I can't stand the Yankees. The pre-free agency guys are okay. Those teams were built and developed from the farm system and with smart personnel moves. But the bought-and-payed-for teams make me sick.
Before free agency, the Yankees signed high end prospects with both cash and prestige. The baseball draft was instituted in the 1960s to thwart big market teams from signing all the best prospects. The idea was to allow the teams with the worst records to draft first.
Further, when the big spenders sign a free agent, they lose a draft pick. This has enabled many small market, small salary teams to field a more competitive team.
I'm a lifelong Yankee fan, but I love when small market teams have great years. I became a fan in the mid 60s, when the Yankees were putrid. When the Yankees finally won in 77, it was the first time in my life being a Yankee fan wasn't just about trotting out the legends on old timer's day; it was about a team that didn't suck.
It's for this reason I have great empathy for teams like the Pirates that hadn't had a winning season in something like twenty years. I'm hoping the Dodgers win a World Series so my hero (Mattingly) can get a ring, if only as a manager. If they don't, I'm rooting for the Pirates.
I'd love to see the Cubs win one in my lifetime, and I actually rooted for the Red Sox in 04 after the Yankees were eliminated.
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