I remember as a kid the first time I saw him in the Angels uniform, and it felt like the universe wasn't right. I knew he was one of the greats, and we let him get away. To add to the pain, I got to see him hit a homer in that game off Ron Guidry.
Now, I feel like history is repeating itself. Rumors abound about a trade between the Yankees and the Rangers, one where Joba Chamberlain would get shipped out for a first baseman, third baseman top prospect from Texas named Mike Olt. Personally, I hate this deal. I've written before about how I feel like we have a guy in Joba that can be great, maybe even the next closer once Mariano Rivera retires. His passion for the game is contagious, and he seems naturally likable by the fans and his teammates. I think he needs to be cut some slack, given how the Yankees messed him up trying to convert him to a starter. My worst nightmare is him putting on that Rangers uniform and then realizing his potential as a dominant setup guy or closer down the road.
Who remembers Al Leiter? When I was a teenager, Al Leiter was the next big star to come out of our minor league system. He was winning awards and impressing everyone with his success in the minors. This was a time when we were starving for good starting pitching, and he was part of the plan to get the rotation back on track. Unfortunately, he had a rough start in the major leagues. He suffered a number of injuries to his hand, most notably blisters on the middle finger of his pitching hand. After only one full season, the Yankees got tired of the blisters and traded him for the power-hitting right fielder Jesse Barfield. Yeah, blisters. They gave up on a "liability" and traded him to meet the immediate needs of the team - an outfielder. Does this sound familiar? It should! Though Barfield had an incredible arm, and he got his home runs, he never reached 80 RBIs in a season and never hit higher than .246.
He retired 4 years later. Al Leiter, on the other hand, went on to win 3 World Series rings with the Blue Jays and the Marlins, and helped take the Mets to the 2000 World Series against the Yankees. The lesson here? You exercise patience and you develop the talent you have. You don't trade it away at the first sign of trouble for a guy that will just fill a gap.
I hope the team is giving serious thought to how this could blow up with the fans. For example, seeing Don Mattingly in a Dodgers uniform is just not right. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that hiring Joe Girardi was a mistake. I'm saying that we didn't really go all-out to sign a guy who bleeds Yankee blue. We didn’t really go all-out for a guy who was the most popular Yankee in my lifetime. Now he is out in Los Angeles building a strong up-and-coming team, and we have to suffer seeing him do it in the wrong uniform.
It's hard to say if the Yankees would pull off such a deal with Texas. For the impatient, short-sighted among the Yankee front office, it might look like a sweet deal. An "unreliable" pitcher who hasn't panned out yet for a young power hitter that can play the positions we need to fill the most - third base, first base, and outfield. Hopefully wisdom will prevail and give Joba a serious shot to deliver this year and perhaps this year… will be his best year yet. I can hope.
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row
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