The 2006 Yankees

Wow, the New York Yankees. These four words constantly remind me of twenty-six world championships, 39 division pennants, and 46 total playoff appearances. Based on those facts alone, everything appears to be great for even the least patriotic Yankee fan. But sometimes superficiality just does not tell the whole story. All is not fun and games. Baseball is more than a simple game of intimidating pitcher versus awaiting batter. It’s a way of life. I eat and sleep baseball. My shower rains baseball, engraining it into every cell of my body. My lungs breathe baseball. My conversations revolve around…We get the point. Baseball is a serious matter. Not only do the players play for enjoyment and for true fan support, but they play in order to support their families, to pay their bills, and to live the lives they choose to live. What I am trying to say is that baseball takes on two primary functions: recreation and, more importantly, business. Baseball is not only my way of life, but it is literally the way of life for the players too. When I was growing up during the peak years of the Papa Bush administration, I was faced with the all-important typical New York decision: Yankees or Mets? Arbitrarily, I chose the Yankees. No environmental or parental influences were involved . Today, my extreme passion for the Yankees is probably more intense than it has ever been. I have no regrets and surely no worries with my choice. Hakuna Matata. Here is one of my major pet peeves. All the time I fight this question: How can one sympathize with the Yankees with Steinbrenner at the helm? I will begin and end that discussion right now. He is very well-intentioned. He signs the players and makes sure they play well enough to satisfy him. I think the most common misconception is that he is notoriously demanding. I mean, he does not spend approximately $250 million per year to create an imperfect and virtually incapable group of players. But his actions are only human. Frankly, who is not demanding? Who does not, at one point or another, want only what he or she wants? Hence, natural instincts prevail. Steinbrenner is not a bad man. Regardless of my pure love for the Yankees, any general sports fan can appreciate them because they truly create an interesting story. Historically, they have always found a way to enter the playoffs, whether through complete domination or by barely squeaking their way in. And by some stroke of magic, the management has always managed to replace a productive, one-time unhealthy position player (i.e. Matsui) with a competent, young team player (i.e. Melky). Truly an amazing story for the world to see. A little title explanation: A nation. Indeed, the Yankees are “a nation”, but not “a nation” in the traditional sense. Here, “nation” takes on a certain type of dual nature. For one, it defines the Yankees as a closely bound, cooperative, and certainly competitive team. No team can fathom appearing in so many critical October games without continual devotion to the team rather than to the individual. Twenty six world championships do not just happen by accident. I explain the second part of the duality once we gain a fuller understanding of the past eight years of the New York saga. Now, you may be asking why 2006 was such an important year. Frankly, I asked myself that same question in 2009, three years after I wrote the initial rough draft of this book. It had always been my dream to take the time to actually write a book, but I had never been presented with the right opportunity. When I was a senior in high school, I finally got that chance, and so I wrote this book for my Westchester Individualized Senior Experience (WISE) project. I spent more than 150 hours researching statistics, discovering new and interesting facts about 2006 Yankees players, and motivating myself to reach the end. The process was truly arduous, but in the end, I had a final project that I want to share with other baseball fans. And, as Yankees fans in particular, the past is – and will always be – important because the organization has the richest history of any major sports franchise . Therefore, the 2006 season was important because every season is important, but at the time of my writing the rough draft, the full 2006 season was the most recent. So here starts my ever so exciting quest to explain the frustration of a nation. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the show – if that is possible.