As a teenager in the late ’90s, many of my fondest baseball memories had to do with the Yankees and their string of World Series titles. Of course, there was The Boss, The Cour Four and their stoic skipper, Joe Torre.
However, there was another constant figure in the Yankee dugout that walked softly but carried a big stick — pitching coach, Mel Stottlemyre.
Stottlemyre always knew how to get the very best out of his pitchers, as his combination of finesse and wisdom played an integral part in the overall development of Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera.