Who will be next face of the Yankees? by Reid Forgrave

Updated Aug 22, 2011 10:27 AM ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

In the fourth inning of a game last week against the Kansas City Royals, the man who has been the face of the New York Yankees for the past decade and a half crossed paths with the man primed to be the next face of the franchise.
The Yankees were losing to the last-place Royals when Derek Jeter — he of 3,000 hits, five World Series rings and a lifetime of adulation from Yankees fans — stepped to the plate. A runner was on first. Quickly, Jeter fell behind in the count. Then, on a nasty low curveball, Jeter’s bat whipped through the zone with that familiar, frenetic swing. He smoked the pitch into the left-field corner and drove home a run to bring the Yankees within a run of tying the score. As Jeter sped around first and glided into second, you could forgive a Yankees fan for wondering whether the 37-year-old will keep playing forever.

PRIDE OF THE YANKEES

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Three batters later, after Jeter had been driven in to tie the score, up came the future face of the Yankees: the 28-year-old Home Run Derby champion, a homegrown Yankee like Jeter with a smile that lights up the field. On a full count, Robinson Cano fouled off a pitch. Then another. And another. Seven in a row, wearing out the pitcher. Then Cano turned on a pitch, paused for a beat to admire his blast — a majestic 449-footer into the fountain in Kauffman Stadium’s outfield — and rounded the bases, a scene Yankees fans hope to see repeated for another decade, maybe more.
This five-run inning, as it turned out, was all the Yankees needed to win and give them the best record in the American League.
And this inning, too, told the story of the 2011 Yankees: a team at a crossroads, where fans can watch the torch being passed from one dynasty to the next.
You can’t play baseball forever, and some day, the Yankees’ Key Three, those stalwarts who have been with the organization since their careers began — shortstop Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada and closer Mariano Rivera — will walk away from the game.
That day is likely coming sooner instead of later. All three have had well-documented struggles this year, amplified in the New York media echo chamber. And while each has overcome them lately — Jeter has been on a tear since coming off a June stint on the disabled list and picked up his 3,000th hit in the process; Rivera pitched two perfect ninth innings against the Royals after three rough appearances the previous week; and Posada, a DH-type these days who turned 40 last week, answered being benched with a grand slam and six RBI in his first start off the bench — these successes won’t last forever.

Life changes. The Boss becomes Hal and Hank Steinbrenner. The House That Ruth Built becomes The House That Wall Street Built. Cheap hot dogs in the concourse become sushi and a Hard Rock Café. And the Yankees’ Key Three, the men who have defined this franchise during one of the finest dynasties in recent sports history, become a part of pinstripe nostalgia, to be replaced by — well, by whom, exactly?
“A great will leave and another great will emerge,” center fielder Curtis Granderson said on a recent afternoon, sitting in front of his locker in the visitors’ clubhouse. “It could be Robinson (Cano, as the face of the franchise). Just because he’s been through minor leagues all the way through the system. He’s been there for a championship. He has different levels to his game, from a defensive standpoint, to offensive, and also power — he does a little bit of everything. He could definitely, easily step into the role.”
This year, Granderson has made an early case for becoming a future face of the Yankees, leading the American League in RBI and ranking second in home runs. The team is filled with stars who would be faces of most every other franchise: Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira. None of them, however, started in the Yankees franchise. And that means something, especially in an era where careers rarely are spent with one team.
“People love that homegrown player,” said Bradford Turnow, a fifth-grade teacher on Long Island who runs YankeesHistory.com. “Jeter’s the perfect example. There’s not too many things bigger than the Yankee brand name, but I do think it’ll take a major hit (when Jeter retires). When people go to Yankee Stadium, they look right to shortstop. They go to see No. 2, Derek Jeter. They’re not there to see A-Rod or the other guys.”

POWER RANKINGS

See if your favorite team is pointed in the right direction this week.

