On the Sidelines

There was an article written years ago where Derek Jeter was looking back on his career and one of the moments that stood out to him and stuck with him was a moment in spring training in 1996 . He said Don Mattingly saw him walking off the field and whispered to him , “let’s run not walk , you never know who’s watching” Jeter thought at first maybe it was about fans but later understood it was about how to carry yourself as a Yankee . Mattingly in an interview later said he witnessed Jeter run on and off the field the rest of his career and didn’t realize how much that small moment impacted Jeter , as he was in that moment referring to the Boss. That small thing set an example for his career and how players around Derek as he became who we all know him to be saw him exemplify what it means to be a Yankee. “The Yankee Way” …… it might be dead now but I remember these things and it meant something to me as a fan . Being a Yankee meant something , even to people who didn’t like baseball. Now we’re the butt of jokes . There was one player I ever heard say they didn’t want to be a Yankee , that was Griffey Jr and he had his reason . That’s it , just one in 40 years . Over the last 5-8 years I’ve heard numerous players say it . wtf happened to us