FAT-ELVIS baseball collective

last week was a difficult week for new york yankee fans.  we lost two long time front men in the same week.

first the voice of the new york yankees, bob sheppard. nicknamed “the voice of god” by reggie jackson, sheppard was the public address announcer for the yankees from 1951-2007.  his 57 years in the booth was a legacy of consistency and professionalism.

with his distinctive cadence and understated style became a hallmark in an era that usually goes over the top.  derek jeter asked to use the recorded voice of sheppard’s after the long time announcer retired.  bob was 99 years old at his passing.

once derek jeter retires, the voice of bob sheppard will forever be silenced.  i’ve been to yankee stadium.  i got to hear him (was there in 2003).

how i wish i could have been there in the 70’s to here him say, “the catcher, number 15, thurman munson, number 15.”  bob, you’ll be greatly missed.

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two days later, long time yankee owner, george steinbrenner had a massive heart attack.  steinbrenner was 80.  a lightning rod of attention and controversy, steinbrenner always had an opinion.  he was genuinely harsh and hard nosed when it came to business.  he was zealous for championships and determined that they could be manufactured with shrewd, calculated usages of his immense wealth.  when he bought the yankees in 1973, the purchase price was $8.8 million (after CBS bought two garages back from him at $1.2 million).  at his passing the ball club was valued around $1.6 billion.  the man new how to make money.

surrounded in controversy most of his time with the yankees, he brought the yankees back from a mediocre club to a revived dynasty.  from my friends and acquaintances i found myself often defending him.  they felt he destroyed baseball with outrageous salaries and a penchant for trying to “buy a pennant”.  my response has always been simple and straight forward:  there is no salary cap in baseball.  there should be, but there isn’t.  if you had unlimited funds and were determined to put together a championship baseball team, what would you do?

it seems most of the people i ask are much like those utopian leaders you hear about all over the world. they would keep the salary structure the way it was, not inflate salaries and donate all their profits to third world countries.  i don’t mind people hating the yankees, but don’t do it under the guise of “a greater good”.  you’re just being a hypocrite and we BOTH know it.

good bye, george.  i wish you hadn’t fired billy martin so many times, but i do thank you for bringing winning traditions back to the greatest professional baseball club of all time.

-chief