Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman was in Boston on Thursday evening, but he wasn’t scouting the competition. He was being honored by the city’s chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America as the game’s top executive.
Sitting next to Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, Cashman assured everyone that the historic Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is alive and well.
“You guys are no different than us at the Evil Empire,” Cashman said. “You want to win, as do we. I think the rivalry is alive and well, as it should be.”
Cashman received the honor after a 2017 campaign which saw his “rebuilding” Yankees win 91 games and come one win shy of a trip to the World Series.
Despite exceeding everyone’s expectations, and making it further into October, Cashman had no problems praising the rival Red Sox.
“Despite whatever goes on, you won the division the last two years,” Cashman said. “We are trying to catch you at the moment, not the other way around. So I’m doing everything in my power, and [with] all the players that we have on this club, to figure out a way to compete every time we run out on the field.”
He also joked that the team and their fans have turned “into a bunch of little George Steinbrenners: critical, passionate, you spend a lot of money on your team.”
“Listen, we love to compete,” Cashman said. “You guys [in Boston] are always awesome. The ownership group you have here has turned my life upside down a few times more than not. I’ve lost a lot of sleep. I’ve been forced to change my ways and evolve and grow and find different ways to figure out how to catch you.
“I congratulate the ownership group, the baseball ops department and everybody on that field we have to go to war with. It’s a pleasure coming here to compete, and I appreciate being awarded this honor on behalf of the Steinbrenner family.”
