Being a New York Yankees player means being judged against former bombers who once roamed the Bronx. And the man Giancarlo Stanton must measure up to is Reggie Jackson.
New York Yankees fans who are old enough remember 1976. That was the first year since 1964 that the Yanks had won the American League. And in another letdown reminiscent of that earlier season, the bicentennial Yankees also failed to win the World Series.
But among the many changes to baseball and life in the interim—there was now an AL East and West, the Vietnam War, er, Police Action had primarily come and gone, bell bottoms were inexplicably cool—free agency had the most significant impact on the game.
Maybe the second biggest was the addition of George Steinbrenner.
He didn’t institute free agency; Curt Flood and a players’ strike did that. But he was surely not going to miss a chance to restore the Yankees to past glory by any means necessary, as we used to say back then.
And so he reflexively created the modern blueprint for building a successful team as soon as he took over the Yanks in 1973.
First, start by identifying the cream of your homegrown crop. For Steinbrenner and the Yankees of the early 70’s, that proved to be C Thurman Munson, LF Roy White, and Gator (nee Louisiana Lightning) LHP Ron Guidry.
The Mother of Invention
Next, trade the many goods for the excellent few.
That philosophy slowly but methodically imported 3B Graig Nettles and 1B/DH Chris Chambliss in separate deals with the Indians, and RHP Ed Figueroa and Mick the Quick CF Mickey Rivers in a singular agreement with the vagabond California Angels.
Trades also netted SS Bucky Dent and OF Lou Piniella, as well as 2B/Future team captain Willie Randolph after just thirty games for the Pirates.
Finally, of course, is add just a few key free agents and turn an outstanding team into a great one. The Yankees first gun-for-hire was workhorse RHP Catfish Hunter, signed before the ’75 season. And he did elevate the team, but they still needed one more piece as was self-evident at the end of 1976.
Well, two as they traded for Dent just as the ’77 season dawned. But the team needed a lot more than a slick-fielding infielder if they wanted to win the World Series.
And Steinbrenner knew it.