I had the pleasure of watching Harper
play in his hometown when I went to a game at the Nationals ballpark in
Washington, DC during the last week of the regular season (more from that visit
later). What was really cool was the way the crowd embraced their players, especially
Harper. There was a noticeable jump in energy every time he stepped up to the
plate, even though he didn’t have a great game.
The New York Yankees don’t have the
equivalent of a Harper or Trout, that very young exciting baseball player that
completely energizes the crowd. They haven’t had that since a young Derek Jeter
came on to the scene to take over the shortstop gig in 1996, becoming a unanimous
Rookie of the Year winner himself in the process. Jeter is now a legendary
veteran and a future Hall of Famer and while his importance to the Yankees cannot
be overstated, he naturally doesn’t generate the same surge of excitement as he
did when he first came on the scene.
Robinson Cano is a great talent, but his
manner of play doesn’t elicit tremendous enthusiasm from the Yankees faithful,
some of whom view him as lazy or just too laid back. And it’s not even clear if
the Yankees will be able to hold on to Cano when he becomes a free agent next
year, given what we’re hearing about his agent Scott Boras’ demands and the Yankees
hard line on payroll. Of course, this is all early posturing, but it does not
bode well for the possibility of a contract deal both sides can live with.
Brian Cashman has said he will not de-age
his roster just for the sake of doing so, meaning that older veterans will
likely continue to be the norm for the Yankees (not that they have a lot of
choice given the contracts they are locked into). That’s a shame because young
blood like Trout and Harper can do a lot to energize an aging team and their
fans.
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