In my youth Mike Schmidt was the greatest third baseman ever, but he was booed incessantly in Philadelphia. Then in 1987, coming off his 3rd MVP, Schmidt hit his 500th home run. All of a sudden Phillie fans started to realize the player they booed all this time was one of the best to ever play the game.
In an earlier time in New York, Mickey Mantle was great, but somehow not quite great enough. He was booed for striking out too much and not quite becoming the Ruthian player he was supposed to be. In 1961, when an outsider named Roger Maris took aim at Babe Ruth's then-record 60 home runs in an epic race with Mantle, the fans turned their allegiances to the home-grown Mantle. All of a sudden Yankee fans started to realize the player they booed all this time was one of the best to ever play the game.
In the present day, Alex Rodriguez is the best player in the game, but he has never quite been good enough for Yankee fans. Tired of his October failures, fans would not have been disappointed one bit if he had been cut loose last winter. But now, as he enters the same 500 home run club inhabited by Schmidt, Mantle, and 19 others, he's having the greatest season of his career. Booed to no end in 2006, he doesn't get booed at all anymore. All of a sudden Yankee fans are starting to realize...
Maybe we all are. We in the media were just as vocal about A-Rod and whether or not he could do it here, wondering if the Yankees were better off without him. But like him or not, want him here or not, you can't deny what you're watching. You're watching Roy Hobbs in his prime. You're watching a season that is matched in Yankee history only by guys who wore 3, 4, 5, or 7.
I'm not going to pretend I haven't been critical of A-Rod myself. But I am leaning toward the idea that the Yankees have to find a way to sign him. How can you not?? He could be on the verge of the greatest 3 or 4 year stretch of his career. And with Bobby Abreu gone after this season and no guarantees about Johnny Damon or Jason Giambi another year older, this offense has some serious issues. They're going to fix it by letting A-Rod walk??
Several weeks ago I wrote about the options the Yankees faced with A-Rod's impending opt-out. I still have a hard time believing the Yankees could sign him to an extension. It's just not the way they've done business. Remember, they only traded for A-Rod in the first place because of the Texas-sized discount. But for a guy who's going to leapfrog more than a dozen of the greatest home run hitters in history over the next two years as he chases Aaron and Bonds, maybe it's time to change the way you do business.
He's still going to be judged by Yankee fans on October numbers, and with good reason. I was one of the many who didn't think he could survive here, just didn't seem tough enough to get past the scrutiny. But he's changing that this year. It's his best season and one of the best ever by a Yankee and it's going to be hard to ignore.
I'll tell you this. If A-Rod's numbers end up where they look like they'll end up by season's end, and he ends up playing for someone else next year, then Lucy's gonna have some esplainin' to do.
They say sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. Could you imagine if the Yankees had traded Mariano Rivera for Felix Fermin back in the spring of 1996? Apparently, after Tony Fernandez got hurt in spring training there were people whispering to George Steinbrenner that Derek Jeter wasn't ready to be the everyday shortstop and that Fermin was the answer. A few years ago, the Mets had discussions about trading Jose Reyes back when his hamstring problems couldn't keep him on the field. What a mistake that would have been!
Maybe one day Brian Cashman will regale us with tales of how he almost traded Phil Hughes here or Joba Chamberlain there. For now, Cashman will hope that holding onto these guys will have a similar affect that holding onto that Rivera guy had.
Derek Jeter was an untouchable in the Yankee system coming up, although even he remembers being a little spooked by trade rumors. A few years back he told me that there had been some rumblings around the deadline in 1994 that had him a bit worried. He even got called into the manager's office at Double-A Albany just before the deadline, but it was only to tell him he had been promoted to Triple-A Columbus.
Both Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy made spectacular debuts at Triple-A Scranton. Regardless of what they're asked to do for the Yankees this year, they could both play major roles for the Yankees in 2008.
Watch out for Brett Gardner, a lefty-hitting centerfielder with a good on-base percentage. Still only 23 years old, he has a little bit of Lenny Dykstra in him, even some mannerisms. Some scouts have told me they like him and some Yankee brass think he could play in the majors within a year or two. What's that mean for Johnny Damon? I don't know about next year, but at least in 2009 my guess is he'll be playing somewhere else.
Thanks for reading. Send comments and questions to Yankees@wfan.com.
Go back to 1997, the year after the Yankees won their first World Series under Joe Torre, and two of the most talked about players were a couple of kids who were less than two years removed from their big league debuts in Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.
Welcome to February. It may not feel like it outside, but spring is right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers are just two weeks away, and if that’s enough to warm you up right about now then try another pair of socks and some hot tea.
I can’t imagine I’ll ever have the privilege of covering a player like Hideki Matsui again. The word “unique” is thrown around too much, but this was indeed a unique experience, right from Day One.
A few thoughts heading out of Indianapolis: *Assume for a moment no Johnny Damon in the 2-hole. On days when Jorge Posada doesn’t catch and bat 5th, who’s the best option for the Yankees in the 5-hole behind Alex Rodriguez?
Andy Pettitte’s one-year renewals have worked out very well for the Yankees. After signing for the 2010 season for essentially he is now entering the final year of a 4-year, $54.25 million contract.
Yankee fans should be thankful Curtis Granderson’s OBP dipped down to .327 last season (from .361 and .365 the previous two years). The price the Yankees paid for Granderson wasn’t very high if you think about it.
Brian Bruney for a Rule 5 pick isn't the earth-shattering news you want to hear at the much-hyped Winter Meetings. But that's what we're going with on day one, the biggest real news from either local team.
Tommy Henrich, a 5-time All-Star and member of 7 World Series Champions from 1937-1950 passed away on Tuesday at age 96. How good a player and important a player was Henrich to those Yankee teams? He was Derek Jeter before there was a Derek Jeter.
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