PRIDE & RESPECT MATTERS MOST. IN PINSTRIPES, IN LIFE

You know what I was thinking about yesterday? I was thinking about the Core Four and what would have happened if they disregarded what the pinstripes were all about.  Imagine if they just didn’t care about how they presented  themselves on and off the field.  There wouldn't be a Core Four. There wouldn't be Yankee championships featuring the Core Four. There would be disaster and disarray...no role models, no pride, no honor.  Luckily for us though, they did take pride in the pinstripes, themselves and they respect the Yankees and their fans.  They got it.

   

Their legacy and a rich history is now intact, but if they were careless and questioned rules, authority, Joe Torre or George Steinbrenner, who knows what would have happened. 

The honor of being on a club like the Yankees is unimaginable and you could go further; it can be the Yankees, or maybe it's you and your family or even a company you've always dreamed of working for. The respect doesn't change. You follow the rules, you represent that family in a professional manner, and you become a team player. That's how greatness is built.  Pride and respect. It's never about you... it's always the team.

Maybe that's why a guy like Alex Rodriguez gets so much crap. He's been written about here on BYB plenty. ARod kept to himself in the clubhouse according to Luigi Squeegee, the Yankees former bat boy: 

Luigi Squeegee: "He's selfish. You wouldn't see him and Jeter hanging out other than a "Hi"... Always alone.

Read SQUEEGEE TO AROD: "ADMIT TO WHAT YOU DID!" for more on that. That’s not a team player. That’s someone who is an individual with his own agenda. In turn, people love to hate him and just tack on the PEDs mess and well, he’s literally a player with no team.

Both respect and pride are important, in baseball... in life. If Derek Jeter didn’t care about it, chances are we wouldn’t take this much stock in his farewell season this year.  If Andy Pettitte said he didn’t want to go out on the mound after a tough loss in a playoff “must win” game, because he “didn’t feel like it”, he could have ended up somewhere else... not on the Yankees. 

In the end, if you wear the pinstripes, if you take the gig you really, really want, there’s a code you follow.  If you don’t follow the code or you question the rules or authority or even the Steinbrenner way, there's the door.  The trick is to be loyal, have respect for what you do, because, if you don’t, they’ll always find someone else, you know?

I tell my sons to try their best in their class or with their team. Good sportsmanship goes a long way.  I try to build their confidence and explain their role. I explain that if they don't push themselves, someone else might take the spot intended for them. But there's more to it; Once you get that spot, it doesn't end.  The challenges get harder, but with that comes the glory of your gig and with the glory comes responsibility.  Respect the gig and it respects you. If you don't respect it... if you don't present yourself in top form... you know what comes next.

You're always on display if your a New York Yankee and you should always take pride in yourself, your family and your team and what you do... always.  Thank God for the Core Four... they've given us so much, and we should learn from it, teach our kids about it and never forget about pride and respect... it's a way of life... 

Write that down.

 Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.