I have an idea. The Yankees should sign all available free agents worthy of note, and then hold onto them until the season starts and other teams get desperate for players. We then trade them, for their best prospects. Then after we've stocked our system full of other teams prized possessions, we invade Queens, overthrow Shea Stadium, set up a puppet regime led by Willie Randolph and call it New York Yankees East. That's where our super team of prospects will play. The Mets will be forced to play in New Jersey where they belong. Just imagine what returns we would see for Orlando Cabrera, Derek Lowe, Ben Sheets, Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, and Adam Dunn. Especially when teams star players get injured and need to be replaced right away.
It never ceases to amaze me how slow the winter months can be. 25 days before spring training begins we will start our roster review, but we're not even within 25 days of spring training yet. And even when spring training starts, we have to wait a couple weeks before they start playing games, and when they start playing games we need to wait a couple more weeks before they start the season.
But we at the Respect Jeter's Gangster blog are committed to keeping you entertained in the cold winter months. So here's a question for you all to consider. Besides Derek Jeter, who is your favorite Yankee and why?
For me, it would have to be Lou Gehrig. Power hitting first baseman, naturally gifted, strong, persistant, and humble. His numbers are amazing and he didn't even get to finish his career. I sometimes wonder what his career numbers would have looked like if he didn't have ALS. Some interesting stats about Gehrig, he was a career .340 hitter, batted over .370 three times, had 184 RBI's in one season, walked over 100 times in eleven different seasons, and despite being known for his homeruns, he also legged out 163 triples in his career including a season where he hit 20 of them, and hit 40 or more doubles in a season seven times. That's pretty gangster.
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9 comments:
Favorite Yankee of the past? The Mick. Never disappointed. Current Yankee? Mo. The one and only.
Why you gotta hate on Jersey, man? I mean, I'm here, reading regularly, and outta nowhere-- POW! Right In The Kisser!-- a cheap Jersey shot...
Jersey is the armpit of america and deserves to be chastized at every opportunity. Don't ever apologise for telling the truth Fernando!!
Tigs, I used to live in Jersey! I wonder how a baseball team in Jersey would do. Newark would be a tough place to have a team, and I wonder if Jersey is too close to both New York and Philadelphia to introduce a new team there. Next summer I'm thinking of heading down to Trenton to watch the Thunder play though. That should be fun.
So beyond that, who are your guys' favorite player?
I became aware of baseball in '61, and the Mick was my hero all my life. Evry time I stepped up to the plate in Little League, I was Mickey Mantle! And pretty much matched him strikout for strikeout. (Though I did hit the longest ball in the League one year. Towering drive over the top of the center field scoreboard. One of the few "moments.") I even spent a lot of my life as a drunken f****p
What would he have done if he hadn't stepped in that hole?
The greatest Yankee, probably the greatest ballplayer ever, of course, was The Babe. He changed the game, and maybe changed the world. ("I had a better year." "I could hit .600 if I wanted to, but they pay me to hit home runs.")
Where wouild the home run record be if he hadn't pitched for 5-6 years? In the 800's at least.
A very cool thing is, that he still holds most of the Red Sox World Series pitching records.
Current Yankee? Jeter. (Paul O'Neil when he was playing, especially after watching him demolish the water cooler after a strikeout.)
But how many times have you been watching and 'We need a hit. Oh, good, Jeter's up." And he comes through! And the jump, spin and throw. And the legs sticking out of the seats. And coming out of the dugout yelling to be sure that kid got the ball from his first big league hit.
I figured out what to do with him come ought-10, too, cantract-wise.
20 years, 200M. Retire when you're done. The checks will keep coming.
Besides Jeter?
Jorge. Great baseball mind.Great tools. Great competitor. Hope his shoulder's OK. (and I was a catcher.)
Joe
Mickey Mantle is one of my favorite historical players. You have to wonder what he could have accomplished if he had taken a little better care of himself.
And you're right about the Babe. Its amazing that he was a phenomenal pitcher as well as a phenomonal hitter. Before he played the league leaders in homeruns would have like 12 jacks per season. When the Babe hit 60, it must have been seen as near miraculous. That would be like someone today hitting 200 homeruns.
Hell, when he hit 20, it was like someone now hitting 100.
Joe
AND...He pitched a complete game near the end of his career, long after he'd quit being a pitcher. I don't know if it was because they were out of pitchers due to injuries, or a promo thing, or what, but he went 9 innings, think he gave up 5 runs, but got the W.
Joe
The Babe was definitely ahead of his time, and a one and only. Between him and Gehrig, that was the best 3 & 4 hitters probably in the history of the game.
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