But last night, he was giving in to some of the worst clichés we all indulge in about sports, telling us how Aaron Judge really needs to "strap on his Derek Jeter cap" this season.
He went on to say how there is "a window closing" for both Judge and Gerrit Cole, and that to establish their "legacies" they both need to win it all. He went on to say that doing this should be "a triple motivator" for the whole Yankees lineup.
Sorry, but this is just a bundle of wishful fan thinking.
The peak age for ballplayers—all ballplayers—is 28. Aaron Judge is already 32. Gerrit Cole is 35. Their "window" has already closed–although both have defied the passage of time, and achieved extraordinary things when they should be "too old."
Cole, much as I like to mock his flounciness, has actually been a near-great pitcher, including a superb, 11-6, 2.77 record in the postseason.
Aaron Judge has just compiled two of the very best, all-time seasons in baseball history over the last three years. Barring some scandal of unimaginable proportions, he—like Cole—is already a lock for the Hall of Fame.
Yes, it's all too true that Judge's postseason record is not good—among other things, a .205 BA compared to Jeter's sterling, .308 (although their OPS stats, .838 to .768, are surprisingly close). And yes, he will no doubt be haunted by that dropped flyball forever.
But.
As we all know, neither baseball nor any other professional sport is just about "strapping on" that clutch helmet and sallying forth.
I love me some Derek Jeter, and he was clutch as hell. But he didn't win anything by himself. Neither has any other athlete in any other professional team sport. Ever. Not even the biggest GOATs whatever was. Not Babe Ruth. Not Shohei Ohtani. Not Michael Jordan or Tom Brady or Wayne Gretzky or Mia Hamm, or whoever.
If anything, pressing to be "more" clutch will only hurt Judge's game.
Nor are any of your New York Yankees likely to be especially motivated to win one for the Judgie. Or the Colie.
That's not how it works. Great pro teams are built by great general managers who know the game, backed by knowing owners willing to give them their heads. They're guided by smart managers who know how to run the clubhouse and the game on the field.
And they're won, in the end, by athletes who know how to play and win as a team—with plenty of good back-ups for when they inevitably get injured.
They used to understand that up in the Bronx. Been a long time since they have.
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5 comments:
Yes, Hoss, teamwork. That "chemistry" that people love to invoke, but little understand. Almost feels like a magic formula, yet some GMs can conjure it much more often than others. It's certainly not that reliant on metrics, although there's a use for the understanding of stats, even I will admit. But there's also something about knowing the big picture, the meta view, as it were, having a holistic view of the team you are building, rather than a granular, narrow focus on individual parts. Why yes, that Volvo fuel pump might fit on a Rolls Royce, but you'd never put it there, not unless you were Brian "Old Myopia" Cashman, who can't see past his own pubic hairs. Big Picture Brian??? Muhahahahahahahahahahaha....
40 Million for Bregman is a massive overpay Jesus
True Joe. But when he lobs a couple game changing hangers from Fried and Rodon over the Monster, that will be small consolation.
Bregman went to the worst place in baseball as far as the Yankees are concerned. That sting we will feel, that's pride fuckin' with us...
Horace, you got it! I like Judge, a good guy. He's not Thurmon, Reggie, Bernie, Jeter. Buffon and Press Agent Boone, talked about how Judge is rallying The Yankees> Not when you do not showup in the post season and drop balls in your glove. Joel Sherman in a Post article, compared The Yankees to The Buffalo Bills. Enough said.
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