On the latest edition of New York, New York, John Jastremski sat down with former Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz for a conversation that ran well past an hour, covering his most famous playing moment, his read on the current Yankees and Knicks, and the DUI manslaughter trial he fought for years after his career ended.
Leyritz opened by walking through the mechanics behind his three-run homer off Mark Wohlers in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series, right down to the bat he borrowed from Darryl Strawberry because he’d already broken his own.
“I said, ‘Straw, I only got two bats left for tomorrow. When I face Smoltz, I go, this guy throws 100. Can I borrow one of your bats?’”
He drew a direct line between that ‘96 Yankees team and this year’s Knicks, pointing to the coaching change and the way Joe Torre made every player on a 25-man roster feel like he mattered.
“Joe Torre made all 25 of us feel like at some point I’m going to need you to just be ready... I was talking to some of the guys on the Knicks, and that’s the one thing he made all 10 of them guys feel.”
On the current Yankees, Leyritz set a low bar for what the team should expect from Aaron Judge’s calf injury this postseason, while calling the starting rotation the best he’s seen in his time with the organization.
“Anything we get from this guy’s gravy, you can’t assume he’s coming back, right?” “I think it’s the best Yankee starting pitching season I’ve ever seen.”
The conversation closed with Leyritz detailing the 2007 DUI manslaughter case that followed his playing career, including the plea deal he turned down and the faith that carried him through a three-year wait for trial.
“I am not taking the plea. I’m not giving this woman a chance to become a judge.”
Hear Leyritz tell the whole story in his own words on the full episode of New York, New York.