WHO'S GUNNA BE THAT GUY?

Source: USA Today

As we inch closer to the start of the 2019 season, we are in the final stages of reflection on what went wrong for our teams in 2018 and how to fix this before first pitch. One major factor both New York teams lacked was a culture of consistent leadership. In a past article about the rival New York teams, we touched upon the fact that since the retirement of Derek Jeter and David Wright, there has been no clear leader on either team. Quite frankly, in order to have a more successful season, clubhouse morale definitely needs to be boosted. Someone needs to step up to the plate, quite literally, to help ignite this. Who's gunna be that guy for the Yankees and even the Mets this season?!

Source: AP

Injuries to key players such as Clint Frazier, Didi Gregorius, and Aaron Judge definitely brought down morale for Yankees as well as fans last year. But the reaction that the fans gave Judge in September when he was inserted back into the lineup after being on the disabled list for two months, leads me to think that Judge can really be “that guy” for the 2019 season. Judge led the team to within just one win of the World Series in 2017, and ruffled some feathers by playing Yankees’ theme song New York, New York on a boombox through Fenway in 2018. He has definitely demonstrated what it means to be fearless, a good quality for any leader, but he may not be old enough to take the reins as leader officially, yet.

Source: MLB.com

Another concern for Judge, at least from his point of view, is being able to lead while playing, which means staying healthy.  In an interview with The New York Post before the Yankees hosted the Red Sox last season, Judge said, “My biggest thing is to lead by example. When I can’t play I can’t lead by example.” So, health and consistency can certainly thrust Judge to "that guy" status for the Yankees.

Source: NJ.com

Besides Judge, “that guy” signs also point to Red Thunder, Clint Frazier, who definitely gets an award for resilience. After an unfortunate concussion, Frazier ended up losing most of the 2018 season. Luckily for Yankees fans, Frazier has announced in a tweet on December 13, that he has resumed baseball activities.



In an interview with YES network, Frazier said, “I know there is some time to be made back up to go out there and ultimately win that job, but everyone is well deserving. It’s just a matter of who’s probably hot at the time, what are the needs and overall how much we can help the team. I’m pretty confident in what I can do; go out there and play as hard as I can, and try to win that job and help the team.” Maybe with some improvement, we can give him a new nickname that pulls in his gritty, never give up, disposition and this aids in creating a culture of leadership for the team.

Source: NJ.com

Across the river, I think veteran and former Yankee Todd Frazier can really be an asset to the team. Even though Frazier isn’t the best player statistics-wise, he’s always been a consistent leader on every team he has played for since he joined the ranks of MLB and as a child star for Toms River Little League, winning the World Series back in 1998.  My favorite contribution of Frazier’s, which I know Suzie Pintstripe is still jealous of, is the “salt and pepper” celebration that he introduced to the team. When asked what it meant, Brandon Nimmo said, “We’re just adding a little seasoning to the offense.” The Mets. like the Yankees, definitely need more of this energy in 2019.

Source: ESPN

For now, all we can do is cross our fingers and hope that the 2019 season will be a healthy one for all of our players. With consistent leadership and an optimistic outlook, 2019 can really be New York’s year and "that guy"really becomes a key component to a winning attitude for both teams.

--Missy O'Rourke
BYB Contributor
Twitter: @missy_orourke