Welcome back everyone! As you can see there is a lot that I want to get off my chest. My whole life I have lived for the New York Yankees.
Fans of the Yankees and baseball in general need to be realistic. Yes Alex Rodriguez has been struggling lately, but he is not the only one. According to the Yankees statistics, the Yankees record from the All-Star Break to the last game of the season was 43 wins to 34 losses. The batting average for that time was .267, which means the hitters only got a hit 27% of the time when they were up to bat. At the All-Star Break, the Yankees had an outstanding 10-game lead over their next opponent, the Baltimore Orioles. When the season was over, the Yankees lead was one. Point is that the Yankees did not just falter in the playoffs, but they have been on the decline since the All-Star Break.
Fans want to blame the collapse on one player: Alex Rodriguez. Why? He's not the only one who crumbled under pressure. This postseason, there were seven players who had a batting average under .200, and that's with a minimum of four at-bats. The Yankees only had 12 batters for the playoffs and seven couldn't get a hit more than 20% of the time. People need to stop blaming one person when there are 25 men on a baseball team, excluding coaches.
Yogi Berra was known for his philosophies on baseball. Berra once said, "baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical." He is absolutely right. As a player, you want to do everything to win ballgames. If you are a hitter, you want to hit a home run to win the game. If your a pitcher, you want to throw nine innings and not give up a run. Critics like myself often say that players over think in big time situations.
Berra also said, "Think! How the (expletive) are you gonna think and hit at the same time?" Players have to much pressure put on them and that is the problem. Everyone is allowed to go into a slump once in a while.
Fans of baseball need to realize that one person does not make a team. There is a reason why teams consist of 25 players during the season. They cannot count on just one guy to carry the team. The Los Angeles Lakers didn't win championships with just Kobe Bryant, the United States Women's Soccer Team didn't win the World Cup with just Hope Solo. You need all of your players to play consistently and have chemistry in order to succeed and reach the goals that are set in the beginning of a season. Look at the Miami Heat for example, they created a "dynasty" by signing three of the best basketball players. It took them two years to win a championship, the first year was about making the team get used to each other.
Plain and simple, in order to be the best, you have to beat the best.
Next blog will go in depth of the whole Alex Rodriguez saga. Until then!
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