Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Last night, Andy Pettitte had one bad inning, the bullpen couldn't hold the line, the offense couldn't break through, and the Yankees lost 6-2. Sing me a new song.
I mocked the attention lavished on Jeter for passing Babe Ruth for second on the Yankees' all-time hit list, and YES's coverage of last night's hit and the hits leading up to it--particularly Michael Kay's call of the hit ("Hit or error? Error or history?")--was every bit as over-the-top if not moreso, but I actually think this record is pretty nifty. For one thing, it's an actual record. For another, as Kay histrionically pointed out on the broadcast, it's a record that can't be broken. Sure, Gehrig had far fewer at-bats at the old Yankee Stadium than Jeter has had in the remodeled one, but there's a purity and an absoluteness to "the most ever" that even applies to Barry Bonds.
Best of all, this is a record that honors not just the man who broke it, but the Stadium in which it was achieved. Yankee Stadium will go dark for good six days from now, but though there will never again be a meaningful game played in the old yard, and the Yankees as an organization have completely punted the opportunity to do something special for the final season of baseball's most significant ballpark, Jeter was able to give us one last piece of history, and a private kind of history at that. For all of the great performances, accomplishments, and players who have graced the field on the southwest corner of 161st and River Ave over the past 86 years, the player who got more hits on that piece of real estate than anyone else ever has or ever will is Derek Jeter. I think that's pretty cool.
if pettitte wins his last start there on saturday - and, that's a big "if," at this point - i believe it'll be his 95th victory there...
hopefully hughes throws a nice game and moose picks up #18. even if the games are 'meaningless,' i still want the yankees to win. i always want the yankees to win. always.
ah, i guess that'll act as a cue for the draft pick committee! ; ) still, i just always want the yanks to win...
I'm not sure you could ask for a better guy to root for day in and day out. Is he perfect, of course not, neither is anyone else. Is he overrated? Well if you look at it clinically, all pro athletes are overrated. We lavish far more attention upon them than they deserve. But aesthetically, emotionally, nobody can say he's overrated, it's in the eye of the beholder.
I just wish we weren't sooooo quick to find fault with our heroes. Usually heroes do the work for us if we give them enough time. Can't we be happy that Derek hasn't?
That minor point aside, I think Jeter's accomplishment is very nice, even YES went overboard with it. Then again, if you've ever listened to Kay describe a HR call late in a game in which the Yankees are trailing by 10 runs, that shouldn't surprise anyone.
"The best organization around, in my mind," Damon said. "This team has always taken care of their players. It's a great accomplishment for Derek."
Damon was talking about Jeter being a rare example of playing a career with one team, but I think his embedded point was interesting. Coming from the Red Sox, a team notorious for not taking care of their players, Damon has an interesting perspective on this. While ultimately it may be a competitive disadvantage, the Yankees have always showed a willingness to overpay "their guys". The Yankees under Steinbrenner have been accused of a lot of things, but one thing the organization has usually done is take care of its own. I kind of like that.
Congrats to the Captain. People tend to talk about wanting to have been in such and such place to see such and such thing. Well, we just saw something grand. I wouldn't get too wrapped up over the the hype machine. It is an immovable monster that that will only get bigger.
I know that those invites are not big money, and in fact they may essentially simply be all-expenses paid vacations. But still. It's nice. And speaks to the organization taking care of its own.
Bernie's contract went south at the end. Jeter's might too. Probably Posada's. Maybe Riveria's. Certainly ARod's. Maybe even Phil Hughes'. But this is a benefit that Yankee fans enjoy. To see the same guys, OUR guys, out there year after year.
After all, don't WE want to make a lot of money to spend on our children? This is a unique luxury that few, if any teams can afford. Even the Sox will dump Pedro and JD and Nomar and others to be more 'efficient'. Our business model is a bit different, and as a fan, I'm really glad.
Big money and free agency have changed the game a lot since I was a kid. Not sayin' it's better or worse, but these days, fans can't afford to get too attached to 'their' players. I wonder if fans in Chicago would have liked to see The Big Hurt play out his years there. Many other icons get dumped as soon as they are 'no longer worth it'.
But worth can't always be measured in dollars.
I'm glad I'm a Yankees fan.
at first i too was kind of like this record is getting a bit more hype than it should - but i think it is nice on several fronts. i think cliff put it nicely that this was a record that was about yankee stadium as well as jeter. and as many have pointed out, there really isn't a modern era player of jeter's stature that is so associated with one team the way derek is with the yanks.
and certainly if/when wrigley or fenway close down there is no one current on those teams but probably even in the future that will have the same significance to those ballparks and franchises that derek has.
10 nicely said oyf. even with all the slights or bruised egos over the year there is something to the concept of the yankee family that really sets the yankees apart and is something i appreciate.
17 not sure what you consider out of the ordinary or if you are a museum person - but could go to the bronx museum on the consourse at 165. they have an exhibit on street art and street life - though this would have been a great opportunity to do something about yankees stadium and the south bronx.
He's got a blog all about it on mlb.com.
Anyhow, he was the guy who caught Giambi's homer last night, and did the dorky dance that Kay and Flaherty commented on.
(1:30 into this video.)
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200809173491358
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