Eight Reasons Why Cody Ransom Was Meant to Be Our 3B

1. The name Cody Ransom, one of the coolest Yankee names in history.

2. His underdog status. He's an overachiever, a guy whose career was dead and buried in 2007. Our harshest critics cannot root against this guy.

3. His 62-inch vertical leap. Best on the team. Theoretically, if he timed it properly, he could rob home runs from 3B.

4. His legacy. His grandfather was a Yank farmhand many eons ago.

5. His maturity. In college, he survived a car accident in which four teammates died.

6. His arrival. Last year, in his first at-bat in Yankee Stadium, he homered against the Redsocks and basically won the game.

7. His allegiance. He grew up in Arizona rooting for the Yankees. That's why he gave baseball one more try: He wanted to be a Yankee.

8. His headlock. It's said to be inescapable. Hear that, Tampa Bay? Wanna try something?