Contrary to the stereotype that they're the “team that buys championships,” the Yankees have the fourth-rated farm system in baseball, according to Baseball Prospectus. That’s far better than a decade ago. But it’s too early to tell whether youngsters such as catcher Jesus Montero or pitcher Manny Banuelos will be able to succeed in the big leagues, much less become the face of a franchise.
“It’s definitely a changing of the guard,” said Jay Jaffe, a senior columnist with Baseball Prospectus. “We’ve already seen a lot of signs of the remaining three of their vulnerabilities this year. And we’ve seen how difficult it is to even broach the subject of ushering these guys into the sunset, but (Yankees manager Joe) Girardi and (general manager Brian) Cashman have been tasked with exactly that. It’s a connection, not just to the glory years but, to the restoration of the franchise as one of the pre-eminent in all of sports.”
It’s easy to forget that the Yankees hadn’t won a World Series in nearly two decades when Jeter, Rivera and Posada came along. The brand had fallen on hard times, with old Yankee Stadium being painted with empty seats throughout the 1980s.
Then came these three. (Throw in pitcher Andy Pettitte, and they comprised the Core Four. All played their first games for the Yankees in 1995.) They played ball well, and they played ball right. They became the faces of a franchise that was all about winning as a team, even in an era where players seemed more interested in individual accomplishments. Yankees fans knew there would be that immobile package every day at the ballpark, and there was a sense of comfort they could take in that.

HE DID IT!

Derek Jeter is the first Yankee to collect 3,000 hits. See the best shots from the celebration.

“Derek, in a sense, is the face of the Yankees, but that face is shared,” Girardi said in the dugout before a recent game, “because it seems like different nights there are different guys coming through.”
Inside the visitors’ clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, the many Yankees stars went about their business, preparing for the game. Jeter tried to explain to a gaggle of a dozen reporters why he has been hitting so well recently: staying back on the ball. Granderson sat at his locker, toying with his iPad. Cano watched video of Royals pitchers, grabbed a bat and headed to the indoor batting cage. Rivera disappeared into the kitchen. Sabathia tugged his pants onto his massive frame. A rerun of “Everybody Loves Raymond” played on a flat-screen television.
Teixeira sat near the showers, musing about the future of this great franchise.
“The pinstripes are bigger than anyone,” said Teixeira, who grew up a Don Mattingly fan. “Derek is the captain, and he’s going to be the face until he’s done playing. (But) I don’t think there’s a need for one face. It’s all about the pinstripes. It’s all about winning.
“The great thing about the Yankee franchise is that every generation steps up and wins championships. You had a guy like Reggie Jackson walk into town in 1977 and win two straight championships.”

DIAMOND STUDS

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As Teixeira spoke, right past him walked Jackson, that Yankees great, wearing jogging shorts, a Yankees T-shirt and high socks, the face of another Yankees dynasty. Just another day in a Yankees clubhouse.
It’s hard not to be in awe of this franchise. And that’s the thing about the Yankees: It’s never really been about one player. The St. Louis Cardinals need an Albert Pujols as their face, the Atlanta Braves a Chipper Jones. With the Yankees, a few rise to that iconic level, and Cano just might.
But the Yankees don’t need him to. The sum of the pinstripes is greater than any one player.

Reid Forgrave has worked for the Des Moines Register, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Seattle Times. His work has been recognized by Associated Press Sports Editors, the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors.


See the article in full at:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Who-will-be-the-next-face-of-the-New-York-Yankees-081711

Derek Jeter 3,000 Hit Tracker - Newsday

Track Derek's 3,000 Hits here: http://longisland.newsday.com/sports/jeter/

Rivera 600 Saves - Newsday

Get all of Rivera's Stats here:

http://longisland.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/mariano-rivera-saves/

