New York Yankees: The Most Fun Team In Baseball
July 27, 2009 · Michael Leboff · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Derek Jeter’s stoic look from the dugout still remains, but these are not the Yankees of old.
The new stadium is not the only thing that is new in the boogie-down Bronx. With the new address came a new attitude.
It all started with the signing of Johnny Damon, a self-proclaimed idiot, for the 2006 season. Damon’s laidback temperament was a nice change to the usually uptight Yankees of the new millennium.
Fast-forward to this past winter. The Bombers trade for Nick Swisher. Swish is a notorious prankster and has been since his days in Oakland.
They then sign A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and C.C. Sabathia. While Teixeira fits the old Yankee mold, C.C. and A.J. are fun-loving boys stuck in men’s bodies.
If you were to peek into the Yankees dugout at this time last year, you would see a bunch of ballplayers forced to be a team. This year, there is no forcing it. Everybody is in a huge love affair with everybody else.
New traditions have developed. Anybody who hits a walk-off home run is treated to a pie in the face, served up by AJ Burnett.
Anyone who gets a hit or makes a nice play at any time in the game is greeted to an overzealous high five from Nick Swisher. Anybody who makes a gaffe in the field, falls down on the base path, or wears an ugly suit, is going to be punished by the Kangaroo Court.
The old “Jeter hates A-Rod” saga has disappeared. Now, they are joking around with each other on the top step of the dugout.
When Joe Girardi banned candy from the clubhouse, the media jumped on him for taking the fun out of this team. What the media didn’t realize is, that candy or no candy, baseball is a game. A fun game. And that is just what these Yankees are doing.
Having fun.
Oh yeah, and they’re winning too.
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