It is hard for sports fans to qualify this past postseason as anything but spectacular. Of the seven post-season series, there were no sweeps, with four of them going to a decisive game. Not to mention both League Championship Series went the maximum seven games.
Certainly don't forget that this postseason provided fans a view at the three most historic baseball franchises in Major League Baseball. The Yankees and Red Sox battled for the American League crown with a made-for-TV script. These bitter rivals are a part of the most intense rivalry in all of baseball. Their hatred stems from a long line of ancestors who grew up living passionately for one team and with unmatched hatred for the other.
Meanwhile, the National League provided a storyline all its own. A new chapter was added to the curses of the Cubs when \the most infamous Bartman since Simpson,"" as Jay Mariotti claims, interfered with a foul ball that seemed to have cost the team, and its fans, a chance to reach the World Series for the first time in 58 years.
So why then does it seem that this postseason has been pushed to the back of people's minds? The answer is simple and is one that has been echoing throughout our land for years: The damn Yankees! And although their bid for their 27th World Championship eluded them this fall, the fact remains that people detest the world of sports when the Yankees are winning championships.
I have long tried to comprehend and dissect the deep hatred for the Bronx Bombers. What is it exactly that causes all of us to abhor the majestic franchise that is the New York Yankees?
Maybe it is the fact that their payroll is three times the payroll size of the team they faced in the World Series. But please say that if you were running a business you wouldn't do the same. Would you really pass on all the best, most expensive parts that are available to you, and instead produce an inferior product'
It could be because people are flat-out sick of seeing the same team win. But I fail to see it that way. I fail to see it that way at all, so much as to profess something that may very well result in my Southside, die-hard Sox fan father beating the ever-living baseball blood out of my body: I love the Yankees.
I love 'em because of the history of their franchise. It is an organization that fans of all other sports teams can only dream about. Their 26 World Championships can be compared only to the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL.
I love Derek Jeter because we have not seen a Mr. October in our lifetime. He is the most clutch performer in the sports world since Michael Jordan. To this day I am convinced that no one, I repeat, no one, could have made the play he made in the field against the Athletics a few years back. Not to mention he has 123 postseason hits and is only 29 years old. Those 123 postseason hits are the most postseason hits EVER, with some player named Pete Rose in a distant second, nearly 50 hits behind. By the time he retires from the game of baseball he will have easily doubled the previous record.
Not satisfied with his individual efforts, just look at the Yankees success with him as their everyday shortstop. For Pete's sake, the man has only been in the league for eight full seasons, and every single one of those ended at some time or another in the postseason. The early years of his career have seen him win a World Championship in half of his eight seasons.
I love Bernie Williams for the way he can stay out of the spotlight, yet be the most productive home run hitter the postseason has ever seen, as his 19 long balls are the most by any single player.
But most importantly, I love Joe Torre. I will be damned if at any point in my lifetime I see a manager that can make every decision look genius. Take, for example, moving one of the highest paid, and most prolific home run hitters in the game to the No. 7 slot in the batting order.
What happened? Well, nothing really, only that Jason Giambi came back to hit two monstrous home runs that kept the Yankees in Game 7 against the Red Sox, a game the Yankees won in the 11th inning.
And although Giambi has not been healthy at times this postseason, how about when Torre decided to sit Giambi on the bench in a World Series game? Again, same result: Giambi responded once again with a long ball.
So once again I ask the question: Why is it that we all hate the Yankees so much? Their greatness is immeasurable. Their history is endless. Their mystique is unapproachable.
It is their greatness that makes it so easy to enjoy rooting for them to succeed, as one can only marvel at what the Yankees have become. They are the definition of excellence in the baseball world.
So when next October rolls around take the chance to watch true greatness. After all, it only comes around once in a great while... unless, of course, you are the Yankees.