Batboy tell-all: Secrets of the Yankees - NY Post

Batboy tell-all: Secrets of the Yankees

By LUIS CASTILLO

Last Updated: 5:45 PM, August 7, 2011

Posted: 1:29 AM, August 7, 2011

At age 15, Luis Castillo lived every city kid's dream -- he became a batboy for the New York Yankees. From 1998 until 2005, he ran errands for A-Rod, caught warm-up pitches from Andy Pettitte and David Cone, and partied with Ruben Sierra. As part of the last group of batboys who did not have to sign confidentiality agreements, Castillo is able to divulge Yankee secrets in his new memoir, "Clubhouse Confidential." Here are some of his favorite memories.
Opening Day 1998 is my first day on the job and I arrive at Yankee Stadium not knowing what to expect. Before long, a thin teenager with curly brown hair approached and introduced himself as Joe Lee. A former batboy for the Yankees, he was then a clubhouse assistant. After we shook hands, he said, "You know you can't start working here without being named."
Being named? I followed him back into the clubhouse, and the first player I met was Derek Jeter.
"Hi," I said. "My name is Luis Castillo."
Jeter frowned, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Nah."
I was thinking, no what? Why did he say no to me? But I didn't say anything, I just stood waiting. Jeter looked me up and down some more.
"That's it!" Jeter said. "Your nickname is Squeegee . . . You look like a squeegee." He smiled.
"What!"
"That's tradition," Joe Lee said, putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me away. "He names everybody. As leader of the team he has to give everyone nicknames."
"I got a strange one!" I said. But I never had a chance to ask Derek Jeter why he named me Squeegee. I knew what a squeegee man was, though. They're guys who clean car windows for money, wearing baggy clothes and white jumpers and looking skinny in their clothes. That's how my uniform looked that first day.
At least I had been initiated and was now an official member of the team.
COMPLETE YANKEES COVERAGE
DEREK JETER
Every time Jeter walked into the clubhouse in street clothes, he would breeze by the young batboys, and the 14- and 15-year-old clubhouse attendants, and greet them with an offhand "How're you doin', biatches?" Bee-atch-es. You'd turn around and say to yourself, Hunh? Was that Derek Jeter who waltzed past, the team captain, the man who is -- in the public eye -- a model of correctness and good taste?
But this greeting wasn't meant to annoy anyone; on the contrary, it was intended to be a funny way to start our workday together. There's no question in my mind that Jeter's easygoing personality traits -- the way he joked, teased and bonded with players -- were something extra, almost in contrast to the aggressive fielding that fans had come to expect.
One day, for instance, Bill Clinton walked into the clubhouse with four Secret Service agents. This was after he had been out of office a few months, but everyone still acted as if he was the commander in chief. Players were saying, "Hello, Sir," and being polite as hell with him until Jeter -- in full uniform, on the way out to the game -- paused just long enough to say: "Hey, Mr. President, you staying out of trouble?"
Jeter didn't even stop to have a chat, he continued out to the field. The confused expression on Clinton's face said it all: Here was a man so shot up with confidence that even running into the president didn't make him miss a beat.
As for Jeter, staying out of trouble came naturally. When we went to bars you would find him sitting at a table with his personal trainer and a few other guys, sipping his drink. He would let his eyes play over the crowd, commenting only in the way his gaze lingered here and there on a woman he found attractive or interesting. His preference was for women who had a nice smile and personality.
But he never used the tricks of the trade, like other players did, to try to attract these women. After checking out the scene at a club, he would tell his personal trainer which girl he liked. He would ask the trainer to go up to the woman and tell her that Derek Jeter wanted to talk with her. Then he would leave the bar first and wait for her. I would often see groups of women giggling and leaving with the trainer, who would lead them to their rendezvous with the captain. In this way, Jeter avoided scandals and gossip and kept his meetings secret.
A-ROD
Because A-Rod was the leader or "the man" on other teams, he probably felt a need to compete with the leader of the Yankees; but here in New York this was Jeter's team and A-Rod had to take a back seat. Over time, however, A-Rod must have sensed that, despite their rivalry, there were things about Derek Jeter that were worth copying.
I had to chuckle at how he aped the captain. For example, Jeter and some of the other guys were terrific tippers. Roger Clemens gave me $3,000 at the end of the year. Posada gave me $7,000. A-Rod might come in with $1,400. Sure, it's still a sizable amount, but when he found out that other players were tipping higher, he had to imitate them, and he bumped his tips up. In fact, he had to make sure he was the best tipper in the league. He even tipped me $100 a week to make sure there was a creatine shake waiting for him after each home game.
A-Rod irritated the other players because he was so high-maintenance. He required his personal assistant to position his toothbrush on a certain part of the sink, specifically the edge near the right-hand cold water tap, leaning with bristles up over the basin. The first time he ordered me to do this, I couldn't believe my ears when he said, "And put some toothpaste on it."
Probably the strangest thing we had to do for A-Rod was lay his clothes out on the table so he could get dressed. You had to lay out these items in a predetermined order: socks at the head of the table, followed by undershorts, undershirt, shirt, pants, and then shoes. I had to carry his clothes from his locker to the trainer's room, where he liked to get dressed away from the prying eyes of the media.
A-Rod was different in another, childish way that made players laugh behind his back. When you watch games at home you sometimes see players come into the dugout after they hit a home run. If you've ever wondered what they're saying, it's usually things like "Way to go!" or "Good job!" Not A-Rod. After he hits a home run, he comes into the dugout and brags about it. Usually he's speaking Spanish to one of the other Latino players, and if he hit a home run he wouldn't shut up. "Wow, did you see I hit a home run?" he'd say. "That pitcher threw me a ball right over the plate and I smashed it over the fence. Did you ever see anything like that before?"
