Brian Cashman Talks Yankees Captaincy Following Derek Jeter Retirement

If New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has his way, Derek Jeter will be the last captain in franchise history.

"I think Derek did it as well as anyone can," Cashman told ESPNNewYork.com's Wallace Matthews on Thursday. "He wore it well, and I'm not a big advocate of giving out the captaincy anyway. I'm not going to recommend anyone being named captain of the New York Yankees right away."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi was also dismissive of the idea that the lack of a captain would have an adverse effect on the team.

"We give the freedom to our guys in the clubhouse, whoever wants to speak up, I don't care how many days (in the big leagues) you have, you can speak up," he said.

On one hand, you can understand Cashman's stance. Jeter was such a dynamic clubhouse presence that almost nobody could be asked to fill those shoes.

With that said, though, the Yankees eventually named another captain after Thurman Munson's passing and found a successor to Don Mattingly in Jeter. It's impossible to say that nobody will come along to galvanize the team in the way Jeter did.

SportsNet New York's Jonas Schwartz and ESPN's Keith Olbermann were both skeptical of Cashman's idea:

This discussion also elicits the question as to whether having a captain even has utility in baseball. Jesse Spector of Sporting News was one of those critical toward the general idea:

Jeter's absence will certainly take some getting used to. He was a fixture of New York's infield for two decades.

No matter whether he's the last captain in franchise history, the example Jeter set will be a benchmark for future Yankees to come.