Every week I have the goal of writing something positive for my weekly Friday blog, and then inevitably – usually around Wednesday (it’s Wednesday as I’m writing this) – something happens.
This week it was the All Star Game.
If you watched the All Star Game on Tuesday night, like me, and are a Yankees fan, like me, then there’s a good chance the whole thing depressed the hell out of you.
The field was filled with superstars – young, superstars. Gone are the days when hulk-like 30-year-olds clogged the base paths at the Mid-Summer Classic. Admittedly, I miss those days. I grew up in the 90’s when many of my baseball idols were ‘roided-out freaks that couldn’t touch their shoulders if they tried.
Now the game has evolved. Speed, athleticism, and youth rule the day. I admit that it is also exciting; I mean how could you not like what Giancarlo Stanton did on Monday night or what Eric Hosmer did on Tuesday night?
This year, however, the rosters seemed younger than ever. Here are some stats for you:
- 27 players on each roster were 26 years old or younger.
- The American League’s starting infield was the youngest in MLB All Star history, with an average age of 25.2 years old (Eric Hosmer, Jose Altuve, Xander Bogaerts, and Manny Machado).
- Bryce Harper is 23 years old and appeared in his 4th All Star Game.
- Mike Trout is 24 years old and appeared in his 5th All Star Game (FIFTH!).
- The 3 home runs hit on Tuesday were all hit by players 26 years old or younger – Kris Bryant (24), Eric Hosmer (26) and Salvador Perez (26).
There are a number of other star performers not mentioned above who were all born in the 1990’s. Marcell Ozuna, who casual baseball fans have probably never heard of, has an .892 OPS for the Marlins this year and is only 25 years old. Mookie Betts, whom the Red Sox converted into a center fielder, and then a right fielder, is only 23 and leading MLB in total bases. The Cardinals pulled their 25-year-old shortstop, Aledmys Diaz, out of thin air and he’s batting .315 on the season. Corey Seager is only 22 and he seems like he’s going to be some freaky Derek Jeter/Alex Rodriguez hybrid. Seriously, how the hell have the Dodgers spent a billion dollars on free agents over the past 5 seasons and still developed Seager?
It’s not fair!
I know, I know … I’m whining, but it comes from a place of jealousy. The Yankees All Stars this year featured Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Carlos Beltran. While I’m thrilled the rest of the league got to appreciate Dellin’s filth, he is only a relief pitcher and will be 30 before some of the guys listed above are allowed to legally rent cars.
And then there’s Miller (31) and Beltran (39), both free agent signings who I’ve begged the Yankees to sell so many times over the past three weeks that I’ve even annoyed myself. The whole discussion surrounding those players at All Star Week was will the Yankees trade them before it’s too late? As a fan of the Yankees, that is not fun.
I realize the Yankees are never going to enter full tank mode like the Braves or suck for so many consecutive years that they back their way into young talent like the Cubs, but that doesn’t mean they can’t take this opportunity in 2016 to accelerate their rebuild retooling. The Yankees need to get better, and more, young talent if they want to contend over the next 5-10 seasons, and the All Star Game really drove that point home for me.
Yes, they have prospects like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Luis Severino who should contribute to the next pennant-winning Yankees team, but they are not sure things. If they were sure things then they would probably already be in the majors and had their names called with the other 23-year-olds on Tuesday night in San Diego.
There are plenty of teams around the league who are in a worse position than the Yanks. The Twins had Eduardo Nunez as their one-and-only All Star for God’s sake. (Hey, at least the Yankees can claim they developed another All Star!) But the Yankees are not the Twins or the Braves, or even the Cubs, and they should not settle for just staying afloat.