One cool evening we were in Boston and I saw him coming out of the Whiskey Park Bar, near the Public Garden. I happened to be wearing a suit because it was a swank watering hole and I was going to meet a couple of other players, including Bernie Williams. A-Rod was on his way out, with two blondes on his arms. When he saw me, his eyes lit up and he said, "Wow, look a you! I never saw you in a suit." As he passed he reached into the breast pocket of my jacket, and I thought he was rearranging my pocket square. "Have a good night," he said, breezing by with his lovebirds.
Since he was married at the time, I was under the impression that he was walking the ladies out to their car, or perhaps stepping outside to sign some autographs. Perhaps, gentleman that he was, Mr. Rodriguez was planning to escort these young women to their suites, or convey them to their chaperones.
At any rate, when I got to the bar I happened to look down into my breast pocket and was surprised to find two hundred-dollar bills.
THE BOSS
There was a love/hate relationship between the team and George Steinbrenner, which took its most outrageous form with the system we called the "Red Alert." It worked like this:
As soon as his car appeared, Rob Gomez, manager of stadium operations, picked up his walkie-talkie and punched in the code for the security officer on duty downstairs. As George got out of his car, Mr. Gomez relayed a message to Craig Foley, the security guard standing in front of the clubhouse.
"Red alert. Boss in the house."
Gomez would calmly turn, smile, and wave to the Boss. Upon receiving word that Steinbrenner had entered the elevator, Mr. Foley would stride down the hallway, open the clubhouse door, and sound the alarm.
"RED ALERT!"
Whoever was in the room -- whether it was batboys, coaches, trainers or players -- would spread the word to everyone else.
"RED ALERT!"
Called from man to man, player to player, room to room, the alarm would spread like wildfire. You would see clubbies jump out of their chair and hang up the same piece of underwear six times. You would see coaches put down newspapers and start scribbling notes on clipboards.
George would get out of the elevator and walk down the hall. When the clubhouse opened, everyone would be working -- and George would love it. You could tell by the big smile. The Red Alert system had worked again.
We could also have a little fun at the Boss' expense. Just before Game 5 of the 2000 World Series against the Mets, Fox News was setting up wires and microphones in the Mets' visiting clubhouse. If we won that game, we would win the series, and it would be big news. By the time they had everything squared away, they had done a professional job of using black tape to conceal all the wires so that nobody would get hurt.
After the seventh inning, George was looking pink in the face and nervous. The score was tied 2-2. David Cone, who wasn't pitching that day, happened to cross through the room. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Spotting a microphone taped under the table, Cone stood looking at it. "Oh, my, my, my," he said, as if speaking to himself.
Steinbrenner approached.
"What's the matter?"
"Can you believe this?" Cone said. "Can you believe they'd do something like this -- "
"Like what?"
"Don't you see it? They taped a microphone under there."
"Who? Who taped a microphone?"
"The Mets."
"Are you ser--"
"They've got the room bugged."
"Holy crap!"
George was red in the face. The prankster had him going now, for sure, and Cone was having fun. For Cone, this was almost as good as winning games. George went nuts. He had taken the bait -- hook, line and sinker.
He started looking around for something, then turning to us, yelled, "Somebody get me a pair of scissors!" He wanted to cut the wire!
Yes, we were like a big family, and George was the father figure we all feared. Joe Torre used to take a lot of guff from him, but he never let it interfere with his game plan. "This is what the Boss wants," he would tell players in closed meetings. "But this is what we're going to do." And there would be smiles.
Matsui: Rally ho!
It was before Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, a game that we would lose. The series was tied 3-3 at that point, and it was particularly disheartening since we had won the first three games. Unknown to us, Boston's comeback was not to be stopped.
At any rate, at the end of the meeting it was traditional for Joe Torre to ask Jorge Posada what we were going to do. He would reply, "Grind it!" This time -- I guess to make Hideki Matsui feel more part of the team -- Torre turned to him at the end of the meeting.
"What are we going to do?"
Hideki paused for just a second before replying.
"Kick ass. Pop champagne. And get some ho's."
Joe dugout habit
Even during the rockiest and most difficult years of his being manager, Joe Torre was usually focused and kept his nose to the grindstone. There was only one thing that distracted him from work, however, and it wasn't women -- it was horses.
I found out about this quirk of his during a late-season game. Torre called me over in the dugout, and from the dark look on his face I thought it was something serious. He waited until I was close and then lowered his voice. "Go down to my office," he said. "I want you to check the score on the Off-Track Betting channel and see who won." I was stunned. It was during a game! I had never before been asked to leave my post.
"Make sure you find out the exact track and horse," he added.
I ran down into the clubhouse and found the attendant, Joe Lee.
"Joe, Mr. T just asked me to find out something about which horses won," I said. "What's he talking about?"
Lee was chewing gum and looked unimpressed about the whole thing. "Yeah," he said. "Don't you know why he's got that TV in his office? It's usually just tuned to one channel."
"What's that, the YES Network?"
"No, the OTB station."
Lee led me into Torre's office and showed me how to decipher the race results. I jogged up to the dugout and gave them to Torre, who grabbed the paper and studied it like his life depended on it. When he had discovered the information he wanted, he turned to Don Zimmer and showed it to him. The older man's eyes lit up, and before I left they were talking excitedly not about the next batter but the OTB results!
From "Clubhouse Confidential" by Luis "Squeegee" Castillo with William Cane. Copyright © 2011 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Press LLC.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/tales_from_the_dugout_batboy_tell_QR2Xw9gM2EU7szAdzuFvEJ#ixzz1UZsXWasC

