Disclaimer: I love baseball. I love history. I love baseball history. I'm a Mets fan who does not dislike the Yankees (settle down Benigno).
That being said ... it might be time to put this Old Timer's Day thing on the shelf for a couple years until guys like Jeter and Mariano and O'Neill are old and gray and haven't been heard from in 10 years. Then you celebrate them and everyone's happy and it's a great time for all. Or do it every 5 years.
But do the Yanks really need to do this every year? If you continue to have these ceremonies where the greats (and some non-greats) all trot out, the oversaturation factor kicks in. Within the last 12 months, the Yanks have now had four similar celebrations - All-Star Game, final game at Old Yankee Stadium, opening of New Yankee Stadium, Old Timer's Day - where the team honors its past. Seriously, we get it. The Yankees are the greatest franchise ever. You had us at the 183rd time you told us.
Most of the legends have passed on (Mickey, Joe D). Now, Yogi and Whitey are surrounded by the likes of Dave Eiland, Homer Bush, and Aaron Small. To put things in perspective, imagine the Mets celebrating Old Timer's Day with Tom Seaver, a couple other dudes from '69, but also Rico Brogna, Bill Pulsipher, and Keith Miller. Everyone would make fun of it, right? Not to equate Mets history with Yankees history, but hopefully you get the point.
If the Yanks were inviting these guys because they're truly acknowledging that the lean years are just as important as the championship years, then that's one thing. I applaud that. But me thinks that some of this crew is just roster filler. Guys like John Sterling, Michael Kay, and the YES propaganda crew rarely reminisce about Mike Easler or Pat Kelly.
And let's not even get started about the politics with some of these choices. If you think that Joe Torre ever gets invited back with the current regime in place, you're crazy.
Again, honoring your past is fantastic and the idea of an Old Timer's Day is wonderful. But when it gets watered down and played out, it's time to re-evaluate things. Let it breathe. Let Old Timer's Day take a nap for a couple years. It's return will feel special again.
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You need to do that with your column.
stick to writing about the mets...maybe someday you'll have something to write about...
Tsk tsk, Mr. Casey. The Mets...hahahahahaha.
Go back to bed Matt. It's too early for you to think clearly.
How dare you try to deprive the Yankees and their fans of another opportunity to pat themselves on the back!? Insanity.
no one is forcing you to watch
stick to your own team kid.
Pieces like this are the worst part of the Internet. People are given a license to act as if they're experts at something but are really yahoos with an agenda that they now think people want to read about.
For one thing, you do realize that three of the four ceremonies you listed are one-time occurrences, right? The next all star game at NYY won't be for another 20-30 years. Also, the closing/opening of the two stadiums is over and done with. Old timer's day is the only annual ceremony, and guess what? The fans love it. This is an opportunity for the fans to see the players they grew up rooting for, or those they never got to see play at all. It's annually the biggest crowd of the season, so someone's not getting tired of it. Only those without a clue.
You're right, no one wants to see Rico Brogna. Maybe that's what's bothering you.
old timers day is about the fans seeing their favorite players from the past and honoring them..look at the reaction mussina got today. the man got his 20th win and final game at Fenway, so we at Yankee Stadium never really got show him our gratitude for the 8 good years he gave us. Look at the reaction given to Don Zimmer, first time back in a few years, the man was almost in tears from the ovation he got and you could tell he was really touched. Willie Randolph last year had a similar effect, he came home and the fans showed him how much they appreciate him and the great years he gave us a player and coach. countless of other special moments from Bobby Murcer goofing around, to the stadium honoring him for his fight with cancer, to the stadium mourning his passing and celebrating his memory last year little more than 2 weeks after he passed.
its not about past greatness, it about the fans saying thank you to the players of the past, and having a good time and sharing a few laughs.
if you can't see that then you clearly have an anti yankee bias, or you really didnt pay attention to the ceremony.
ONE of the BEST comments.........
Wow, talk about simple minded. This guy is a real winner... not. If this is the attitude at NBC they better get out of that ND football contract ASAP. The point of old timers day is tradition but apparently NBC and their neanderthals just don't get it. Matt must be real young and immature so I'll give him a break and just say he needs to get a different job while he's on summer vacation.
