Yam Yaryan
Clarence Everett Yaryan (1892-1964)

I'd like this name better if it were pronounced "Yam Yar Yan," but my guess is the proper way to say his last name is YARRY-en, though I suppose ya-RYE-en is a possibility. In any event, Yam Yaryan was a catcher who played a bit for the Chicago White Sox in 1921, spelling Hall of Famer Ray Schalk for 34 games. Schalk was one of the White Sox players not involved in the 1919 World Series fix.

Yaryan hit a promising .304 in 102 at bats, but the next season his average dropped to .197 and he went back to the minor leagues. There he continued to play for many years, even after he became a manager.

I found one site that told of Yaryan, at age 44, managing the Andalusia (Alabama) Bulldogs to the 1937 playoff championship of the Alabama-Florida League. He also caught and batted clean-up. Three seasons later, in the same league, he managed the Brewton Millers – and was still catching, at 47. Maybe he wanted to retire from playing, but in the minors sometimes you have no choice. For example, when that 1940 season opened, Brewton didn't have a catcher on its roster.

Rich Yett
Richard Martin Yett (1962- )

Yett was a right-handed pitcher who had an unremarkable six-year major league career that sent him bouncing from Minnesota to Cleveland then back to Minnesota (1985-90) and from starter to reliever to starter to reliever ... well, you get the idea. He won 22, lost 24 and had one shutout.

He was an easy target for ESPN's Chris Berman who dubbed him Rich Not Ready Yett.

Sal Yvars
Salvador Anthony Yvars (1924- )

Yvars was a backup catcher who played in only 210 games in eight major league seasons, most of them for the New York Giants. His claim to fame (or infamy, depending on your view) is that he says he was part of an elaborate scheme to steal signals from opposing catchers during home games at the Polo Grounds in 1951, the season the Giants came from nowhere to win the National League pennant (thanks to Bobby Thomson's home run in the playoff series against the Brooklyn Dodgers).

Sports Illustrated analyzed the Giants performance in the second half of the season and concluded sign-stealing probably didn't contribute much, if anything, to the team's amazing performance down the homestretch, since they were just as successful on the road as they were at the Polo Grounds.

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