Yankees: Remembering dynasty architect Gene Michael

Longtime Yankees executive Gene “Stick” Michael died today at age 79, leaving behind a legacy of championships and long-term organizational success.

The word most consistently associated with Gene Michael over the years is “architect.” It’s an apt term, as the New York Yankees front office executive played a vital role in laying the groundwork for the franchise’s late-90s dynasty and what has turned into well over two decades of sustained success. Michael passed away today at the age of 79, and the Yankees community in particular feels his loss.

Michael, who earned his ubiquitous nickname “Stick” for his tall, lanky frame, played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball. After debuting with the Pirates in 1966, the infielder spent the following year with the Dodgers before playing the next seven seasons with the Yankees. He logged his final campaign with the Tigers in 1975. Michael never quite distinguished himself as a player, finishing his career with a .229/.288/.284 slash line, 15 home runs and 226 RBI. Nevertheless, his life in baseball was really only beginning.

After his retirement, Michael became a coach in the Yankees system. He bounced around between numerous roles, often wearing multiple hats at once, a versatility that would come to define his career as both a coach and executive. He served a brief stint as the team’s general manager in 1980 before being named the on-field manager for 1981 and ’82. A few years later, Michael moved to the Cubs dugout as skipper in 1986 and ’87. He was hired as the Yankees’ GM again in 1990, and that’s when the story took its most noteworthy turn.

The Yankees failed to win a World Series during the 1980s, a rarity for such a decorated franchise that had collected at least one championship in each of the previous six decades. Michael set about building the next great Yankees team from the ground up, developing the young players who would go on to form the nucleus of multiple title-winning clubs. These included the celebrated “Core Four” of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte, along with center field stalwart Bernie Williams.

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Just as importantly, Michael also supplemented the young core by signing or trading for key veterans like Paul O’Neill, Wade Boggs, John Wetteland, Darryl Strawberry and David Cone. It proved to be a winning formula, though “Stick” wasn’t at the helm when it all came to fruition. He was dismissed in 1995 as part of the fallout from the previous year’s strike.

A year later, of course, the Yanks broke their championship drought. In a way, Michael’s experience mirrored that of Buck Showalter, the manager he chose to lead the team in 1992, who was replaced with Joe Torre before that fateful 1996 campaign.

However, Michael’s fingerprints were all over the teams that captured four World Series titles in five years from 1996 to 2000, as well as the one that brought home another championship nearly a decade later in 2009. His impact is undeniable, and you can even see his influence in the Yankees’ recent youth movement of the past couple years.

Michael was often seen as a moderating influence on the impulsive nature of owner George Steinbrenner, preaching faith and patience with the organization’s young players. After his removal from the GM post, he remained with the club as vice president of major league scouting and later served as vice president and senior adviser until his death.

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Within the Yankees’ circle, it seemed everyone always had only glowing things to say about “Stick.” He was a yearly sight at Old Timers’ Day, standing alongside many of the former players he brought into the organization. While Brian Cashman has been the face of the Yankees’ front office for over 20 years now, Michael was the driving force behind transforming the franchise back into the perennial contender we see today.

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