NETTLES TO ME: "MAYBE YOU'LL GET TRADED!"

The 2014 New York Yankees will be a very different looking team. Each season we see some new faces, but this year it seems the club has had a complete face lift. Gone are most of our old favorites that helped secure World Championships past. For the first time the bullpen gate will open in the 9th to the twang of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” (barring DRob completely losing his stuff) rather than the growl of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”. Another big lefty will now be the elder statesman on the starting staff, as Andy Pettitte has walked off into the sunset for the last time. We will now cheer for Jacoby Ellsbury and love the Munson-like game face of Brian McCann behind the dish.

This is the new generation, ladies and gentleman. Young kids will learn to know these names the way we knew Paulie, Jorgie, Mo and Donnie Baseball. It’s true our Captain still holds to wheel, but he too is beginning to squint into the setting sun of a brilliant, Hall of Fame career. This transition is bittersweet to me. I’m excited to see the new look Yankees, but it makes me miss “my guys” even more…and truth be told, reminds me that I’m not a kid anymore either.

Wow! Mikey, lighten up! You’re bringing us down, man! Who brought Mr. Sunshine? You’re absolutely right. I apologize for starting the post off with imagery that should be accompanied by “The Incredible Hulk” theme song…MY GOD! Even that reference bums me out!

When I talk about “My Guys” I mean my Yankee favorites. They are as follows: Paul O’Neill, Derek Jeter, Reggie Jackson, David Cone, Dave Righetti, Goose Gossage, Thurman Munson, Bucky Dent and Graig Nettles. It's a good mix of names from early childhood to the “Dynasty Days”.

I have many others, but these are my core guys if you will. The last name on that list is Graig Nettles. Rather than dwell on getting old. I want to share a story about when I was younger that involves my favorite all-time 3rd baseman.

I didn’t play Tee ball as a kid. My Dad didn’t see the worth in it I suppose. Instead, he would take me outside to the yard and play catch. We’d work on hitting, fielding and knowing what to do when the ball is hit to you. I wanted to learn to be a catcher like he had been, so he gave me his little league catcher’s mitt. It looked like I was heading out to catch Phil Niekro. The thing looked like an apple pie on my hand. It was worn, round as a globe and had ZERO padding. When I caught anything he’d throw I’d feel the sting hours after we were through…but hey, it’s catch with my Dad. You play through it.

When I was the right age I tried out for the local Little League program. We had Tee Ball, Minors, Majors and Pony Leagues in our area. You would go to the middle school field and run through the hitting, running and fielding drills. About a week later your new coach would call to congratulate you on being picked by a team…pretty cool as I remember. The night I got my call my Mom handed me the phone. All I heard was, “Michael, you’ve been picked by the Cubs! Congrats! Practice is on Tuesday at field #3. See ya then!”

The Cubs? I didn’t know much about the Cubs then. My Mom and Dad were really happy for me and full of encouragement. When I got to school and met up with buddies who’d tried out, my friend Dave, picked by the Cardinals, said, “Hope you guys are better than the real Cubs. They stink.” That wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it’s just a name right? WRONG. I played on a team with outfielders who pick dandelions. A shortstop (Coach’s kid) that thought the ball was going to kill him. And a starting pitcher (we really only had one that could find the plate) that would call me out for conferences on the mound every other pitch…WHY?! There were two pitches! He threw OVER THE PLATE SLOW or OVER THE PLATE LESS SLOW!! Bottom line, we were awful. I was bummed. I played my heart out, but we only won 1 game…by forfeit.

I still wore my Cubs cap to school everyday. I represented the team in the All-Star Game that year and tried to keep my head up. As a gift for staying positive my folks took me to a Friday night game at Yankee Stadium. We got there early to see batting practice. These were easily the best seats we’d ever had. My Dad’s boss gave us his usual seats that night. I don’t remember if the Bombers won or lost…they were also pretty lousy then. After the game my Dad took me over to the player’s entrance. We waited until the crowd thinned. I got a few autographs. As we were getting ready to leave Graig Nettles emerged from the Stadium doors. There was barely anyone still hanging around. I was going to meet one of “My Guys”! My Dad called his name and he headed right over. Nettles and my Dad exchanged pleasantries and then I was introduced to #9. Graig immediately commented on my Cubs cap as he shook my hand and took my pen and program. He said, “A Cubbie fan, Mike?”

I explained that they were the team I played for, but I was a die-hard Yankee fan. He laughed and asked how we were doing. I remember being frank and telling him we were lousy. I will always remember what he said then, “Well, win or lose you wear your colors, keep your head in the game and maybe you’ll get traded.” He wished me luck, said goodbye and jogged off. I smiled to whole way home.

Later that season I got a call from the Braves. They were in the Major League division and were short players. Their coach, Mr. Tooley, was able to take kids from the Minor League teams and I was asked to go up and play. I got the start behind the plate and catch their man-child of a pitcher; a kid named TJ. He threw hard…really hard. The parents thought he was 24. After that first game my hand throbbed like never before, but I didn’t care. Mr. Nettles was right. My only hope then was that the next call would be from the Yankee coach.

Baseball is great. It is fun to watch and play and it also holds so many memories. We can look back and remember the ups and downs. We think about friends we made, guys we rooted for and the times we felt like Big Leaguers. The game serves as a timeline for us. It can help us remember so much about who we were then and how we became who we are today. It does for me anyway.

Thanks, Graig.

 

--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."


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