by Paul Semendinger
March 8, 2024
***
I don't really have "favorite players" any longer. There are players I root for, of course, but having a favorite player is something that I think was much more a part of my childhood and developmental years than adulthood.
That being said, there are a lot of fun players to root for on this year's Yankees team. In fact, almost every player is one that has qualities I can root for. For many of the past seasons, the Yankees employed a host of players who, while I wanted them to succeed (of course), I couldn't really root for. Josh Donaldson, for example, was difficult to embrace as a fan. Aaron Hicks, once he started loafing and not paying attention, as well. Domingo German. Aroldis Chapman. I'm not going to go through the old rosters, but there were numerous players I didn't care for for one reason or another.
On the current Yankees, players like that, so far, seem few and far between. Alex Verdugo, maybe. Carlos Rodon, if he acts like he did at the end of last year. Are there any others?
I don't go looking for bad news, so I might be missing something. I hope I'm not.
On the other hand, Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Anthony Volpe, Anthony Rizzo, Juan Soto, DJ LeMahieu... so many are easy to root for. Giancarlo Stanton hasn't been a good player these last few years, but all reports are that he's a stand-up person.
Austin Wells has at least one great special quality, as I see it. He and I share a birthday.
I like when the Yankees win. I like it more when the Yankees win and are a fun team with good players who I can happily root for. That seems to be the 2024 team.
***
Sometimes when a writer criticizes a player, readers think that the writer doesn't like the player. That's not necessarily true. I try to stick with the facts here. If I criticize a player, it's because of his play.
Anthony Volpe is young. He's energetic. He seems committed. He has all sorts of talent. He seems easy to root for.
He also had a bad season last year offensively. An 81 OPS+ is bad.
He's a good kid to root for, but he was a bad offensive player last year.
All of the above can be true.
***
For years I believe the Yankees built their coaching staffs the wrong way, choosing a bunch of people with little to no playing and/or coaching experience. Often times it was the blind leading the blind, or so it seemed.
That has also changed.
I like that Brad Ausmus is the bench coach. The Yankees should have had a veteran coach alongside Aaron Boone from the start.
***
This will be Aaron Boone's seventh season with the club. Amazing. Maybe in 2024 he gets his championship.
I sure hope so.
It's no secret I don't think Aaron Boone is a great manager. But I'd rather he win a bunch of World Series to prove me wrong than for the Yankees to stumble and for me to be correct about that.
***
I'm eager to see the comments in Sunday's Readers' Thread when I ask our readers to share their favorite record albums. That should be fun.
Rolling Stone (on-line) listed the 100 best Beatles Solo songs. I don't agree with all their choices, but I was pleased that George Harrison's Wah-Wah made it as the 33rd best solo Beatles song. I'd rank it even higher.
My favorite version of Wah-Wah comes from the Concert for George. Seeing a host of Rock-and-Roll All-Stars playing Wah-Wah at the Concert for George is amazing. Billy Preston, Paul McCartney, Jeff Lynne, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, Dahni Harrison...they're all there. I'm sure I'm also missing some who played on that, but it's simply full of love, energy, and joy. In addition to the artists, there are 45 gazillion drums, a string section, horns, and singers. It's simply amazing and so great. Here's a link to that performance.
***
I'm ready for the season to start. I'm not big into Spring Training games. Watching baseball is fun when the games count. I like the angst, the tension, and, more, I enjoy the hope that good things will happen for the Yankees.
***
I ordered the new Strat-o-Matic cards from the 2023 season a short while ago. I keep waiting, like a kid, for them to arrive in the mail. I love seeing how they rank the Yankees.
I'll share some highlights in an article once they arrive.
***
Let's go Yankees!
***
A quick note to all writers, bloggers, sportscasters, radio people, TV people, news people... whoever. Thank you for reading this. I appreciate it. I'm glad you know that you can come to SSTN for great perspectives, articles, thoughts, and more. If you use or borrow our ideas, it's only right to give credit to the authors and this site. Thanks.