Perfect article. Few of the Yanks of past 20 years are or were "great". Overrated by local media yes, but great? Nope. Put Jeter in KC and no one would even know who he is.
Jeter is a .316 lifetime hitter and will have 3,000 hits before he turns 40. Most players who have achieved that have hung on for a few unproductive seasons just to get there. In his 14 full seasons he's batted below .300 only twice. Hell, he's hitting .321 right now. The only thing overrated is so called "baseball fans" like yourself who don't even know the game well enough to appreciate him. I'm a Red Sox fan and hate the Yankees, but I have to admit he's great and people would know his name no matter where he played.
Well said den25, being a Yankee fan ans seeing Jeter play everyday you appreciate how good a player he is but to hear it from a Red Sox fan who can appreciate a good player regardless of team affiliation is nice to hear.
GOOD THING the real fans know him, wasn't he the top vote getter for the ALLSTAR game ????
and every player who meets Jeter say's they can't believe what a great guy he is............
and the LADIES LUV HIM
really missing the point about old-timers day.. it just seems like we've had a lot because we opened a new stadium and had an all-star game in the past year, but its once a year, for the fans to appreciate their favorite players from the past..
This article just screams "subconscious yankee-hate"
Actually, there is a growing number of Mets fans who want to see their own Old Timer's Day celebration. I'm prety sure Met fans would enjoy honoring the likes of Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, Swoboda, Harrelson, Staub, Kranepool, Mazzilli, Hernandez, Mookie, Knight, HoJo, and of course, Doc, Straw, Piazza, etc etc etc. I'm a Yankee fan myself, and would'nt mind catching that celebration. Maybe they'll have an OTD in 2012 when the franchise turns 50.
"Put Jeter in KC and no one would even know who he is"
He wouldn't be as famous, he wouldn't be as big of a deal, no, but a SS with an OPS+ of 121 for his career, who is well on his way to 3,000 hits is a HOFer no matter what town he plays in. Don't let your Yankee hate delude you from reality.
Well said. Although I say he ends up with closer to 3,500 hits.
Matty you are wrong put Jeter in KC and after 6 years he would have been picked up as a top dollar free agent by somebody. Lets see Damon, Beltran for starters but I am sure we can go back and look at a lot of former Royals who were great and were traded. Jeter in KC would have been a coveted trade by probably every other team.
Only a complete idiot would write such an article, oh wait a mutts fan wrote this! That explains everything!
I can remember when the Cubs had an old-timers game everyday, the starting line up.
"If you think that Joe Torre ever gets invited back with the current regime in place, you're crazy."
I must be crazy then because the current regime had a falling out with Don Zimmer and he was there today. The Boss also had a falling out with Yogi and he's been back for a few years now so why wouldn't Torre ever return?
You forgot Stottlemeyer
You must work for the Red Network (ask Craig C. what that means). There was any article yesterday that the Mets no longer have one because "it doesn't improve attendance, the fans don't care". And the Evil Empire is money-grubbing?
God, yankee fans are the worst, aren't they?
Why are we the worst? Is there something wrong with showing appreciation?
I understand what you are saying about possible roster filler because some of the old timers aren't HOFers or legends, but it is called Old Timers Day not HOF day. Just because some of the attendees are not household names outside of New York doesn't mean they don't deserve recognition. Kids (and adults) pick out favorite players for a number of different reasons that may have nothing to do with the players ability. Same birthday, same first name, first autograph, etc. The kids like to see their favorites when they grow up just to recapture some old memories and what is the harm in that?
I was there Sunday as I have for many years and it is always a fun day. Yes there are some Roster Fillers but there are also a lot of players that will always be remembered and getting to let them know they are still remembered and loved and then watching them take the field again is always fun to watch. Maybe Matt you need to watch the replay the current Yankee players were enjoying it and it so did Jim Leyland and Justin Verlander from the visitors dugout. Forget the last two years with the closing of the old and opening of the new stadiums, Old Timers Day will still be a once a year event that ties the new with the old and continues a tradition that endears the fan base to its players.