Glacies
September 26th, 2013, 06:27 AM
I was born and raised in Bronx, New York. It's not a small town, but the culture there makes it a small town. Yankee hats, before they became popular, was what everyone wore, from old men to little kids. We were a baseball town and it was in our blood. I'm 30 years old, so Mariano Rivera, Jeter, Pettite, and Posada, the core four, came into prominence right before I got to highschool, when I really started paying attention to baseball with an understanding of strategy and the intricacies of the game. Blah blah blah - steroid era - I'm talking about a kid, watching baseball and appreciating it for what it is.
These guys spoiled me in multiple ways. First, they represented an absolute in sports to me. Sports aren't supposed to have absolutes, but season after season these guys put up numbers, carried games and teams on their backs. I watched those 4 world series like my life depended on it.
And then I found out that my beloved team, an extension of my family was the most hated team in baseball.
Okay, they outspend everyone. They've been doing that since ancient times. Is it fair? Has it always worked? No. What do I have to say about it? I don't know. The most successful players of this Yankee era were farmed. They earned big contracts while there. Would they have left otherwise? I honestly don't think so. Jeter was obsessed about the Yankees since he was a kid. Rivera was loyal to Steinbrenner for taking a chance on him. THey were very close friends with Posada and Pettitte, and Pettitte left for the Astros to be closer to home. These were rare breeds at a rare time in baseball. I hate to see them go because they were part of my family, not because they won.
In fact, I'm glad the Yankees missed the playoffs this year. They didn't deserve to make it. The baseball fundamentals I saw from my team this year would not have flown in little league. If my grandfather was alive to see them start an inning with a man on third and no outs, and not get the run in... well, he wouldn't have turned the game off, but we all would have heard about it. He also would have had something to say about these guys jogging out a routine groundout or swinging so hard out of the zone or just playing like they dont' really care one way or another.
The core 4 spoiled me because they might have been on a rich team but they played with as much heart and grit as anyone else could have played the game. They won with passion and determination, heart and soul. These are things we want to support. These are things you want anyone to have, and this is the team that I grew up with, that was part of my family for so long. That's why I couldn't understand the Yankee hate. We beat you, tough, it took blood sweat and tears and we earned that victory.
Now?
Now we're a rich team with none of those things. Now we're the Yankees that I understand why people hated. We have the money, no soul, and won games. And then we started losing. There's one thing to watch a game and pull for your team, but I walked away from more games this season thinking that I"m glad the other team won, they deserved to. They played better, smarter, harder.
So I think it was a good thing to lose hard this year. Miss the post season, have the family back in New York totally outraged because we've been so spoiled by victory that we forgot what it took to get it in the first place (that's the real shame). Maybe something will spark inside those guys. Maybe A-rod won't come back. Maybe some minor league guys will step up (which I've been waiting for for 3 years) and become the next core 4. That's what I want to see.
If I was upset about one thing about us losing this year, it's that Rivera's last pitch as a New York Yankee won't come in Game 7 of the world series in relief of Andy Pettitte. That's the way those guys deserve to walk off the mound the last time.
These guys spoiled me in multiple ways. First, they represented an absolute in sports to me. Sports aren't supposed to have absolutes, but season after season these guys put up numbers, carried games and teams on their backs. I watched those 4 world series like my life depended on it.
And then I found out that my beloved team, an extension of my family was the most hated team in baseball.
Okay, they outspend everyone. They've been doing that since ancient times. Is it fair? Has it always worked? No. What do I have to say about it? I don't know. The most successful players of this Yankee era were farmed. They earned big contracts while there. Would they have left otherwise? I honestly don't think so. Jeter was obsessed about the Yankees since he was a kid. Rivera was loyal to Steinbrenner for taking a chance on him. THey were very close friends with Posada and Pettitte, and Pettitte left for the Astros to be closer to home. These were rare breeds at a rare time in baseball. I hate to see them go because they were part of my family, not because they won.
In fact, I'm glad the Yankees missed the playoffs this year. They didn't deserve to make it. The baseball fundamentals I saw from my team this year would not have flown in little league. If my grandfather was alive to see them start an inning with a man on third and no outs, and not get the run in... well, he wouldn't have turned the game off, but we all would have heard about it. He also would have had something to say about these guys jogging out a routine groundout or swinging so hard out of the zone or just playing like they dont' really care one way or another.
The core 4 spoiled me because they might have been on a rich team but they played with as much heart and grit as anyone else could have played the game. They won with passion and determination, heart and soul. These are things we want to support. These are things you want anyone to have, and this is the team that I grew up with, that was part of my family for so long. That's why I couldn't understand the Yankee hate. We beat you, tough, it took blood sweat and tears and we earned that victory.
Now?
Now we're a rich team with none of those things. Now we're the Yankees that I understand why people hated. We have the money, no soul, and won games. And then we started losing. There's one thing to watch a game and pull for your team, but I walked away from more games this season thinking that I"m glad the other team won, they deserved to. They played better, smarter, harder.
So I think it was a good thing to lose hard this year. Miss the post season, have the family back in New York totally outraged because we've been so spoiled by victory that we forgot what it took to get it in the first place (that's the real shame). Maybe something will spark inside those guys. Maybe A-rod won't come back. Maybe some minor league guys will step up (which I've been waiting for for 3 years) and become the next core 4. That's what I want to see.
If I was upset about one thing about us losing this year, it's that Rivera's last pitch as a New York Yankee won't come in Game 7 of the world series in relief of Andy Pettitte. That's the way those guys deserve to walk off the mound the last time.