Number 27!

If you read this blog, you know that I am a die-hard Yankees fan.  I've been one ever since my parents took me to see the Angels play the Yankees back in July of 1964.  I remember that game like it was yesterday. 

The game was at Dodger Stadium because Anaheim Stadium had not yet been built.  My sister got Albie Pearson's autograph on my baseball glove (he was an Angels outfielder and a leader in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and I still have that glove).  Jim Bouton pitched for the Yankees--I remember that his hat kept falling off because of his odd follow-through.  The Yankees won 5-0.

My folks were hoping I'd become a fan of the new local baseball team (the Angels).  We are Orange Countians after all, not New Yorkers.  But when the Yankees took the field, it was love at first sight.

And now here we are, forty-five years later and I am as thrilled today, as I was on July 29, 1964.

Don't give me the same old line about A-Rod and Pettitte being cheaters, or that the Yankees bought the pennant.  They've spent big bucks every year from 2001-2008 and didn't win the World Series.  A-Rod and Pettitte came clean and the PED issue is a much bigger story than these two guys. 

The Yankees won this year because they played very good fundamental baseball, which made them a blast to watch, and in the end ensured their twenty-seventh World Series victory!  And I am thrilled!

Comments

[Kim Riddlebarger]

Roger:

I guess you didn't know that the Yankees have more home grown players on their 25 man roster than anyone else in the American league. Looks like their scouts and development people are doing a pretty good job.

When someone is a free agent, they no longer "belong" to another team. Hence, the Yankees are not guilty of "raiding" other team's talent. I will concede that they are very good at bidding for players on the open market.

Yankees fans are very used to the ole sour grapes "that's not fair" complaint. Other teams are perfectly free to emulate the Yankees business model.

[Lloyd I. Cadle]

They were saying the other day on sports talk, that the Twins owner has four times more money than the Yanks do. But they are not commited to winning, and the Yanks are.

The Yanks are not breaking any rules in the way that they are running their team. It does sound like sour grapes being cried against the Yanks.

The Yanks have money, and they spend it. That is far better than having money and the owner sticking in his pocket and ripping his fans off.

[John Yeazel]

Sports economics is a fascinating topic. I'm not sure I buy into the argument that the market causes an efficient and effective flow of resources and product to all the players involved in the market. There is a lot of politics and abuses that take place in the sports markets which causes the market to get cluttered and informed decisions cannot be made properly. Some teams have greater advantages than others. Of course, you Austrian economic advocates will disagree with me.

I used to read a lot of Reconstructionist literature before I become a confessionalist and reformational in my theology. I was heavily into reading about Austrian economics. I then went through the Economics and Business program at Calvin and changed my economic views. I still believe that markets are the best way to get the most innovative products at the best price to consumers hands. However, certain big players in markets can cause the markets to not do what they are supposed to do. That is what happened in the banking industry which certain regulation couild have prevented. The problem lies in the fact that the big players also help to get politicians elected so the regulation never gets implemented properly. This all then gets very complicated and the same thing happens in the sports markets. The solution I guess is KISS- balance sheets need to be reported in more clear ways. So, there should be a role for government to prevent the abuses that take place in markets.

[Timinator]

David Q.
Denver broncos well have to go through Pittsburgh Steelers who I want to see win the Super Bowl. When the Steelers are playing strong they are hard to beat.

Way to go Yankees. Sweet, first they win over those anoying ralley monkees (the California Angels), then the Phillies for the World Series.


Yankees Rule

[John Yeazel]

I did not say what I wanted to say about baseball economics very clearly. The three big players in the baseball market are the owners, the players trade union and the commissioner. Free market economics is not taking place in the baseball market. Owners and the trade unions seek to manipulate the market to their advantage. The commissioner is supposed to play the role of the government to make sure all the players in the market are abiding by the rules. However, the commissioner is deeply lobbied by the owners and the commissioner has to lend a listening ear or the wrath of the owners will turn on him. Some owners have more clout then others. The players trade union tries to make sure that the owners do not take all the revenue away from the actual people who play the game and make the owners money. The commissioner also has to play the role of the mediator between the owners and the players union. Jim Bouton in his book Ball Four explained baseball economics back then pretty clearly. It probably is still a worthwhile read today.

I still think the Yankees hold a competitive advantage over all the other teams in the league. Loopholes are found in the market and owners seek to take advantage of those loopholes. The big market teams are required to fork over some cash to the small market teams but the owners find other ways to use their clout to make more revenue in other ways. Fans keep buying tickets so something must be working right.

[John Yeazel]

No sour grapes intended- the Yankees did play good ball and deserved to win. They came through with big hits when they needed them and Mario was lights out as usual.

[Timimator]

John Yeazel,

Maybe you should start a blog as you have quite a bite to say about baseball. Pastor Kim and other Yankee fans like myself are just happy to see them win the world series and share it with all you baseball fans.


Yankees are the World Champs...Not Boston...not Angels...and deffintly not those Phillies

[John Yeazel]

Timinator

Was stranded in my house all weekend so I went a bit overboard on the blogs. If you want me to shut up just tell me. I have pretty thick skin.

[Timinator]

John Yeazel,
Be quiet

[John Yeazel]

Timinator,

OK

[John]

I guess if you spent as much as they did on a team you would eventually win a World Series. I can't get excited for the Bronx Bombers. I wasn't a Phillies fan either. Let's flatten out the teams and give them all the same amount of $$ and see what happens.

Spoken like ex-Chicago Cubs fan!