2. Sam Militello: Aug. 9, 1992
A sixth-round pick out of the University of Tampa in 1990, Sam Militello laid waste to minor league bats as he flew through the system, reaching the big leagues in only his second full season as a professional.
His first opponent—the Boston Red Sox—at Yankee Stadium.
This wasn’t the modern-day Red Sox, mind you. Take a look at the lineup that the visitors from Beantown trotted out.
- 3B Wade Boggs
- 2B Jody Reed
- LF Bob Zupcic
- RF Tom Brunansky
- 1B Mo Vaughn
- DH Jack Clark
- CF Herm Winningham
- C Tony Peña
- SS John Valentin
Still, it was a lineup of (mostly) major leaguers, including a future Yankee and Hall of Famer in Wade Boggs and a former Yankee in Jack Clark.
But not even Boggs could get a hit off of the 22-year-old righty. Peña, who would go on to be a key Yankees coach under both Joe Torre and Joe Girardi, was the only Red Sox player to muster a hit against Militello. The Yanks would go on to win 6-0.
Militello’s final line: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K
Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for him in the majors.
Without a big-time fastball, Militello relied heavily on an arsenal of breaking balls, which ultimately led to significant arm injuries. He’d make his last MLB appearance less than a year later on April 22, 1993, tossing five innings of one-run ball in a win over Oakland.
