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What's A Yankees Sportswriter To Do When He Gets It Wrong
Writing about the Yankees as I do, is a daunting, but welcome, responsibility. And when you do it every day, occasionally something is bound to go wrong. Here are just a few of my “Oops” moments over the past month. Feel free to pile on in the comments section.
How Do You Spell Graig?
Did you know that the Yankees had a third baseman who once played for them named Craig Nettles? Well neither did I until I wrote a piece about why he deserves more consideration for the Baseball Of Fame.
His name, of course, is Graig Nettles with a “G” and not a “C.” Not only did the comments board light up, but I also heard from the boys at Fansided.
When Will Manny Machado Become A Free Agent?
How can you write a piece about the collision between Chase Headley and Manny Machado that will take place at the end of the 2017 season, when Machado doesn’t hit the free agent market until after the 2018 season? Well, I did. Readers also pointed out that Headley will also be a free agent at the same time, meaning that a “collision” is not likely anyway since Headley will be on his way to another team.
How About The Proposed Tanaka/Fernandez Trade?
More from Yanks Go Yard
This one drove readers batty. The piece centered on the idea that Masahiro Tanaka may well exercise the opt-out clause in his contract, moving to Seattle where he would be closer to home in Japan. Which, for most readers was a plausible, but arguable thought. But then, I threw in there a suggestion that the Yankees should make a one-for-one trade with the Mariners, straight up for Felix Fernandez. There is, of course, no one who pitches for the Mariners by that name. It’s Felix Hernandez, as readers delighted in pointing out.
The best comment, though, came from Jerry Tang, who wrote, “Too much alcohol on New Year’s Eve can produce this kind of prose. LOL!”.
Jumping The Gun Can Be A Bad Idea
A few days ago, I wrote a piece about the deli sandwich making episode involving the showcasing of Gary Sanchez at a time when maybe the Yankees should be backing off and just letting him play baseball.
Sam Small gave me a different perspective, though, and one that I (now) agree with, as Sam points out:
“Could this also be an attempt by the Yankees to show that Sanchez is like one of us everyday people and let him mix and mingle with the people’s? Could this be an attempt by the Yankees for community outreach? I guarantee every person who went and got a sandwich from there will never forget that day and he signed autographs…so I got a ham and Swiss AND an autograph from the new face of my favorite team? I think you’re missing the fan perspective of it.”
And indeed, in retrospect, I did overembellish the event. And that’s especially true when I realized that it was just a roll-out for a much larger attempt by the Yankees to bring their fans closer to the team. Because in that light, the Yankees first ever “Winter Warm-Up” has proven to be a huge success with fans.
No Choice But To Move Forward
So, I guess I should throw all the cliches in here. “You can’t always get it right,” “You have good days and bad days,” “We all make mistakes,” whichever applies and it’s done with it. Because in the end, what we do at Yanks Go Yard is entertainment. And occasionally, a Broadway Show bombs. The world doesn’t end, and there’ll be another play that comes along to replace it.
But, that’s not gonna happen. What will happen, though, is that I proofread and research my stuff better. I know I can count on you to keep me honest, as you’ve done in all the above instances. And with very few exceptions, the comments are not mean-spirited. They are well thought out and add to the discussion. And THAT is what this is really all about.