HBO documentary on Derek Jeter's quest for 3000 hits - Derek Jeter 3K

Please Tune-in to the HBO documentary on Derek Jeter's quest for 3000 hits - Derek Jeter 3K - which premieres TONIGHT, July 28, at 9 p.m. on HBO.   

From what we hear this is a must watch!

The Yankee Captain wore a microphone for the game against Tampa Bay in which he went 5-5 and collected his milestone base hit on a home run off Rays left-hander David Price,

This documentary gives unparallel access to Jeter's approach at the plate, and his journey to 3,000 hits. 

Make Sure To Watch "Yankees-Steiner Memories Of The Game", Below Is The Episode Scheduling

- July 28, 11:30 pm
- July 29, 11 pm
- July 31, 7 pm
- August 1, 7 pm

ESPN’s E:60 Features Yankees Star Curtis Granderson

July 15, 2011

ESPN’s E:60 Features Yankees Star Curtis Granderson   

ESPN's award-winning primetime newsmagazine E:60 will feature a heartwarming story involving New York Yankees star Curtis Granderson in the episode airing Tuesday, July 19, at 7 p.m. ET.

Granderson could get away with living the bling lifestyle – after all, he’s got a loud contract on the proudest team in baseball. But that’s not who Granderson is. Exemplifying this, as E:60’s Rachel Nichols discovered, is his bond with the family of Brian Bluhm, a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan who was gunned down in the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007.

  

Launched in October 2007, ESPN’s E:60 combines investigative reporting, in-depth profiles of intriguing sports personalities and features on emerging star athletes. These stories are presented in a fresh and innovative format that incorporates producer/correspondent meetings.

A preview clip of the Granderson feature can be viewed here.

- 30 -

Media Contact:  Andy Hall

Metropolitan Collegiate Summer Baseball of Illinois to Host First-Ever All Star Game on July 17, 2011

On Sunday, July 17th the MCSBI (Metropolitan Collegiate Summer Baseball of Illinois) will host our first ever All-Star Game at Trout Park in Elgin, IL.  The game is comprised of 5 players from each of the 8 teams in the league (3 position players & 2 pitchers).

 

These players are the future of the game and deserve to play in front of a large crowd on that evening.  There is no admission fee, and the quality of baseball will be top notch.  The official rosters will be posted on Friday morning at www.metrocollegebaseball.com.

 

This is a wonderful opportunity to catch a ball game with family or friends at an awesome venue on a summer night.

In addition, we are also trying to reach out to as many professional baseball scouts as we can to evaluate at the event, so if you are one (or know of one) please be in attendance on that night.

For more information, please contact Nelson Gord at: nelson@illinoisindiansbaseball.com

Professionally in baseball,

-Nelson Gord

IBWAA ANNOUNCES 2011 MIDSEASON AWARDS AND ALL-STAR SELECTIONS

IBWAA ANNOUNCES 2011 MIDSEASON AWARDS AND ALL-STAR SELECTIONS

2011 American League All-Star Game Starting Lineup

First Base:                 Adrian Gonzalez
Second Base:            Robinson Cano
Shortstop:                 Asdrubal Cabrera
Third Base:               Alex Rodriguez
Catcher:                    Alex Avila
Outfield:                   Jose Bautista
Outfield:                   Curtis Granderson
Oufield:                    Jacoby Ellsbury
DH:                           David Ortiz

