"MUNSON-LIKE" IS A BADGE OF HONOR, NOT A GIMMICK

Look, there's something I want to get off my chest. This isn't an insult toward John Harper of the New York Daily News.  This isn't an insult toward Brian McCann or his dad.  This is a question that I'm posing to Yankee brass;  Why are we throwing around the term "Munson-like" like we're giving away candy? It should be held in higher regard. It should be sacred.

Isn't the term "Munson-like" considered a badge of honor? Calling someone that means  they have the grit, passion, ability and hard nosed mentality to lead a club, right?  There is no question that Thurman Munson was one of the greatest catchers the Yankees ever had in recent history.  He was terrific.  But here's the problem Yankee brass seems to have... they throw around the term way too much and DON'T when certain players are staring them right in the face. Don't follow me? Keep reading... let's see if I can tie this all together...

John Harper has a good piece today. I encourage you to read it HERE. In it, it speaks about Brian McCann and his dad and something Hal Steinbrenner said:

"As Howie McCann tells it, Hal Steinbrenner was sold on acquiring his new catcher the day Gene Michael stood up at an organizational meeting in the fall and paid Brian McCann the ultimate Yankee compliment. 'Mr. Steinbrenner told me the story the day we were in New York for the press conference,' Howie McCann, Brian’s father, was saying on Wednesday. 'He said everyone there agreed they needed a catcher, and then Gene Michael stood up and said, 'We want McCann because he reminds me of Thurman Munson, he has that same demeanor, that same toughness.’

'As a dad, that was pretty cool to hear because (Munson) was one of my all-time favorite players. And Mr. Steinbrenner said when he heard that, he said, ‘Go get him.’”

Again, not  taking anything away from the McCanns or Harper here.  But think about this... I had always found it incredibly insulting to a guy like Jorge Posada. A guy that literally worked his tail off and grew up worshipping a catcher like Thurman Munson.  Jorge modeled his performance like Thurman's and Jorge ultimately became a hard nosed, passionate catcher for the Yankees compiling 4 championships. Yet, "Munson-like" never came out of the Yankee brasses traps when describing  Jorge Posada...Why?

Unfortunately, it did leak out of their mouths when Russell Martin showed up in the Bronx and while I understood that because Martin was that same type of hard nosed player... Martin literally wasn't "Munson-like" because Munson wouldn't have darted for Pittsburgh. He would have lead the Yankees...ironically, like Jorge Posada already did.
 
Enter Brian McCann who is now "Munson-like" too apparently.  Now I'm going to write alot of stuff right now, and this is just my mind going 100 miles a minute;

McCann is one of the best catchers out there. But McCann is not Munson...yet.  Although look,  I  do see tendencies of that passion and guts and have for a while in Atlanta. But  there is a difference between playing for the Braves and playing for the Yankees... and McCann hasn't played in New York yet.   He's a great catcher...I am very, very excited to have him in New York.  But can we draw the line and NOT call him "Munson-like"?  It's becoming a gimmick, or a sales pitch now rather that a true badge of honor.   Meanwhile, a true "Munson-like" player was with us until he retired after the 2011 season.

Think about that.  Oh and just to get it on the record... This is what Jorge told Bleeding Yankee Blue about Thurman Munson:

"BYB: My son asked me to also ask you "What made Mr. Posada want to become a catcher?"

Jorge Posada: I loved Thurman Munson and he inspired me with his actions on and off the field.  I wanted to model my career after him and of course Yogi Berra."

McCann... "Munson-like"? Maybe one day, but Jorge Posada actually WAS "Munson-like" and never got that label.   Loosely throwing around labels gets you in trouble, and waters down it's worth, especially when a player hasn't even set foot on the field in the Bronx yet. I bet you even McCann would tell you that. 

Let McCann play with the Yankees and win with the Yankees... then we'll talk about "Munson-like" players.  After all, Yankee brass already overshot with Russell Martin and now he's a Pirate.

Don't overstep... let's play ball first.

 Finally, let me say this; I would bet you Jorge Posada wouldn't care about the label... after all, Jorge ultimately did it his way, making his performance, "Posada-like"... and I'm proud of him for that. But my point is simple. We had a guy playing like Munson for 17 years... but we never heard the label "Munson-like".  

No matter, Jorge is a champion without labels and that's why I appreciated him out there.  He created his own destiny... I applaud him for that.

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