A History Lesson For The Yankees
November 17, 2010 by Jess Coleman · 5 Comments
After the 1934 regular season, Jacob Ruppert, then Yankees owner, offered to make Babe Ruth the manager of the Yankees’ top minor-league team, the Newark Bears. Ruth’s wife and business manager advised Ruth to reject the offer, and he took their advice.
That would end his 15 year stint with the Yankees, during which he hit 659 home runs, and became possibly the most beloved Yankee of all-time. Splitting up with Ruth on bad terms was a bad move from a public relations stand-point, but the Yankees prevailed.
Bernie Williams, a fan-favorite, life-time Yankee, played 16 seasons in New York before his contract expired in 2006. He wanted to play in 2007, and even said he would accept a role as a backup outfielder. The Yankees offered him an invitation to Spring Training, but did not guarantee him a spot on the roster. Williams declined, and the Yankees once again broke up with a popular Yankee on bad terms. The Yankees, again, prevailed.
After the winning a championship in 2009, the Yankees had two more beloved players to resign. Hideki Matsui, the World Series MVP, and Johnny Damon, who was almost certainly going to be back, had messy negotiations with the Yankees. Neither returned, and the Yankees prevailed
The Yankees have won an astonishing 27 World Championships because they have one goal: winning. They never make decisions based on emotions, and they never resign players just to improve fan morale. Why? Because the Yankees know that the best way to make your fans happy is simple. All you have to do is win.
After the 2010 season, the Yankees are back where they have found themselves in prior decades. One of the most popular Yankees of all-time, Derek Jeter, is nearing the end of his career and is looking for a new contract.
The Yankees want to bring him back, and rightfully so. Jeter still has some years left in him, and can still contribute.
But Jeter and his agent have gone far enough to express their desire for a four, five, or even six-year deal . The Yankees, on the other hand, are geared more towards a three-year deal.
This is a perfect time for the Yankees to return to their fundamental practice that has helped them win more championships than any other team in history. Instead of backing down and making the emotional induced decision to keep Jeter around for as long as possible, the Yankees need to stick to their guns and do what they know is best for the future success on the team. I think we all know what that means.
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I hate the Yankees and the way they use money ,however Jeter is worth more right now ans as a future maybe manager than Ruth at his time of seperation from the team.You must remember no Yankee since the great Mickey Mantle was more beloved by all fans not the spoiled Yankee fans only.
The Yankees’ top farm team was the Newark Bears, not the Newark Braves.
Not sure I agree with Mr. Coleman’s POV.
He keeps talking about the release of these stars, then says “and the Yankees prevailed.”
really?
They let Ruth go in 1934 … and failed to win in 1935. They only won again after they acquired DiMaggio in 1936.
They let Bernie Williams go in 2006 … and failed to win in 2007 or 2008. They won in 2009 after adding Texeira, Sabathia and Burnett.
They let Damon and Matsui go after winning in 2009 … how did that work out? I thought the Rangers represented the AL in the world series.
If by “prevail” Coleman means the Yankees have a winning team, then, yeah, they’ll “prevail” after dumping Jeter too. But I always thought the Yankees goal was winning titles. You do that by keeping and adding great players, not by letting them go.
A better article might be a perceptive loom at Jeter’s decline this past year. Was the dropoff between his terrific 2009 season and his mediocre 2010 season purely the result of aging — did he suddenly get too old to be a great player? Was it a fluke bad year? Or was it (my guess) a combination of a normal fluctuation from a great year and a lessor season, combined with a normal age decline.
The point is that even with his decline, Jeter was the second or third best shortstop in the AL last year … I happen to think he’s going to have a better year than 2010 in 2011 (but not as good as 2009). If that happens, he’ll still be worth having …
And if he’s open to accepting a diminished role (giving up the leadoff spot, maybe taking an increasing number of games off) he’s worth keeping arounf long-term for his leadership and his PR value.
I never said that the Yankees should let Jeter go, I said he didn’t deserve a six year deal. A three-year deal is the way the Yankees should go. By “the Yankees prevailed,” I by no means meant they won the next year, but rather that it didn’t have the horrific effects that many think upsetting Jeter will have.