My favorite part of championship celebrations during the Yankees' dynasty was waiting amidst flowing champagne for the first player to proclaim, “Nobody believed in us.”
Then I could reply like this. “Yeah, no one believed in a team that had the highest salary, a lot of star players, and a championship history like this.”
I think it's built into the modern sports lexicon to play this card regardless of the power of the powerhouse. Every winner climbed the Matterhorn in flip-flops, ignoring that every team in every sport – every playoff team and champion – must overcome season-specific injuries, poor performances and infighting. will talk about overcoming adversity.
I only point this out because I think the Yankees, with Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, and a salary of over $300 million, are trying to live up to the “us vs. naysayers” mantra. . On the other hand, second-year player Marcus Stroman. His $37 million contract with the Yankees was made official on Wednesday, and it's ideal. Because when it comes to hurting your shoulder and belting out the line, “Nobody believed in me,” there's no one like Duke's first-round draft pick.
Again, a first-round draft pick out of Duke University plays the “Nobody Believes Me” card as if he were a 37th-round pick out of Colby (Kan.) Community College. I put it out. I love it.
Anyway, I actually think the organization is frustrated and feeling bullied by the Yankees' worst season in 30 years. It's a testament to Brian Cashman's mettle that a general manager publicly utters nearly every criticism of his team and his administration, and that this franchise, which has had a long history of success, is not immune to such criticism. It shows that he doesn't know exactly how to absorb body blows.
This also led to the Yankees going to safety this offseason. In order to collect stars, they paid what they needed in prospects (Juan Soto) and dollars (Yoshinobu Yamamoto). Except Yamamoto didn't take their money, you can buy a lot of stuff in the end, but when a pitcher prefers the West Coast (Dodgers), he can't change geography.
The Yankees didn't like the prices of starting pitchers elsewhere, especially in the trades for Blake Snell and Dylan Cease. So they turned to straw men. Stroman has thoroughly cleaned up his history of altercations on social media, had dinner with Aaron Boone in Tampa, and had several phone calls with other influential Yankees officials, making it clear that he will not be able to move forward. He also convinced the club's decision-makers that he could remain focused. About the win and his performance.
Arguably, Stroman never had anyone to believe in him — at least not in the Yankees' hiring after years of talking himself into AJ Barnett, Joey Gallo, Josh Donaldson, and Carlos Rodon (among others). No one could believe it except those involved. There was plenty of evidence that it was a bad idea.
But again, I think this is the tenor of the upcoming Yankee season. Many players were shocked out of their comfort zones by the reaction to their and their team's poor performance in 2023. So, for example, you might notice how thin Rodon or Giancarlo Stanton would be if they weren't messing around with their social media photos. Already, the Tampa facility is seeing an increasing number of Yankees working out around captain Aaron Judge.
As with adversity, every club can offer a version of this. After all, we're just a few weeks away from a chorus of voices across 30 venues saying that all the players are in the best shape of their lives or are coming back from injury well ahead of schedule. The difference with the Yankees is that the people saying this are generally more talented than their contemporaries.
A lot can be said about Stroman and Rodon, for example, but it's not like they lack high-end talent. Stroman was an All-Star in 2023, Rodon was an All-Star in 2022. You don't need a shovel to dig into ancient history to find out the last time they were special.
And if an underdog mentality is what motivates them and other Yankees to silence the outside noise, it would be a stretch for the organization to point out the stupidity of it all. Heck, if only the 1998 Yankees could find a way to say no one believed in them…
It's just that we're only halfway through our New Year's resolutions when everyone vows to be on their best behavior and commit to winning and preparing their bodies. But the long season is a truth serum. And it's difficult to undo it.
• When your career takes a turn for the worst.
• When things start going bad in New York.
• If you find yourself prone to injury.
• Once you show that you're such a bad guy on the mound that you disrespect your coach and lead the league in easily provoked on social media.
And the Yanks have plenty of players who check at least one of those boxes. Will they be able to find the underdog spirit (and talent) to stand up against the opposition? Looks like you're ready to try out an engine that costs just $300 million.
