New York Yankees and the Curse of Old Age

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.  Tonight I want to share with you a tale about the New York Yankees and their fall from grace. 

This story is more scary than sad—pitiful really. I say this because the Curse of Old Age could have been avoided.  Creeping up the spine of a franchise, weakening it from the inside out, the Curse is a product of human imperfection:  we want more. 

The Yankees can be no more faulted for their actions than little Billy Bailey.

Little Billy Bailey went out one Halloween and got a whole bag full of candy.  But he wanted more!  By the time he was through he had robbed an entire block of houses of all their candy.  But when he got home he couldn't finish it all.  The candy got old, brittle, and unusable, and Billy didn't know what to do.

Billy's story is for another time, though. Back to the Yankees.

Like many stories this one begins with a revival.  A rise to success so dominant that great generals of the past surely applauded from the seats.

Traveling back to 1996 we encounter a hungry young baseball team in pinstripes.  The team hadn't won a World Series since '78. Made the playoffs for the first time since '81 the year before.

Now that's a drought people, 14 years—makes me happy not to be a Cubs fan.

Then came the glory years, '96-00.  Five years of some of the greatest baseball ever played. Five years that lofted the likes of Jeter, Rivera, and Posada into rarified air that select Yankees breathe.

When I was just a teenager I remember watching the '96-'00 Yankee teams and thinking how Yankee-like they were.  Farm system products, mixed in with salty veterans. 

Ah! Glorious days! But people wiser than I tried to temper my exuberance saying that, "Offense puts butts in the seats, but pitching wins you rings."

I had no inkling of the terrible fate awaiting the pitching staff of the Yankees.

The run started in 1996 with a dream staff. Andy Pettitte, Jimmy Key, David Cone, Dwight Gooden, and Ramiro Mendoza held down the starting rotation, but our bread and butter was the relief staff.

John Wetteland (29), Jeff Nelson (29), Mariano Rivera (26), and Bob Wickman (27).  Four young arms who, with help from others, were able to close games like undertakers nailing coffins.

The average age of the pitching staff during this five-year reign was 30.46 years old. Never did it get higher than a 32-year average.  A young and healthy staff.

Then the onset of the Curse slowly became apparent.

2001 was a transition year, from glory to desperation, as the Yankees and all of New York had their hearts ripped out by a Diamondback staff which performed superbly.

No one really knows when it all went wrong.  Was it when we paid for Giambi? Was it when we paid for A-Rod? What about when we bought Pavano, Johnson, Damon, and Clemens?

Maybe the greed of the Yankee organization was bringing it down.  What was once based on teamwork, was now based on money and stats.

But this is America, people!  Greed is rewarded here.  Sink your money into things and you should be rewarded. 

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