New York Yankees: Brett Gardner praise day, and see how baseballs are made (video)

Heaping praise on centerfielder Brett Gardner

The New York Yankees have several top-rated players and some that are not looked upon as well.  Two players that gained a lot of popularity last season are the “machine” DJ LeMahieu and fresh up from Scranton Mike Ford, both became fan favorites.  Of course, superstar Aaron Judge is assumed to be the most favored Yankee. Still, in fact, this writer has taken several polls both during last season and recently on Facebook, and although Judge is right up there, Brett Gardner is the clear popularity winner.

An ex-New York Yankee All-Star 2nd baseman Willie Randolph who I highly respect recently talked about Gardner.  The five-time All-Star recently showered Gardner with praise with an Instagram post.  He started the post saying that he just wanted to celebrate “Gardy” a bit.

“What an outstanding leader he’s been on this team. I’ve watched him from a baby and the way he goes about his business and the fact that he can do everything on the field. He can play defense. He can still throw. He can still run at his age, and the power’s there, too.”

Brett Gardner the next New York Yankee manager?

Yankee fans have been talking for the last few years about a new Yankee Captain.  The last captain was Derek Jeter who after the 14-time All-Star retired from the Yankees after the 2014 season. Jeter retired after 20 seasons with Yankees, many of them as captain.  This January, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Aaron Judge is often mentioned as the next Yankee captain.  But many feel that Brett Gardner should get the nod.  That is likely not going to happen, as Gardy has only a year or two left as a Yankee.  The Yankees realizing how important he is to the team re-signed him to a one year deal with an option for 2021.

This writer would like to make the case that in the future Brett Gardner would make the perfect Yankee manager.  Gardner reflects everything the Yankees stand for.  As the longest playing present Yankee player for the last eleven years, he has gone about his business in the most professional way.  In the true tradition of great Yankees, he puts everything he has into every game.

No one plays harder and sets an example of how the game should be played more than Brett Gardner.  Last year in his eleventh year as a Yankee, he had his second-most productive season hitting 28 home runs and driving in 74 while relinquishing his career leadoff position to DJ LeMahieu.  Gardy’s defense in the center hasn’t missed a beat, and he still plays with determination and grit.

Many think Gardner would make a great Yankee manager due to his leadership in the clubhouse.  Managers Joe Girardi and Aaron Boone have used Brett as a sounding board for ideas.  Gardner has been integral in forging bonds between players and coaches.  Gardner is a mentor to many of the young Yankees players and manager Aaron Boone has said he would make a good manager.  Boone said during spring training “Gardner’s work ethic would translate well to the challenges of being a big-league manager.”  Below is a video from a March 3rd spring training game in which Gardy was miked up.

See how a major league baseball is made

The manufacture of the baseballs the New York Yankees and all of MLB use is a big deal and affects how the game is played.  An example of that is that last year many thought the ball was “juiced” up.  Something was added that gave the ball more pop and resulted in more home runs than normal, benefiting players but hurting pitchers, especially those like Masahiro Tanaka that tend to give up the long ball.

There are far more steps to making a major league baseball than you might imagine.  Balls are made by hand and machine, and the leather is hand-sewn professional sowers.  The video below shows all the steps involved in giving umpires a consistent ball to rub up.