When you are around a fabled organization like the Yankees for 50 years you get to know the givers and the takers.
I will keep this article positive. After all, it is the Christmas time of year.
Through the years I have had the blessing of getting to know players named Murcer and Munson and Bucky, Mattingly, and Randolph along with the great Billy Martin and Jeter and the Boss.
These people all had one thing in common, they were always givers. They were warriors on the field and people with incredible hearts off it. I was lucky because I got to work with the Yank’s original clubhouse manager Pete Sheehy. He use to tell me wonderful stories about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and their great philanthropic ways which always included Hospital and boy’s club visits. He told me that Babe use to take poor kids in the streets to dinner all the time.
In the 70s you would never really hear about the guys going to hospitals and schools because the Yanks of that era were such a soap opera. The media only wanted to cover if Reggie and Billy were gonna get into a shoving match that day.
I use to find this sad because I always felt that if more players saw what their peers were doing, they too would make more of an effort to help.
I remember once asking Thurman why he needed to help people and he said that he knew how lucky he was and he hated to see people, especially kids in need. Thurman and I actually use to go to the McDonald’s across the street from the Stadium and buy hamburgers for the kids in the neighborhood.
Through the years not all players were as philanthropic as they could be however those that were certainly have made this a better world.
In the last few years, I saw players like CC Sabathia and Mark Texiera and the new Yanks Captain Aaron Judge do some beautiful things. I love how giving Aaron Boone has been, Billy Martin would have been proud. Billy was great with the kids, all kids. Gio Urshela was fabulous in every way and I miss him terribly.
Recently I have gotten to know a true Bronx boy. He is our center fielder Harrison Bader.
I love his pride in being a Yankee but me being someone that was also born in the Bronx, I love his pride in being a Bronx boy.
Not too many players in Yankee history have actually come from the Bronx however Lou Gehrig did at one point live in the Bronx even though he was born and went to school in Washington Heights.
Harrison has shown that he is a real person who like Thurman Munson, understands how lucky he is and like another Yankee Centerfielder Bobby Murcer, understands the importance of giving back. In a very quick time, he understands how important the Yankee brand is and how it can help.
Early this week I got a call from a Bronx principal who was frantically telling me about the fact that he had so many extra kids from the shelters who were not going to have a Christmas. I told Harrison about this and his influence helped us take care of over a thousand kids. I really don’t think he knew what he really did. I can only say that ten years from now some young man or lady will probably go up to him and say thanks for helping me when I was a kid. I have seen it happen so many times in my 50 years.
I must add that last week Bader was also at Yankee Stadium for their incredible food drive. I can’t tell you how many families were helped because it was a lot and as George Steinbrenner use to say to me, I’m horrible when it comes to math.
The bottom line is, thank God that we have another Center fielder along the lines of Bobby Murcer and Bernie Williams, great players and but more importantly great people.
As Babe Ruth once said… It’s just the Yankee way!
Merry Christmas and great holidays to all!
