A few weeks ago, following the news of the death of Angels franchise icon Garret Anderson, John wrote a tribute to him, hailing him as one of the great Yankee Killers of the recent crop. Now, today we are hot on the heels of the Yankees, once again being defeated by the man we have called “an old enemy,” Nathan Eovaldi. The Yankees have lost just twice in their last nine games, and both times came at the hands of Eovaldi. He’s almost always pitched well in such situations, with a career ERA of 2.94 in 140.2 innings against New York, and he’s been especially good lately. Since the start of 2025, he has allowed a total of two runs in four starts over a span of 29 innings, a minuscule 0.63 ERA. Goodness.
Given Eovaldi’s excellence, who do you think is the Yankees’ best killer on the mound? If you need a refresher, there are some good names to consider. Hall of Fame left-hander Randy Johnson was brutal to just about everyone, helping two separate teams send the Yankees home in October at a time when that didn’t happen very often: first with the 1995 Mariners, fair before the dynasty really worked and then with the 2001 Diamondbacks, who effectively ended the championship race. He even pitched in relief during the win-or-go-home elimination games both times!
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There’s also Luis Tiant, Dave Stieb, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett, Cliff Lee, Dallas Keuchel, Justin Verlander and, of course, the one originally called the “Yankee Killer,” mid-century All-Star Frank Lary. Knuckleball Hall of Fame swingman Hoyt Wilhelm also had a 1.98 ERA in 209.1 career innings against New York around the same time as Lary, and he also threw what still remains the last complete no-hitter against the Yankees in 1958. If you want something obscure and random, I remember the Red Sox had a smooth pitcher named Frank Castillo who gave the Yankees fits in the early years. 2000s. More recently, Cristian Javier and Brayan Bello have been tougher customers against the Yankees than most other teams.
So choose! I think Johnson probably has too much of a resume to ignore, but as non-Hall of Famers go, Cliff Lee was never fun to face. And like Johnson, he made the Yankees look horrible in the postseason virtually every chance he got.
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It’s no surprise that the Yankees front office wanted him so much, almost trading him in 2010 and coming up short in the free agent lottery in 2011. However, if you prefer to be optimistic (somewhat), perhaps it would have turned out like Johnson’s abbreviated, up-and-down career with the Yankees.
Today on the site, Peter will focus on an at-bat from David Bednar’s five-out save on May 5 for his Sequence of the Week feature, Madison will have the Rivalry Recap, and Jonathan’s Yankees birthday post looks at Tom Zachary, who won a World Series in pinstripes in 1928, but is most famous for something he did before joining the Yankees: delivering the legendary Babe Ruth’s then-record 60 home runs. 1927 campaign. Later, Estevão will reflect on the extremely mediocre outlook of the American League, and after the morning session, Jeremy will pay his respects to the late John Sterling with a tribute from the perspective of an aspiring broadcaster in his own right.
Today’s showdown
New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers
Time: 12:35 pm EST
Video: YES, Rangers Sports Network
Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York