WHY IT'S A YANKEE LOVE STORY

On October 26, 1996 I woke up with one thing on my mind, the Yankees had an opportunity to clinch the World Series against the pesky Atlanta Braves in what was Joe Torre’s first year as Yankee manager. It was huge for me, because in that winter of 1995, the headlines creamed Joe Torre calling him “Clueless Joe” and it was George Steinbrenner that believed in Joe, no one else. The fans, well, we just wanted a winning season and at that moment, some of us were disappointed that Buck Showalter had to go, yet others thought we didn’t need him around because they felt he didn’t do enough against the Seattle Mariners in the 1995 playoffs. Me? I wanted change, but at the time I didn’t know what that meant.

My wife and I were still dating and it was about a year in and things were great, and slowly but surely she knew I was a Yankee fan. I tried to keep it cool, not fanatical in front of my babe, but just enough. It was about not overdoing it. As the Yankees advanced to the World Series, the cat was out of the bag, I was over-excited. It was huge, we were about to win it all!

So on that October morning, I remember I needed to get a few items at the store, drinks, food and I was planning my entire day around the Yankee game, a historic event. The last World Series the Yankees were in was 1981 against the Dodgers. This was huge for me, because I was able to attend Game 2 at the stadium. I was just a kid with my dad. The Yankees lost that World Series and I was crushed. Now, on October 26, 1996, I knew it wasn’t going to happen again.

“My family is going to a big Haunted House in New York. We should go with then…It should be fun,” She said. I felt my face getting flushed. I was in a dilemma right now and I didn’t know what to do. Do I fake a stomach ache? Do I say I need to go to work?

“Well the Yankees are on tonight, they could clinch.” I said, worried. “Don’t we have a VCR,? just tape it.” Yes, that’s right, VCR. For those of you that don’t know what that is, here is the official definition.

VCR: Electromechanical device that records, stores on a videotape cassette, and plays back on a TV set recorded images and sound. The first commercial VCRs were marketed by Sony Corp. in 1969. VCRs are used to record broadcast TV programs for later viewing and to play commercially recorded cassettes. They have from two to seven tape heads that read and inscribe video and audio tracks on magnetic tape. Home movies can be made with a camcorder system, a VCR connected to a simple video camera.

I caved. Look, you have to understand, she caught me off guard, she’s drop dead gorgeous and she was right, I just have to tape it bro. So I did. What the hell, we can go up to the Haunted House, knock it out and I’ll be back by the 8^th inning, why not? Piece of cake.

The ride up was nerve racking but I listened to the game in the car. While everyone was talking about fun we were about to have, I was worrying about Cecil Fielder, Derek Jeter and Charlie Hayes and whether or not we were going to win the damn game. We got to the Haunted House and the line was very very long. I shit myself. “My God, I think I just made a bad bad decision,” I thought. “I don’t even like to be scared, what the hell am I doing here?”

The line luckily had televisions throughout the barn we were walking through, so I saw pieces of the game, but it really just sucked to try and pay attention. The sound was down and people are drunk, walking through the line, talking about how great the haunted house will be. Well, it was great, for them. We got in and to tell you the truth, it’s not my cup of tea, people scaring you, midgets with fake chainsaws. I think there was a lady with no head, I’m not sure, but I swore I saw that as I ran out.

At that point, I was happy. “Let’s go! I need to watch the World Series!” I walked quickly to the car and as I walked in the parking lot, 4 dudes were sitting their car with the door opened and the radio was blasting. Sterling was rattling off play by play with Kay. I realized at that moment, those guys were Yankee fans. I walked over to the car, “Move over,” I said and I sat in the back seat with these guys, I had no idea who they were. Then I heard Sterling scream when Hayes squeezed the foul ball “Hayes, MAKES the Catch!!"

We high-fived each other and I was on my way. I got back in my car and my wife was laughing at me. “Did you know those guys from college or something?” She asked. “No.” I said smiling. “So who were they?” she asked. “Yankee fans, we just won the World Series.” She didn’t get it until we got home and I pressed rewind on the VCR. I watched the last inning. I watched Charlie Hayes catch the last out and I watched the celebration over and over and over again. Wade Boggs was on the horse, the champagne and I cried like a girl for hours by myself. My wife walked in around 2am and saw me there in the dark watching the whole thing, over and over again. Right then... she got it. She was dating a Yankee fan, a true Yankee fan and she gave me a big hug…before mocking me or course.

I told you this story because every October, I think about it. I’d do absolutely anything for her and that includes going to a haunted house during a clinching World Series game. Yes, baseball matters to me, the Yankees definitely do, but as I’ve said so many times before, my family matters the most.

Telling all of you this story was important to me. Enjoy it, share it, laugh or cry, whatever you want. One thing's for sure though, my wife is the strongest, greatest person in my world and every day only gets better, even if she thinks I’m a baseball nerd, it’s just the way it is.

Tonight, I will be in my basement for Game 5 of the ALDS. Tonight, we need to advance. LET'S GO YANKEES!

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WHY IT'S ANOTHER YANKEE CLASSIC...THANKS TO STEINBRENNER

Man oh man, another classic Yankee commercial that I found with the help of Weary Soul

who sent this link after we sent out the really popular BYB post WHY THESE ARE THE BEST YANKEE COMMERICALS EVER. Enjoy it! Thanks Weary Soul!



We miss you George.







