When your talking about Combs, Dimaggio, Mantle, Rivers and Bernie then your talking about Yankee World Championships.
There is no coincidence that these guys were big igniters that made that Yankee machine go.
Any brain surgeon can figure out how important Dimaggio and Mantle were. Any one born in the last 25 years definitely can also understand what Bernie Williams brought to the party. With Earl Combs getting on base for the Babe and Lou Gehrig, you can understand why they drove in so many runs.
That brings me to Mickey Rivers. Mick the Quick as he was affectionately known, was arguably the fastest center fielder in Yankee history.
In my 50 years around the Yankees Universe Rivers was the best lead off hitter we had.
He only played three years with the Yanks, however those three years translated into three pennants and two world championships.
I have to believe that Brian Cashman must of had a premonition that I was going to write this story. When he traded for Harrison Bader, there was criticism about the fact that Cashman had traded a quality pitcher for an injured outfielder. If you know anything about Brian Cashman than you would know that this guy always does his homework. I don’t know if Cash plays cards but he would make a great poker player. He never let the criticism bother him, or at least he never showed it. What impressed me about Bader was that when he reported to New York he went right to work rehabilitating his foot and came back earlier than expected.
Like Mickey Rivers, his teammates fell in love with him. They saw that they had something very special there.
In talking to Mickey Rivers at the end of the season I remember him saying that Bader could be the reason why this team wins next year. I asked Mickey why and he said because he can do a little bit of everything including hit with power. I asked Mickey if he thought Bader was as good as he was with those great Yankee teams of that era and Mickey smiled and said Bader is better, that’s why the Yanks will win next year.
