When one thinks of “New York baseball,” the images most often evoked are ones of championship rings, Frank Sinatra and ticker tape parades. However, New York baseball has faced a curve ball this season as both the heralded New York Yankees franchise and the once promising New York Mets franchise have staggered. However, New York baseball has made up for its losses with unparalleled excitement and controversy. Contributing to the excitement are the individual performances and feats of two young pitching phenoms, Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey. Despite the mediocre season the Mets are having, Wheeler boasts a 5-2 record and 3.43 ERA, and Harvey has posted a dominant 9-4 record and 2.25 ERA as of August 20th. The Mets’ pitching rotation has a very bright future, evident in the amazing display Harvey put on at the All-Star game hosted in Citi Field. Spectators can only imagine what the future holds for these young gun-slingers. By the same measure, the excitement generated in the Bronx has been one of a different variety.
While the Yankees have had a winning pedigree for the better part of a century, their victories seem to be largely absent this season. Instead of wins getting the public’s attention, it seems to be a legacy of performance enhancing drugs instead. No one player has been as much of a lightning rod for negative attention and concurrent excitement as Alex Rodriguez, one of the sport’s wealthiest and highest paid players. Rodriguez is owed $114 million dollars by the Yankee organization over the next four years, a contract that has left a bad taste in the mouths of the most ardent of Yankee fans and management given his recent bout of injuries and subpar production. But besides his production inefficiencies, the dark cloud looming over Rodriguez’s reported steroid use has damaged the team as well as the integrity of the game. Rodriguez reportedly tested positive for steroids in 2003 and admitted to taking them, but claimed to have stopped the substance shortly afterward. As a result of recent findings of the contrary and a defiant behavior towards both General Manager Brian Cashman and Commissioner Bud Selig, Rodriguez was suspended by MLB for 211 games. True to form, Rodriguez appealed the suspension and is currently on the field for the New York Yankees. Most recently, he was plunked by the Boston Red Sox’ Ryan Dempster and shortly thereafter hit a home run, reminding many fans of the potential he has, but still clouding their perspective on his true ability.
With all of the drama surrounding A-Rod, it can easily be seen how the New York Yankee team fell into a trap of distraction and miscues. Outside of the media commotion, there are larger, looming issues impacting the team’s near and long-term future. Specifically, the Yankees have the oldest roster in MLB with an average age of 31.6 years. This does not bode well for the Yankees as their most productive pitcher, Hiroki Kuroda, is 38 and future Hall of Famer, Mariano Rivera, plans to retire at the season’s end. Ichiro Suzuki, Alfonso Soriano, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Lyle Overbay, and Travis Hafner are all 36 or older and are vital contributors in Yankee success. The Yankees have decreasingly emphasized the development of young talent in their farm system and increased the focus of quick, proven veteran leadership. The Mets, on the other hand, continue to build from the bottom. In a stark contrast to New York baseball convention, it actually seems that the summer has foreshadowed a bright future for the Mets and doubt for the Yankees. It will take veteran leadership for the Yankees to turn around their season, but this is easier said than done with Rodriguez’ loaded salary, controversy over his steroid use and an aging roster. The Mets seem to be the best hope for any extended long-term success in New York Baseball. Only time will tell which New York team, as Frank Sinatra sings his famous “New York, New York,” will be “king of the hill –top of the heap.”
