New York Post

Leyritz snaps at Old-Timer snub

- By DAN MARTIN dan.martin@nypost.com

Jim Leyritz wasn’t invited to Yankees Old-Timers’ Day, and judging by his reaction, he likely won’t be welcome in The Bronx anytime soon.

After the team announced its invite list for the June 17 ceremony, which includes newcomers like Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Nick Swisher and Aaron Boone, a fan said on Twitter: “No [Jim Leyritz]? I’m out.”

Leyritz responded by taking a shot at team president Randy Levine and senior vice president of marketing Debbie Tymon.

“Yes, it’s a joke already,” Leyritz tweeted. “Randy Levine and Debbie Tymon have said I didn’t do enough in Yankee history to be invited. How many sliders did they hit? LOL.”

That’s a reference to the hanging slider Leyritz hit for a game-tying homer off Mark Wohlers in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series against the Braves.

Leyritz then liked a tweet that said: “The only slider Randy Levine has hit is of the cheeseburg­er variety. If the guy [wasn’t] literally in bed [with] ownership for decades, the team would take [the] pulse from the fan base on what we thought of Randy Levine. [It wouldn’t] be positive.”

The Yankees strongly denied Leyritz’s accusation­s.

“It’s disappoint­ing that Jim has entered this arena the way that he has,” the team said in a statement. “This tweet is baseless and categorica­lly false. Frankly, he should be thankful for his ties to this organizati­on.”

A spokesman also said Levine is not involved in coming up with the invitation list to any alumni events.

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