DANIEL STYLER
<Staff Writer>
I love a lot of sports, but none of them have ever been able to surpass my love for baseball. I love the memories I have of playing catch in my front yard as I grew up, the overwhelming tension I feel before every pitch, and the cold chill of October air that seemingly sets in just in time for the beginning of the playoffs.
I cheer for the New York Yankees, which is a source of pride for me. More than any other franchise in professional sports, they attract hatred from outsiders that is as passionate as the adoration their fans feel for them. Having won 27 World Series titles, sixteen more than the St. Louis Cardinals (they have the second most all-time with 11), they are revered, disdained, but never irrelevant.
From the beginning of their history, they have always had the biggest stars: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jackson, and now Jeter. Up until his recent death, they also had the loudest owner, George M. Steinbrenner, who in the early years was known more for firing and hiring Billy Martin than he was for winning. They have retired a total of fifteen numbers for sixteen players, and after Jeter and former manager Joe Torre’s numbers are retired, there won’t be any single digit numbers left.
As a Yankees fan, your expectations are out of line with virtually every other fan base. You expect not just to make the playoffs every year, but to win. Derek Jeter is always quick to point out that in the Bronx, it’s not about winning divisions; it’s about winning championships. There is something arrogant about that type of attitude that makes the team and its fans such an easy target for criticism; it’s sincere, though. Since 1995, the Yankees have missed the playoffs exactly once.
This year, though, feels different. People are predicting fourth and fifth place finishes for them in their own division. Even worse, I can’t argue with them. The superstars they have relied on in the past are getting old. Jeter, still an excellent hitter but a defensive liability, is 38. Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all-time (a point that few would debate), is retiring after this year. Alex Rodriguez, he of the 647 homeruns, steroid abuse, shirtless photoshoots in front of mirrors, and getting a girl’s phone number during the middle of an extra inning playoff game, may miss most if not all of the season due to injury.
The players at the heart of the Yankees’ current and extended run of success, which has seen them win five World Series championships (1996, 1998-2000, and 2009), are getting old and it is depressing. They’ve retired (Jorge Posada) or are in the process of retiring (Rivera, Jeter, and Andy Pettitte).
That is why their World Series win in 2009 was so special. It was like, for lack of a better comparison, your old dog getting up and running around like a puppy for the last time. The gang was still together, and they were still damn good. I told my girlfriend, a newly-minted Yankees fan, not to get used to it: even for the Yankees, championships don’t happen every year.
Now, though? We’re driving that old dog to the vet’s office, and he has a needle ready.
Of course, no one will sympathize with any Yankees fan or the team itself. Their roster is still talented, and they have one of the best pitchers (CC Sabathia) and players (Robinson Cano) in the entire game. Their payroll, the source of so much angst from opposing crybaby fanbases (who should complain about their cheap owners who refuse to spend the money doled out through revenue sharing by the Yankees), still hovers around $200 million. Their stadium will still be close to full on most nights, with games often attended by Hollywood star fans like Jack Nicholson.
But for fans of the team, this year might be the equivalent of a Rolling Stones reunion tour. You’re watching Mick Jagger sing “Gimme Shelter,” but it’s not really the same.
Oh well, at least they’re not the Red Sox.