday, and last night pitched eight innings only allowing two runs to earn …

Just over a month into the season, it is obvious that the Yankees have the necessary pieces to make it back to the postseason.  However, with a lineup that changes daily, and a starter that should be in the bullpen, the Yankees will never come into rhythm.

Upon A-Rod’s return from the disabled list possibly as soon as this Friday, the lineup should look like and stay as follows:

Johnny Damon – LF

Derek Jeter – SS

Mark Teixeira – 1B

Alex Rodriguez – 3B

Robinson Cano – 2B

Hideki Matsui – DH

Nick Swisher – RF

Jose Molina – C (when Jorge Posada returns from the DL, Posada moves up one spot, and Swisher slides down.  This allows Swisher who is a high OBP guy, and Cabrera to set the stage for the top of the lineup by being on base a lot)

Melky Cabrera – CF

This lineup will allow the Yankees to have the necessary balance by allowing everyone in it the comfort of knowing where they are going to hit and most importantly placing them in slots that they are best suited …

In watching the Yankees first four home games this past weekend, you cannot help but notice the many lower level patches of seats which are vacant for each and every game.

Were the Yankees really serious in believing that even hardcore fans would pay anywhere from $300 to $2,625 a seat just to watch a baseball game?

Corporate America cannot even afford these outrageous prices.   

Fans are left with no other choice but to stay home or look around for middle or upper deck seats.  The problem however is that these seats have already been purchased by season ticket holders who could no longer afford their lower level seats.

This has resulted in fans within these levels to be relocated to different sections that they have been in for years or a reduction in games within their current seats.

Prices should have remained the same or, at the very worst, slightly increased in line with general inflation. The Yankees could have then counted on a sure sellout for every home game …

The bigs news this week was, of course, the opening of Citi Field along with the new Yankee Stadium. And that means we’ll have a whole slew of firsts: First hit, first run scored, first home run. In Citi Field, things got off to an ominous start for the Mets when Padre Jody Gerut became the first batter, got the first hit and smashed the first home run all at once. The Mets even heard their first boos as the ball sailed over the fence. David Wright hit the first Mets home run. Mike Pelfrey was the first pitcher in Citi Field to fall off the mound. Ryan Church was the first outfielder to drop a fly ball. The first in-game interviewee was Ralph Kiner. The first in-booth guest was Tom Seaver. The first player to score all the way from first base on a passed ball was Jose Reyes. And the first balk, which let in the game-winning run, was committed by Pedro Feliciano. Somehow losing on a balk …

Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz.

1. Yogi Berra (1951, ‘54, ‘55), Elston Howard (1963) and Thurman Munson (1976) have all won the MVP.

2. Munson is the only Yankee catcher to win the Rookie of the Year award. He won in 1970.

3. Jake Gibbs caught the most games (311) for the Yanks from 1967 to 1969.

4. Jorge Posada is second on the list of most home runs be a Yankee catcher, with 222.

5. Bill Dickey is second on the list of games played by Yankee catchers, with 1,789.

6. Mike Stanley played for the Yanks (1992-’95, ‘97) and Red Sox (1996-’97, ‘98-’00) two different times with each team.

7. Pat Collins appeared in 92 games for the 1927 Yankees.

8. Jerry Narron was the starting catcher for the Yankees the day after Thurman Munson tragically died.

9. Elrod Hendricks was the catcher the Yanks received from Baltimore in a 10-player trade in 1976. New York also acquired Ken Holtzman, Doyle Alexander, Grant Jackson and Jimmy Freeman in exchange for Rudy May, Tippy Martinez, …