TAMPA, FL – There was a time when the storied franchise known as the New York Yankees would constantly display their greats of the past. Their Old-Timers Day ceremonies were second to none. Mantle, Ford, Berra, Rizzuto, and DiMaggio would parade onto the field to give the fans a reminder of yesteryear. Even the current players from both teams would be in awe of these legends.
Those legends are now in Baseball Heaven, but a new wave always followed. Names like Mattingly, Jackson, Gossage, and Guidry led to O’Neill, Posada, Rivera, and Jeter. They would show up to Spring Training with the title of “Guest Instructors,” to the delight of both players and fans.
CUT TO THE PRESENT
As of right now, the team with a who’s who of alumni has invited Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph and that’s it to Steinbrenner Field. They will be in their pinstripes waving to the fans, and even taking selfies and signing autographs. Guidry will watch the bullpen sessions and Randolph will hit a few fungoes. Offering advice to these Generation X ANALytical players is taboo. That would interfere with the knowledge these players are getting from their coaches, the coaches that never played Major League Baseball.
The two guys who were captains of this team at one time don’t need to feel frustrated or insulted at the diss. Guidry and Randolph should just soak up the sun and laugh at what this game has become. The last great Yankees clutch power hitter named Reggie Jackson once described his guest instructor duties as being a “hood ornament.” The new regime might as well include a dog muzzle to go with the pinstripes for their past players.
