MOOSIC, Pa. — Ruth. Gehrig. DiMaggio. Jeter. Scranton?
Some of baseball’s most famous names have carried the Yankees to the playoffs over the years. But if the Yankees get there this season — they are comfortably atop the wild-card standings and in contention for the division title with less than six weeks remaining — they will owe a debt to a less illustrious source: their Class AAA affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, whose stadium is in Moosic.
With a lineup that features the resurgent sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, the Yankees — so used to throwing money at their problems — have also counted on an extreme personnel tactic to spur their surprising season.