Yankee Arrogance, Part N

Eighty-four players were selected for the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Including those players who are, because of injury or because of having started a game this past Sunday, ineligible to play in the game, seventy-nine of those eighty-four are in attendance. Two of the five who are not there, Chipper Jones of the Braves and Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, recently had major surgery. The other three are C.C. Sabathia, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter. Those three have something in common: they are all New York Yankees. This is not a coincidence.

Among other things the Yankees like to say about themselves, I think there's an idea that being a Yankee is the only honor one needs. Sure, they'll go play in the All-Star game: I've never ever heard of someone just saying, nah, I don't feel like doing that, except due to an injury.* But if they can't play anyway, why bother showing up? Who cares about the praise and acclamation of the country's baseball fans?* They're Yankees, so they don't need any of that. All they need is wins and rings, blah blah blah. Being who I am, I can't help but compare that attitude to Jose Reyes, who has (strangely) been injured at the time of three of the four All-Star games he's been selected to in his career. But he's shown up every time, because it's a tremendous experience and a great honor and, hell, he's just plain excited and enthusiastic about playing baseball. Even if he can't play, he wants to show up and support his (temporary) team. But for a Yankee, that's beneath you. Show up just to support a bunch of people who aren't trying to help you win the World Series this year? Eh.

I think it's interesting to look at what two of the American League All-Stars said in the little montage on the subject of what it means to be an All-Star. Curtis Granderson said that it's about "repping these pinstripes on the big stage." David Ortiz, speaking immediately after him, said it was about "being teammates, if just for one day, with guys wearing pinstripes. Ughhhh." I think that's kind of emblematic of the Yankees' view of this game: it's about being a Yankee. It's about representing the Yankees, and demonstrating how amazing the Yankees are. If you can't play, if you can't go out and demonstrate your superiority, why bother?

*Derek Jeter is not injured. I seem to recall he played rather well in a game just recently, something like 5-5 with a home run, and he's planning on playing the first game back from the All-Star Break. No, he's not injured, he's just worried he might get injured if he played the All-Star Game. Likewise, I think Rivera's not properly injured either, as he pitched on Saturday, though I'm not as certain of that. Now, personally I think it's a perfectly reasonable decision to beg out of an exhibition contest to avoid the possibility of re-aggravating an injury, but still, let's not pretend that Jeter (or possibly also Rivera) are missing this game due to injury. They're missing this game due to caution.
*Okay, so it's also true that about two-thirds of the country's baseball fans hate the Yankees, and they would probably hear more boos than cheers. But I think Chase Utley has a word or two for the Yankees about how to handle the prospect of being booed, ne?