I think it all started with Reggie Jackson for me. As a kid, he was larger than life and just said all kinds of crap that as a fan, you either loved or hated. I loved it of course. In the 70's, the Bronx Zoo had several characters. Mickey Rivers was another guy I always enjoyed listening to, as well as watch play. I was sad when he went to the Rangers, no doubt.
I'm not sure what happened but I guess as Steinbrenner got older, the strictness of the Yanks corporate image was enforced alittle more. I'm really not sure, but players seemed to say and do crazy stuff less.
But because I'm a baseball fan, I moved on searching for more fun characters. I started paying plenty of attention to the Tiger's Mark Fidrych. He fascinated me and I loved to watch him talk to the mound, pat it, manicure it and it was just all nutty to me. That fascination ended as fast as his career and then I was consumed by Bill "Spaceman" Lee and his wacky antics. But no, not the evil Red Sox Lee, I hated him. I'm talking about the Expos Lee of the early 80's. He was truly bizarre and I could listen to him talk in interviews for hours. I still can.As I grew up, the Yankees calmed down. Yes, Billy Martin and Ed Whitson knocking the crap out of each other at bars was always a treat, but for the most part, the Yankees characters vanished for a short time. Players like Danny Pasqua, Mike Pagliarulo showed up. It was a quieter time for the Yanks. The characters on the Yanks almost seemed non-existent. With Mattingly leading the pack, you could see it was strictly baseball. Again, nothing wrong with that, but my mind wondered in in search of more crazy characters.
(photo: William Hotz)I latched on to crazy Earl Weaver for a short time, who had always been there but he got crazier in the 80's. Him with the umps was great, his nutty interviews were better. Hilarious.
Then suddenly, the Yankees were back with a character. A true character who spoke his mind and did whatever he wanted, without dragging his team into trouble. He was chubby, he liked to party and he loved Babe Ruth... David Wells arrived.
(photo: Daily News)This guy was the ultimate character and for a while, I'm not afraid to admit, I liked watching Wells be Wells, both off and on the field. The Yanks managed to keep the corporate image all the while Boomer did his thing, so for me, it was the perfect storm.
Then AJ Burnett showed up. Now, you're thinking "That dude's a tight ass, what are you talking about?". Hear me out. Can you say pie? 2009 had more pie than I'd ever seen and I loved when I knew it was coming after a comeback win. It really made 2009 fun. You always saw AJ in the shadows ready to pounce. Pie may in fact be one of my favorite moments with the Yankees in recent memory.
(photo: Daily News)Then of course Nick Swisher, who is probably the coolest character alive. He just has fun, he's comfortable in his skin and still plays a great ballgame. There's nothing bad I can say about the guy. My friend Victor always says, another character in my life always says, "I can do my work and still have fun." Swisher must read Victor's playbook because it works for him. You've got to respect that.
At this moment, my favorite baseball characters have to be Burnett, Swish and someone you'd probably guess for sure... Brian Wilson of the San Francisco Giants. Now, have you seen this guy? The beard is ridiculous and genius, he speaks with such great delivery, he should be a comedian on the Sunset strip. Plus he goes out on the field with a confidence and pride for his team. This guy means business and has become a true baseball character. He's hilarious. Expect big marketing and promotion from this guy, ESPN, Giants TV, whatever. There's a talk show with this guys name on it, trust me.
So yeah, baseballs my passion, the Yankees are my passion, but baseball characters rule and cannot be ignored. They lighten up a sometimes very competitive game. They bring a human element to the game. They make it fun, and thank God for that.So while your watching Sportscenter or the YES postgame, seek out your favorite baseball character. They're out there, it just depends what kind of character your looking for. You have one in mind? Tell me who...comment. If we have some great ideas, we will do a follow up and I may use them and include you in my post. How much fun is that? Keep it corporate, but keep it fun, you BYB freaks.
Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.
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