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WHY GEORGE JUST ROLLED OVER IN HIS GRAVE

The Yankees didn't make any moves at this trade deadline, even though they were clearly in need of a top flight pitcher and some relief help; Hell, maybe even another bat. The first thing I thought of was George Steinbrenner rolling over in his grave in disgust.

George's philosophy during his entire life was win or nothing, and sorry to the 2011 Yankees, with whom I love to death, but we don't look like we are 100% positive that we can beat the Red Sox, Phillies, or Giants in a 7 game series at this point, and in George's time he would have made a trade for a huge name to do that. I think that if George were still around he would send everyone except Manny Banuelos to Seattle to acquire King Felix, and convince the Mariners why it's a great deal along the way.(In Photo: Manny Banuelos)
George was a hard nosed business man who had one goal in his business, to win. Hal, although he is a nice guy did not completely receive that trait from George. Dammit do I wish he did. If it were up to me, I would give Hank a bigger say in the day to day operations of the Yankees. Hank has a bad reputation as being alittle wild with the mouth, but he is not afraid to speak his mind, or spend his money. Hank has some of the good George traits.

If it were up to me, I would let Hank and Hal both control the Yankees in different ways. For example, Hank seems better with being vocal, dealing with people, and he has the George win attitude. Hal's positives are his business background (he studied business in college), his professionalism, and he displays the Yankees as a classy franchise, which he also is.
Let Hank make the moves, let Hal deal the cash and if things get alittle too out of control, Hal is there to reign him in, but one things for sure, we missed a good opportunity this trade deadline and if Hank was out of his cage, doing what I'm suggesting, I think there would be a different outcome today, August 2nd, then again, maybe I just miss Good Ol' George, who knows.

But, what do you think about my idea? Hit me on Facebook or add the Blackberry Messenger group, which is on the right side of the BYB page. Let me know what you think.



--Will Cohen, BYB Staff Writer

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THE BOSS, PR & SECOND ACTS

This post was sent to me by a family friend. Read the original publishing HERE. She wrote it after the Boss passed away last year. I found it touching and personal, from one of the biggest Yankee fans out there. I thought it would a good way to honor the Boss on his birthday, July 4th.

Thanks Donna... Happy Birthday George. -Casey

“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” -- Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

“One’s a born liar; the other’s convicted” --Yankees manager Billy Martin referring to Future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson,and team owner George Steinbrenner, respectively.

I was born in 1975 and raised a Yankees fan, so George Steinbrenner made it an interesting time to grow up. I was a little young to remember the late-70s championship teams, but I have some vague memories of the 1981 World Series loss to the Dodgers. For some reason, though, they center around Goose Gossage beaming Ron Cey and a beyond awkward post-victory performance on “Solid Gold” (Of course I’ve also blocked out most of the 2001 and 2003 World Series’ too, so maybe age wasn’t the issue).

For most of my formative years then, I was raised with one core unbending truth: George Steinbrenner was a horrible person, single handedly destroying the New York Yankees. The evidence was there for all to see.

• The botched trades and signings.
• The off-the-field controversies.
• The seemingly trivial issues that ballooned into major stories.
• The overbearing behavior.
  
• The managerial turnover.
  
• The suspensions.
  
• Thirteen years of controversy with not one playoff appearance.

And then things changed. The Yanks made the playoffs in 1995 and went on to win the World Series in 1996. There was an early playoff loss to Cleveland (an otherwise lovely city) in 1997, then three straight championships and a run of five World Series appearances in six seasons. The distractions were still there, but didn’t seem to matter nearly as much so long as the wins kept coming. Steinbrenner’s public image changed along with the team’s fortunes, though. He went from being reviled to receiving standing ovations from fans appreciative of his never-ending desire to win – and willingness to pay up to do so.

Over the past few years, fans had seen Steinbrenner take less of a public role as the head of the Yankees before finally handing over official control to sons Hal and Hank. And then the news came: After 37 years as the principal owner of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner had passed away at 80 years of age.

As a PR professional, I cringe when I think about the public persona that Steinbrenner allowed the media to portray early on: the fiery, win-at-all-costs team owner that cared little for the feelings and well-being of anyone that didn’t get on board with his program. Looking back though, maybe this was intentional on George’s part, creating the image he thought fans wanted to see attached to the most successful franchise in Major League Baseball.

Because after he was gone, the stories started to come:

“George paid for my surgery.”

“He paid for my son’s college tuition.”

“He taught me how his own mistakes had shown him the value of a second chance.”

And then, my own Steinbrenner story: I was in an elevator at Yankees Stadium in August of 1994 – the last game before the strike would end the season, robbing the Yankees of their best shot at a World Series in over a decade. I turned to see “The Boss” and his entourage in the elevator with us. My now husband said, in a low voice, “Raise your hand if you’re famous.”

The man I had grown up to view as a fire-breathing tyrant – during what was probably among the more stressful nights of his career – didn’t say a word, but gamely raised his hand.

I’m stricken again by the art of image management. This was a man that was for years known as a cold, demanding team owner. There was no question that George himself had encouraged this view. There have been incidents along the way that are still difficult to excuse for their boorishness. At the same time, though, it appears that there have been countless acts of philanthropy with an impact that really matters – far more so than the results of a baseball game.

If he had chosen, it now seems that we all could have had a different picture of George Steinbrenner and his core values over the years. Whether it was driven by his view of what the business required, or mere modesty, he kept that view hidden until he was gone.

Rest in Peace, Boss.

-- Donna McSorley / @donnamcsorley

Thank you for bringing my attention to your piece and thanks for letting my publish it here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.

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