Kings of New York exit the stage they once graced

During the last days of May 1995, two monumental New York Yankee debuts occurred within a week of each other.

A period of incredible change was just around the corner. Not just for baseball in the Bronx but for the city’s wildly diverse society at large.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s grip was tightening, the streets of the East Village and SoHo were rapidly moving beyond the reach of its residents and no one fully understood that two young baseball demigods in the making were about to give the city a surge of energy just before everything came tumbling down.