They threw big bucks at your favorite team’s best player recently, and he is now wearing pinstripes them, their two highest paid players cost more than the entire roster of several teams, they’re from New York, and they win… a lot.
Needless to say, it’s pretty easy to hate the Yankees.
Do they have the highest payroll in baseball every year? Yes. Is it very difficult for other teams to compete with their seemingly unlimited resources? Sure. Will these trends continue despite the complaints of fans ? Absolutely. With all this said, the Yankees must be bad for the game of baseball, right?
Wrong.
Despite public perception of the contrary, baseball would be worse off without the Yankees, both on the field, and off of it. Lets take a look at why baseball needs a powerhouse like the Bronx Bombers.
The Yankees are a Perfect Villain
Think of it like the Rocky movies, what makes them so enjoyable? Sure, there were the epic training montages, but what really makes the character or Rocky Balboa effective is his opponents. Apollo, Clubber, and Drago were all larger than life figures who had some level of invincibility, making Rocky’s victories over them entirely more important to the audience than if he were to fight his perceived equal. That’s the Yankees, the consummate bad guy. Just look at their owner, George Steinbrenner (the tough guy above)… doesn’t “The Boss” just LOOK loathsome? People tune in to see them get beat; it’s what makes sports great, a Cinderella story. They make you a fan of teams you’ve never rooted for in hopes that they can prevent the seemingly inevitable from happening. In that way, they create national interest in baseball in a way that no other team possibly can.
The Yankees Put Money in Your Team’s Pockets
Since it’s inception in 2002, the Yankees have dolled out $377 million in revenue sharing, easily the most in baseball, because throughout this period, they have been baseball’s most profitable franchise through merchandise sales, ticket sales, and their very own television network, YES, who according to Forbes, brought the team $80 million by itself it rights fees in 2008 alone. This money, along with the money of other more profitable franchises goes to teams that are losing money to increase and preserve competitive balance across baseball. In addition, over the past decade, the Yankees have led all of baseball in total road attendance. Typically there is a dramatic increase in attendance when the Yankees come to town, from the cellar dwellers, to the legitimate contenders. If baseball’s owners aren’t greedy and sticking the extra revenue in their already fat pockets (a HUGE if in the world of Major League Baseball) then they can improve their teams immensely with the financial benefits they receive from the Yankees.
Baseball History is Riddled with Yankees
One of the most unique and special aspects of baseball is the value placed on tradition and the cherished history of the game. More than any other franchise, the Yankees’ teams and players and indelibly linked to this history. From Babe Ruth bashing mammoth home runs long before chicks dug them, to Lou Gehrig’s “luckiest man on the face of the earth” retirement speech, to Don Larsen throwing the only perfect game in World Series history, to Reggie Jackson hitting three home runs on three pitches in yet another Series, to the ageless Mariano Rivera closing out yet another championship, an unparalleled 27th, only a few months ago. From Joltin’ Joe, to The Mick, to Donnie Baseball, to The Captain. That spans almost a century of baseball history and that is without mentioning many of the signature moments and superstars who shaped the team and sport.
One of my favorite traditions growing up was going to the Yankees annual Old Timers Day game. To me, that Saturday afternoon in July is as synonymous with summer as barbeques, the beach, and sunburns. The game itself is a short 3-inning exhibition between former Yankee players, but the highlight of the afternoon is the introductions, where a seemingly endless amount of hall of famers, all stars, and heroes are brought out to the field one by one and honored. I never had the opportunity to see many of the players that come out for the day, but my dad has a story about most of them, or he excitedly recognizes who the player is as his credentials are read off over public address, his story, his stats, his memorable moments. Some of the players even predate me AND my father, and they are the ones that regularly receive the loudest ovations. THAT’S a history, when a group of people can stand in appreciation of an athletic figure few of them actually got to see play live. No baseball franchise could put together this kind of event, at least not with nearly the same number of high caliber, relevant players. It’s the most telling sign of their historical importance.
So the next time you fantasize about a Yankees-less baseball world, think of the financial good they actually do for the rest of baseball, think of the history, and if nothing else…
Who else is going to be there for you to hate? (Let’s not mention steroid users…)
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nice article.