If you love baseball, you will know about what is known as the Black Sox Scandal. It broke at the end of 1920 and (for the benefit of non-baseball fans) involved a plot to fix the 1919 World Series (the Chicago White Sox were the favorite to win the 1919 Series and a number of White Sox players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, were implicated.)
The National Pastime (as embodied by Major League Baseball) was in serious jeopardy. But, in New York, a new figure was rising that would save baseball - his name was Babe Ruth. Born in Baltimore, a man of legendary appetites for many things, Ruth was the greatest baseball player of all time. And he not only saved baseball, he reinvented it. In 1921, Ruth hit 59 homeruns. Just 2 years earlier, the home run record was 29, also set by Ruth (for the Red Sox, but that is another story - "No, No Nanette" is involved.)
In 1921, the Yankees won the pennant for the first time, but lost their first trip to the World Series to the New York Giants of John McGraw.
In 1923, Yankee Stadium opened at River Avenue in The Bronx. The House That Ruth Built. The Yankees won their 3rd consecutive pennant and for the first time, the World Series, beating the Giants 4-2.
Over the years, after that it seemed the Yankees won the World Series every year. And for one amazing 5 year stretch - 1949-1953, the Yankees did (the A's won 3 straight in the early 70s, the closest modern day achievement to compare to the 5 straight the Yankeees won.)
Still, the career of Yogi Berra is emblematic of thw Yankees' dominance. Berra of course is known for his Yogisms ("Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"), but he was one of the 2 or 3 best catchers in the history of baseball. And his Yankee playing career was one of the most remarkable in terms of winning. In a 17 year career, Berra appeared in 14 World Series, winning 10 of them. the greatest winning player in the history of baseball (Ruth for example, won "only" 5 World Championships.)
But there was a significant drought period for the Yankees after winning the 1962 World Series. Though the Yankees played and lost in the World Series in 1963, 1964 and 1976, they did not win the World Series again until 1977. They repeated in 1978 but then went 18 years before winning again - defeating the Braves in the 1996 World Series.
4 players playing tonight for the Yankees were on that 1996 World Series team - Andy Pettite, (who won Game 5 of the 1996 World Series over John Smoltz 1-0), Derek Jeter (then a fresh faced 20 year old rookie from Michigan), Jorge Posada and of course, Mo, the greatest reliever in history - Mariano Rivera. Interestingly, in 1996, Mo was the set up man for John Wetteland (even though, even then, Mo was the better pitcher.)
It is a pastime for some to decry the Yankees' success - to claim it is "bad for baseball." Of course the facts tell another story. The success of the Yankees not only saved baseball in the 1920s, it has driven baseball to its highest popularity. For better or worse, what's good for the Yankees is good for basebabll.
A TRUE fan of a team does not give a fig about "what's good for baseball." They care about their team. But if we want to go all factual and all, then it cannot be denied that the Yankees are not only good for basbeball, they are essential for baseball.
Root for your team. Hate the Yankees too. This is all optiate for us anyway. But let's stop providing our emotional impulses with some patina of rationality. We're fans. We root emotionally. Cuz that's what fans do.
Speaking for me only
