New York Yankees: Becoming the Evil Empire on May the fourth
Known as ‘Star Wars Day’, on this May the fourth we determine just when the New York Yankees became known as the Evil Empire.
Every Opening Day, when the New York Yankees are introduced to the home crowd at Yankee Stadium, the speakers proudly blare out the Evil Empire’s anthem. It’s the home team’s acceptance of their organization’s dominance over the rest of the league, similar to the death star and imperial army.
Sure, every once in awhile another team squeaks by to win a World Series, but none come even close to the 27 world titles, an average of one every four years, the ‘Bronx Bombers’ posses.
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But when exactly did the Yanks take on this persona? The answer to that question will vary depending on who you ask.
For me, the Yankees emerged as the Evil Empire during the George Steinbrenner era (1973-2010). The boss had a deep desire to win, similar to Darth Vader’s yearning for world domination, and would do anything within his power to obtain a ring.
Now, since the Boss couldn’t flex his muscle on the field, he utilized the almighty dollar to secure the best players, often rewarding big leaguers with record contracts.
In fact, from 1985 until his death in 2010, according to Baseball-Reference, the Yankees had the highest-paid player 8x. The next team, the Boston Red Sox, only had it 3x.
What’s more, from 1998 until 2010, the Yanks had the highest team payroll in every season but one, 1998, according to SteveTheUmp.
As a result, the New York Yankees won the World Series 7x during the Steinbrenner era, more than any other franchise. Also, MLB was forced to institute a Competitive Balance Tax in order to thwart the Boss from spending money at will.
In all, however, the Yankees and their fans have accepted the title of the Evil Empire with open arms and continue to do so with Brian Cashman – the Darth Vader to Steinbrenner’s Palpatine – recently taking a page out of the Boss’s book and rewarding Gerrit Cole with the richest contract for a pitcher in MLB history.
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This time, if there ever is a season in 2020, the Empire hopes to reclaimits place atop the baseball world with the organization’s 28th World Series title.