1. The Lost Yankee

GONE

September 15, 1970.

Good evening baseball fans and welcome to an unusually cool evening at Yankee Stadium. This is Phil Rizzuto and it is electric at the old ballpark. Fans from near and far have jammed into the Bronx ballyard to perhaps witness history as 25-year-old Macky Donovan, the fleet-footed second baseman for the Yankees, stands on the brink of baseball immortality. One hit tonight would pull the Mighty Mack into a tie with Joe DiMaggio for the record they said would never be broken. Macky has collected hits in 55 straight games over the course of the last two months, a streak that began on July 2 and has been full of nail biters along the way. An unbelievable 30 of Macky's hits to extend the streak have come in the Brooklyn native's last at bat. Folks, watching this streak has been a feat to behold.

Ralph Houk, in his fourth full season as Yankee skipper, has delivered the lineup card to home plate umpire Ron Luciano and ... wait ... what's that? Houk is jogging back to the dugout, having what appears to be a heated discussion with hitting coach Dick Howser. Ralph makes his way back to home plate and ... it ... looks ...like he's changing the lineup card. We'll wait for a call from the dugout to find out what exactly might be transpiring downstairs. We'll return after this from Certs. Certs ... it's two, two, two mints in one.

The man tried to walk quietly down the cement hallway but with each step he took, the click, click, click of his cleats seemed to grow louder and louder, piercing his ears. He pushed open the door and found himself outside, an uncharacteristic breeze covering his face like a silken cloth, his athletic bag tugging heavily at his back. Five minutes later he disappeared into the Bronx night.

Ladies and gentlemen, we're back at Yankee Stadium. I'm Phil Rizzuto and astonishingly, we have just been told by the Yankees front office that the Mighty Mackey Donovan is not in the lineup tonight. Holy cow is all I can find to say, ladies and gentlemen. We will try to find out exactly what is going on here, but for now, it seems baseball's most hallowed record may stand for even longer.

                                                   4:30 p.m.: Darker