The End of an Era

It's been a couple hours now since we all witnessed the end of the Dynasty: A team that won 4 World Series between 1996 and 2000 and played in two others in 2001 and 2003. Paul O'Neill stands out in my mind as 'the guy' from that era. He played hard every day, practiced his swing non-stop in the outfield and threw his helmet after every at-bat, even if he hit a home run. He was pure heart and he is responsible for the single most incredible sports moment I have ever been a live witness to. In game 5 of the 2001 World Series, the Yankees were down 2-0 to the Diamondbacks in the top of the 9th inning. Yankee fans, rather than sulking in their seats got up and starting chanting Paul O'Neill, eliciting what my friends who were watching on television claim was tears from number 21. Of course, the Yankees ended up scoring two runs in the bottom of the 9th with what must have been the longest home run Scott Brosius ever hit (he was another heart guy). The Yankees ended up winning the game in the bottom of the 12th as homegrown talent, Alfonso Soriano, singled in the winning run.

Soriano is now a Ranger, gone in the trade for the 'best player in baseball,' Alex Rodriguez. The same guy who tried to slap the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove on the way to first base in game 6 of the ALCS after he couldn't hit the ball out of the infield. Rodriguez is one of many new members of the 2004 Yankees without half the heart that those guys like O'Neill, Brosius and Tino Martinez had. Today's Yankees have 4 homegrown guys left from that Dynasty run, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams along with Jeter (the heart) and Mariano (the soul). Those guys know what it's like to win, and more importantly to win right. They were a classy bunch of hard-working guys. They were a group from whom Jeter learned everything he knows about being a leader.

For all his faults, both at shortstop and at the plate, Derek Jeter represents everything that a baseball player should be. Although he often appears to have a non-chalant attitude, he is always the first guy at the top of the steps to congratulate someone on a home run. He always runs hard, plays hard and cheers on his team. He was a kid in 1996 and through that run we got to see him become a man. Now, unfortunately, he's surrounded by a bunch of guys who, while great players, hardly have that workhorse swagger that went along with those Dynasty players.

Call it nostalgia, but I miss those guys. I realized just how much this afternoon when it dawned on me that I wouldn't give the following trade a second thought: Sheffield and Rodriguez for O'Neill and Brosius. I asked some friends and everyone agreed, they all said they'd much rather see those guys on the team. What does it say when you're willing to trade two guys who hit 36 home runs each for two guys who in 2001 combined for 34 (21 by O'Neill and 13 for Brosius). Those guys knew what it was all about to wear the pinstripes. So much so that one person I asked responded, "I'd trade Sheff and A-Rod for just O'Neill." Of course, with the size of contracts today, these guys aren't going anywhere, but neither are the Yankees anytime soon.