Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The Cry For Homegrown Talent May Be Ill Advised: 1998


Yesterday we looked at just how much the 1996 Yankees team was constructed through trades and free agency and not so much the farm system and today we look at the next Yankees team to win the World Series, the 1998 team. The Cour Four was in full effect in 1998 with Jorge Posada behind the dish so the homegrown talent got a bit of a shot in the arm, was this team more homegrown then the 1996 season?

Let's look at possibly the greatest Yankees team and greatest team of all time and how they were assembled:

In the infield the Yankees still had Tino Martinez (Mariners) manning first base, Chuck Knoblauch (Twins) at second base, Scott Brosius (Athletics) at third base, and Chili Davis (Angels), Darryl Strawberry (Mets), and Tim Raines (Expos) splitting time at designated hitter. The Yankees did have Derek Jeter at short stop and Jorge Posada behind the dish which will be mainstays in these posts.

In the outfield New York had the warrior Paul O'Neill (Reds) in right field and Chad Curtis (Angels) in left field but had homegrown talent in Bernie Williams in center field. Shane Spencer and Ricky Ledee were on the bench as homegrown Yankees if that counts for anything.

In the starting rotation New York had David Cone (Royals), El Duque Orlando Hernandez (Cuba), Hideki Irabu (Japan), and David Wells (Blue Jays) in the rotation joining Andy Pettitte.

In the bullpen Mike Stanton (Braves and Red Sox) pitched in big spots along with Jeff Nelson (Mariners), Graeme Lloyd (Brewers), and Darren Holmes (Rockies). A lock in the Yankees bullpen has been Mariano Rivera and he came through the Yankees system along with Mike Buddie.

Once again the Yankees win it all, and 114 games, without a ton of home grown talent on the roster. I have a feeling if we did the 1999 World Series team we would see the same thing.... stay tuned.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)