2011 American League Midseason Awards

MVP:                         Adrian Gonzalez.
Cy Young:                 Justin Verlander
Rookie:                      Michael Pineda
Manager:                    Manny Acta

2011 National League All-Star Game Starting Lineup:

First Base:                  Prince Fielder
Second Base:             Rickie Weeks
Shortstop:                  Jose Reyes
Third Base:                Placido Polanco
Catcher:                     Brian McCann                              
Outfield:                    Lance Berkman
Outfield:                    Ryan Braun
Outfield:                    Matt Kemp  

2011 National League Midseason Awards

MVP:                         Prince Fielder
Cy Young:                 Roy Halladay
Rookie                       Craig Kimbrel
Manager:                    Kirk Gibson


Howard Cole
Director, IBWAAbaseballsavvy@aol.com

July 4, 1939 -- ALS, Lou Gehrig and Me

By Fay Vincent

Published July 04, 2011 | FoxNews.com

On July 4, 1939, at Yankee Stadium, before a full house, Lou Gehrig stood in front of a microphone and announced he was “the luckiest man alive.” His somber teammates were lined up behind their captain and stellar first baseman. One of them, Tommy Henrich told me Gehrig had not planned to speak but changed his mind and broke the hearts of all who heard him. Henrich never forgot seeing Babe Ruth crying openly when he came over to hug Lou after the brief talk.
Just a few months earlier Gehrig had been forced to break his remarkable record of consecutive games when his powerful frame began to fail. His speech is still well known as the defining act of a remarkable baseball legend. Gehrig’s talk was emotional because everyone knew he was seriously ill—fans were told he had a form of “polio”-- and though his disease was then not as well understood as it is today, the public and his teammates knew he was not ever going to play again.
When he died a few years later, the disease-- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-- was named and is still known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease.” Ever since then, baseball and that debilitating disease have been closely linked.]
My school classmate and friend Franz Opper was born on that Fourth of July in 1939 and many years later, in the midst of a busy career in Washington as an official at the SEC and on the staff of Congress, he learned he had ALS.
He and his wife Barbara stoutly confronted the illness and for many years Franz kept up a lively correspondence with me in which his letters never betrayed his declining health. When I was elected baseball Commissioner the letters took on a baseball flavor as Franz began to give me baseball advice. The letters were fun to read, full of wit and wry comments. And then came one with a serious request.
Franz asked me to try to arrange for him to come to Yankee Stadium for one final baseball game. He and Barbara knew their request was a challenge in light of what had become by then his complete disability. He was totally inert on a respirator unable to move any part of his body. He could only blink. He was able to communicate as his nurse help up the alphabet and pointed to the letters in turn until he blinked at the one he wanted to use to spell out a word. His letters were the product of determined and tedious effort.
I agreed to try to help and turned to George Steinbrenner the owner of the Yankees for assistance. And here comes a story about George that is witness to his generosity to those with acute needs. When I explained what Franz had asked and the many complexities the Yankees organization and I would have to face if we were to proceed, George was immediately supportive. “It is not going to be easy for us and him,” he responded, “ but we will help all we can.”
That was all I needed and with the deft cooperation of the Yankees, we brought Franz to a final game at the Stadium. His bed had to be tilted so he could see the field from the owner’s office Steinbrenner had made available but somehow we managed. The logistics effort was considerable but the touching letter I later received from Franz made it all worthwhile.
When I called George to thank him, he shrugged off my profuse appreciation –“I am glad it worked out for him.” I had the sense he was a bit embarrassed by letting me see his gentle side. This was not as well-known as the tough guy side. But I never forgot what he had made possible for my friend Franz.
Not long after the baseball visit, Franz died. He had endured many years of total paralysis, but never lost his good cheer.
It is impossible not to think of Franz when I see a tape of that memorable Gehrig speech at Yankee Stadium on the day he was born.
Interestingly, George Steinbrenner was born on the fourth of July as well.
It is often said baseball brings generations together. In baseball, Franz, George and I came together briefly. On this Fourth of July I will remember them and Gehrig and ALS. Presinding from the poet-- Life like baseball is a series of tragedies separated by times of sheer joy.
Fay Vincent is a former CEO of Columbia Pictures Industries and from 1989-92 served as the Commissioner of Baseball.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/07/04/july-4-13-als-lou-gehrig-and-me/

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/07/04/july-4-13-als-lou-gehrig-and-me/#ixzz1RALAE3rh

Make Your Own Yankees Video Today from Jib-Jab! FREE!!!!

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