Archives #2 - "The End of a Chapter"

This article was published in on September 24, 2008, for Christopher Newport University's Captain's Log, and bids farewell to Yankee Stadium...



I have never liked the New York Yankees. In fact, I have at times hated them. I live one hour north of Yankee Stadium and have spent my whole life surrounded by Yankee fans who constantly brag about their 26 rings. I find multiple flaws in the way that the Yankees run their organization, and the types of players that they choose to sign. I can’t stand that when the Yankees play poorly that they are “just having an ‘off’ year,” but when anyone else plays poorly, they are “just a bad team.” I am frustrated by the fact that more often than not, when ESPN nationally televises a game it is one involving the Yankees.



I’ll tell you one thing though, one of the best radio calls I've heard in 21 years of being a baseball fan, came in 2003 when listening to Yankee broadcaster Charlie Steiner, “…and there’s a fly ball deep to left, there it goes, it’s on its way, and the Yankees are going to the World Series!” In fact, just typing that gives me goose-bumps. I’ll also never forget going to a Yankee game in April of 2007, where Alex Rodriguez hit a walk-off homerun against the Baltimore Orioles, making it his 14th of the month. As much as I have never liked the Yankees, I couldn’t help but be ecstatic about the homer…the atmosphere of the park was intoxicating.



This past Sunday night marked the end of an incredibly amazing chapter in Yankee history…the final game in Yankee Stadium. That building, “The House That Ruth Built,” has housed countless moments in baseball history, from Babe Ruth’s 60-homerun season, to Don Larsen’s perfect game, to Jeffrey Maier’s home run catch, all the way up to Aaron Boone’s unforgettable Game 7 walk-off homer in 2003 against the rival Red Sox.



Even on the other side of the coin, there were amazing non-Yankee performances in the Bronx as well. Including the Red Sox series-clinching game 7 win in 2004 that marked the first 3-0 turn-around in ALCS history. And just one year earlier in 2003 when Josh Beckett threw a championship-clinching 5-hitter in game 6 of the World Series…one of the best series-ending performances of all time.



Love or hate the Yankees, you can’t help but appreciate the mystique, aura, and history that reside in the place they’ve called home for the last 85 years. In fact, all the intangibles that are present at Yankee Stadium are essentially what baseball is all about. It’s about history and tradition, class and respect. It’s about the fact that everyone who has ever been to the ballpark can recall virtually every detail of their visit. It’s about a father being able to take his boys out for the day, and sit with them in the blue folding chairs of this legendary place where Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Mickey Mantle once played ball.



And as much as Yankee fans will be disappointed that their team will not be playing in October for the first time in over a decade, I happen to view it as a bittersweet end to an amazing building. Sure it’s more than just a “bummer” that the Yanks won’t be in the playoffs, but at least they could head into Sunday night’s game knowing that it really is the last time, and they can just focus on the atmosphere, truly capturing the moment. However, it also gives way to hope. Hope for a fresh start in 2009, in a brand new home. A hope to Yankees fans for the start of a new dynasty, and new traditions; never forgetting the old all along the way, but also cherishing what is to come.



So farewell Yankee Stadium, in your ruble you will carry all of those amazing moments, and all of the amazing voices that told the stories to fans listening and watching everywhere. And hello to the new Yankee Stadium, I think I speak for the world in saying that we all hope you can deliver the same type of memorable moments that your predecessor did.



I have never liked the New York Yankees, and probably never will. But I always have and always will respect the junk out of them. And so as they open up a new chapter in their storybook history, I will be anxiously watching on opening day 2009, as any true baseball fan would.

Archives #1 - "Win The Crowd"

Every few posts, I will post an archived story that I have written, but is not posted on my newspaper articles page. This article was written in Fall of 2006, for Christopher Newport University's Captain's Log, and addresses the concept of some players being in the right place at the right time...

They say that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Well what happens to the prepared people who are never in the right place at the right time? Are Major League Baseball players simply playing a role that the fans give them? I’m here to tell you that two of the league’s star players may not be as irreplaceable as they seem. Those two players come from separate sides of baseball’s biggest rivalry and are none other than Boston’s Mr. Clutch, David “Big Papi” Ortiz, and New York’s Mr. Clutch, Derek “the Golden Boy” Jeter. They also are competing with one another for the AL MVP award this season…but are either of them really worthy of it?

