Yesterday I was standing on the field watching Aaron Judge talking to Anthony Volpe as they were each taking dry swings before stepping into the batting cage.
The look on Volpe’s face told the story as he was taking in what ever Judge had to say. This picture took me back to the latter part of the 1960s and my first Yankee game. I was an eleven year old kid who had fallen in love with the Yankees because I had recently seen the movie… The Pride of the Yankees !
It starred the incredible actor Gary Cooper who portrayed the great leader and captain of the Yankees Lou Gehrig.
I remember wanting to get to the Yankee Stadium early because I wanted to see that era’s greatest Yankee Mickey Mantle take batting practice.
When I saw the Mick come on the field I could not take my eyes off of him. I remember just staring at his famed number seven on his back.
Two young players seemed to be looking for advice from their mentor before stepping into the cage to take their swings. They were Roy White and the so called heir apparent to Mantle , Bobby Murcer. For me this was an incredible experience because five years later I would ironically by a touch of faith become a Yankee batboy.
I would become friends with these great Yankees and wonderful men. Now almost six decades later as Yogi Berra would say, it’s Deja Vu all over again !
The big star on the Yankees is number ninety-nine Aaron Judge. He is truly a leader and unbelievably respected on the team just the way Mickey Mantle was. He is a very humble man who always gives the credit to his teammates even though he may just have gotten the game-winning hit. Roy White would tell me the same thing about the Mick.
I remember Reggie Jackson telling me that when he was a rookie he was running off the field while a member of the Oakland A’s and accidentally bumped into Mantle and when Reggie said I’m sorry, Mickey said no go ahead Reggie it’s my fault. Reggie said that he was totally flattered that a star with the magnitude of Mantle not only knew this rookie’s name but would treat him like he was already someone big in baseball.
When Hal Steinbrenner named Judge the Captain of the Yankees I wondered if it was to soon. Well as far as I’m concerned it could not of happened soon enough. From what I have witnessed Judge has been a wonderful leader who like all Yankee captains starting with Lou Gehrig and continuing with my man Thurman Munson truly leads by example.
In team sports leaders or captains or whatever you want to call them… they are important to the total team concept. Mickey Mantle may not of been named the captain but to those players of that era The Mick was their leader… just ask Roy White.
Thank you Hal Steinbrenner for acknowledging a very important part of the Yankees… Aaron Judge Captain of the Yankees!
