Why I Hate the Yankees

Well, maybe hate is too strong a word.  I do not hate the individual players.  They can’t help it if they are some of the best in baseball.  No one would expect them to play down their ability in order to accommodate lesser players.  What I hate – again, maybe too strong a word – but then again, maybe it isn’t - is the Yankee organization that believes it has an inherent right to obtain the best because they can afford to pay them more than any other team can.  After all, they are the Yankees.  They deserve the best.  Forget about bringing them up through their farm system.  Let other teams train them, then the Yankees can steal or buy them from other teams. 

Now, I must confess that I have personally witnessed some great games that the Yankees of the past have played.  I was at Memorial Stadium the night Roger Marris hit number sixty to tie the Babe.  I saw the Mick hit a 513 foot home run against the Orioles that cleared the stadium and landed in the parking lot.  How do I know it was 513 feet?  The headline of the Baltimore Sun the next day said so.  To see the Yankees of the 50’s and 60’s play was incredible.  I repeat – I do not hate the players.  Well, some of the arrogant ones who presently play may stir a lot of dislike with in me.  You know who he is.  Oops!  Who they are.  I fully expect the Yankees to buy more and better players this off season. 

Now, I understand the free enterprise system, and I suppose that the system works in baseball also.  But what I liken the Yankee mentality to is a card shark stacking the deck in a poker game.  Make sure you win at all costs.  Make sure you get the best cards (players).  Cheat if you have to, but win. 

This year I’ve seen Derek Jeter cheat on at least two plays.  He claimed to have been hit by a pitch when clearly – replay confirmed this – that the pitch hit the end of the bat, not him.  He put on quite a show to convince the umpire that he had been hit.  He also pushed a runner off of second base to tag him out when he was clearly safe.  Is winning a game – and baseball is only a game – more important than playing fair?  What role does sportsmanship play in modern baseball?

The Yankee fans seem to have the attitude that if the Yankees are not in the World Series, it just is not the World Series.  Again, the Yankees deserve to win because they are the Yankees.  And no, this is not sour grapes on my part.  It is my sense of fair play.  Let the Yankees fill positions that are not quite up to par like every other team does.  Bring them up through their farm system; do not buy them from other teams.  No one except Yankee fans thinks their team building strategy is right.