You can call them the best team money can buy, a team full of pompous egos, a group of individuals who care about personal accolades, or, preferably, the New York Yankees.
It’s always fascinating when I walk into a sports conversation and know immediately who’s pulling for whom and why.
After calculating the next few minutes of that conversation I know exactly how to show them the light.
That’s the benefit of following the ups and downs of a team from spring training until the last out sends my team on an early vacation (at least since the 2000 World Series).
Call me obsessed or, even better, a front runner. I’ve been loving the Yankees from the days of Don Mattingly to what has now become a team on a yearly mission: a World Series title.
Before continuing, I must establish the origins of how the New York Yankees became my favorite team. Growing up with two older brothers, I always employed the little brother copycat routine. My brothers each rooted for a baseball team from New York so I fell in love with both the Mets and Yankees.
The Yankees grew on me. At the time they had Steve Sax at second, Mattingly at first and the emerging Bernie Williams in the outfield, plus the legends who previously played at Yankee Stadium like Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle and Maris. When I add it all up and look back, the Yankees still look as good as they did when I was six.
To be honest, the Yankees look better than I’ve ever seen before. I can’t help but laugh at the bandwagon I jumped on in the early 90s, a team that didn’t make it to the World Series for 15 years, but still “won every year.” I laugh because Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman has assembled one of the greatest offensive lineups of all time:
Johnny Damon hit a career-high 24 home runs batting leadoff and is responsible for numerous Yankee rallies this season.
Captain Clutch, Derek Jeter, has never played for another team and seemingly always leads the Yankees to victory.
Bobby Abreu, who has been a perfect fit for the Yankees since arriving from Philadelphia.
Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi are both power hitters who can also hit for contact.
Batting sixth is 2005 American League MVP Alex Rodriguez, the first player ever to hit 30-plus home runs, score 100-plus runs and record more than 100 RBIs in a season.
The bottom of the order, usually a teams’ Achilles heel, instead features Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada, who had 23 home runs and 93 RBIs batting eighth.
Finally, the future of the Yankees is second baseman Robinson Cano. Cano finished third in the American League in batting average in just his second season, and he led the league in hits and RBIs after he returned from the disabled list August 8.
The Yankees scored the most runs in baseball this season with 930. The bottom line is the Yankees are stacked, and I love it.
Just like any realistic fan, I know my Yanks have their weaknesses. New York’s pitching is a big question mark. If only they could have bought Johan Santana, Barry Zito, Roger Clemens or any superstar pitcher for a couple of prospects.
But if Cashman’s money roster pans out this season, I’ll be holding my head high as others, like my high school math teacher, will say, “Anybody but the Yankees.”