Over the last few years David Ortiz has become “Big Papi” in the hearts of Red Sox fans. He has been that big lovable bear of a man who comes up to the plate in the clutch and crushes the ball deep to right field as if on cue. Papi has a knack for theatrics, impeccable timing, and has even developed his own trademark “helmet toss” while trotting home after hitting a game winning bomb. What makes his story and aura even sweeter is that he was a “nobody” in Minnesota when Boston decided to take a chance on him. Well it looks like the move paid off in countless ways as the Red Sox found their franchise player who could always be relied on for years to come…or so it seems. Is David Ortiz really that clutch? Statistically, the answer should lean towards a no. Even though it always seems that Papi is getting the game winning hit, as good as he is, maybe it has more to do with the man standing in the on-deck circle. When you look at the numbers, you see that Ortiz is batting a respectable .286 with runners in scoring position, but then take a look at Ortiz’s protection, Manny Ramirez, and see that he is batting an intimidating .325 in the same situations. So maybe Ortiz is getting so many game winning hits because he has a player who is hitting 39 points better then him in clutch situations, waiting in the wings. So that leaves us the question…is David Ortiz in one of the most envious positions in baseball…batting in front of Manny Ramirez? There are hundreds of players who I’m sure would love to hit in the same spot, and may do just as well, if not better, than Ortiz. Two that come to mind are Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians and Raul Ibanez of the Seattle Mariners. Hafner is batting .305 with RISP and has 15 homers in such situations…5 more than Papi’s 10. Even more alarming is Ibanez, who is hitting an amazing .343 with 12 homers when there are runners in scoring position…now that is almost as clutch as you can get. So was David Ortiz simply in the right place at the right time when the Sox grabbed him from Minnesota? Maybe if they had got Ibanez or Hafner instead, one of them would don the title “Big Papi” and David Ortiz would just be David Ortiz. It seems as though the fans influence the game more than they know. They made David Ortiz into “Big Papi,” and in their eyes, he can do no wrong. But since “Red Sox Nation” decided to not like Manny…he gets a bad wrap. He’s just “Manny being Manny” instead of “the guy who gets Ortiz good pitches late in the game.” Now I’m not saying that Ortiz isn’t a good player, he’s definitely proven his worth, but all I’m saying is that it’s worth wondering…maybe countless other players are prepared to prove their worth the same way if only provided with the right opportunity.

Next we have Mr. Jeter. The pretty boy of New York who everyone is in awe of (although David Wright is stepping on his toes nowadays). Jeter is an even better example than Ortiz of how the fans have molded him into what they want. The most recent example is with Yankee third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod was well known as the greatest all around player in baseball throughout his career, and then he was dealt to the Yankees. Well what were the fans to do, they just received the greatest player, but they already had a face for their team…Jeter. So A-Rod was moved from his natural position of shortstop to third base, in order for the golden boy to keep his prime spot in the infield. Well I don’t think I have to tell you about the heat that A-Rod takes from the home fans for his defense, or lack there of, at third base. What’s funny is that if Jeter were there, they would never dream of booing him. If Jeter were the selfless captain that everyone claims he is, why wouldn’t he be humble enough to give up his position to a better player in Rodriguez? Now Yankee fans would beg to differ, but the fact is that stats don’t lie, so check these out…all time at SS, Derek Jeter has a .975 fielding percentage, while A-Rod has a better .977 fielding percentage at the same position. So it begs the question why do Yankee fans flaunt themselves all over Jeter, but shun the better player in A-Rod? The answer is quite simple, Jeter got there first. It is a clear cut matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Jeter has this entire mystique about him, but is it well deserved? He was given the name “Mr. November” in the 2001 World Series when he hit a game winning home run only 4 minutes into the month. Interestingly enough, his November batting average rounded out at .250 with no other RBI’s than the home run, not to mention the Yankees lost the series. Meanwhile, Arizona’s Luis Gonzalez hit the same .250 in November that Jeter did, but he actually had the hit that won the World Series. And Gonzalez’s teammate, Steve Finley, hit .444 in November, so why wasn’t Gonzalez or Finley given the title of Mr. November when they were clearly better than Jeter? Oh, it’s because they weren’t as popular…but I’m pretty sure they got the rings that year while Jeter got his title. For a man who is supposed to be consistently clutch he also had a poor showing in his most recent World Series appearance in 2003 against the Florida Marlins. He went 6 for 8 in games that they won and had plenty of other offense. But in the rest of the games he hit .166 and that includes an 0 for 4 showing in the final game when the Yankees needed their captain the most against a dominant Josh Beckett. Then again, why should he be perceived as clutch when his most famous postseason moment was a hit that should have been a routine fly ball out, but was instead a home run. That was because Jeffrey Maier decided to lean over the wall (fan interference) and grab it before Orioles outfielder, Tony Tarasco, could make the play. I am not alone in my questioning of Jeter’s fame…this season in the Sports Illustrated players poll, MLB players voted Derek Jeter as the most overrated player in the game. For a player who has never made an all-star team on his own, but instead always needs the fans vote, I don’t find the players’ opinion hard to believe. So is Jeter simply playing a role given by the fans? It seems that he will feed them as long as they will cheer him, like when he made his miraculous dive into the stands. It was a play that is made routinely in baseball, but the difference was that after Jeter caught the ball in fair territory, he took four extra steps to dive into the stands…sure it looked pretty, but it’s just another part of playing the role that the fans give you.

So in final summation it may look like I am discrediting guys like David Ortiz and Derek Jeter, but that is not the case. I am simply crediting the great positions that they have been in, and those players who haven’t been lucky enough to get the same opportunities. Could any other power hitter take Papi’s spot and hit walk-off’s day in and day out? Could any disciplined contact hitter have been drafted in Jeter’s spot and ride coat tails to 4 world championships by having some kid reach over the fence and catch a fly ball? Who knows? I sure don’t, but I’m just putting the facts out there so that you can decide for yourself.

In Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator,” Proximo tells Maximus that to achieve ultimate gladiator status, he must “win the crowd.” Well being a baseball player is just like being a gladiator. Of course there is no killing, but it seems a majority of a player’s success is based on their ability to “win the crowd.”