It was 7 am and my phone was ringing here in Florida. It was a little early for me and I was about to press the button to shut the phone off but I saw it was our former Yankee captain Willie Randolph.
He asked me if I was awake. Naturally, I said yes with a little laugh. Willie was already on his way to work at Yankee Spring training.
Willie is a special instructor who this spring is having a blast because there are some very special prospects in camp.
Middle infielders who on most teams would probably already be anointed as the starting shortstop or second baseman. On the Yankees, it will be a terrific competition.
Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, and Anthony Volpe are the young students that are vying for a job against the incumbents Isiah Kiner- Falefa and Gleyber Torres at short and second base respectively.
All these young players absolutely understand the magnitude of having a baseball scholar amongst them in Randolph.
Every day they can’t wait to talk to him and learn from a man that has such an incredible and inspiring resume.
I have known Willie longer than anyone in Baseball. I say that with pride because as a young 19-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand I was a scared kid who leaned on the 20-year-old Randolph to help show me the way. 48 years later I know that those kids are in great hands with this baseball scholar. They are learning all facets of the diamond and the true mental part of the game.
The great thing about Willie is that he knows how to show all the young infielders equal love. There are no favorites here. It’s like a dad teaching all his kids.
In the case of Volpe, he grew up a Yankee fan all his life. His father and grandpa are giant Yankee fans. As is the case of any teacher, Willie would get to know this because he checks the background of his students.
The other morning as Willie was walking past Volpe he made a remark about Thurman Munson knowing that Volpe would be spiritually touched by it. The smile on Volpe’s face told the story.
Every day I’m thankful that Willie and others don’t forget our storied past and still use it to help our kids of today.
Willie always tells me that what he learned from his Captain (Thurman Munson) he will use to teach the young players of today.
