So what better way to continue the Behind Bronx Pinstripes than by going behind the scenes with, myself! Queue Austin Powers:
For a refresher course in the Behind Bronx Pinstripes feature I have talked to many of the BP writers to give you, our readers, a better look at who we are and how we all became one big Yankees family. We’ve talked to most of the original members of the site and some newbies, with many more to come. If my calculations are correct, I am the last remaining member from the NYYUniverse days to answer my own questions. Now this might be a bit confusing to follow but I basically had a conversation with myself. (Something I do quite often actually so it’s nothing new to me).
Let’s see how I did as not only an interviewer, but the interviewee at the same time as we go, Behind Bronx Pinstripes!
JM- How did you get involved with BP? What is your role in the team?
JM- Let’s take a walk down memory lane: It was January of 2011 and I was about to start my last semester in college as a Journalism major. I had been writing sports stories, mainly focused on the Yankees, for almost every single project, paper and article I wrote for the school’s paper. I was in the midst of painting my parents basement when I decided to jump on Craigslist to see if there were any writing opportunities. I came across an ad that was looking for people to write on a new site covering the Yankees. I immediately put together an email with several writing samples and hit send. A couple days later, I heard from Scott and we clicked (both being Bergen County, NJ guys) and we figured out what role I was going to play. I started doing series previews for every series the Yankees would play that year. At some point down the road my schedule became a bit too hectic and I passed that role onto our other writers who had joined the team to focus on special stories and feature articles. This past year I started this wonderful feature called Behind Bronx Pinstripes (definitely check that out) to give readers an chance to get to know our awesome team of writers. I also teamed up with Sue to dominate Monday nights on Twitter with our weekly #YankeesChat where we talk to Yankees fans from all over about the latest news, rumors and happenings with the team. Keep an eye out for when the next chat will be this off-season to talk about the Yankees roster moves!
JM- The guys started it on the podcast, but what is your ‘Walk Up’ song coming up to the plate?
JM- There are so many songs that come to mind, but if I had to choose just one it would probably be “Jump” by Kris Kross — “The Mac Daddy will make ya”
JM- “Daddy Mac will make ya!” Ok, moving on- Who is your favorite Yankee of All-Time? Your favorite NON Yankee? If there was one player in the history of baseball that you would want to see play- past or present, who is it?
JM- Great question! (Editors note: Thank you). My favorite Yankee ever would have to be Paul O’Neill. I know some of the other guys have said Paulie as well so it is probably an age thing with us writers, but O’Neill was everything I wanted to be as a baseball player. Unfortunately I think the only traits I got from him were my passion, his number and our mistrust of Gatorade coolers/bottles (a story for another day). I loved the way he played the game everyday and he always seemed to come up clutch at the biggest moments- I guess that was a theme for that Yanks team of the late 90’s and early 00’s. He also seems like the type of guy I would love to play a round of golf with while slugging a couple cold ones.
As for my favorite player not on the Yankees, well that’s easy; Ken Griffey Jr. I mean growing up in the 90’s now could you NOT love Junior? He had almost more swag than he did talent, and that’s saying a lot! I would wear my hat backwards to practice (getting yelled at everyday by coaches to turn it around) and try to emulate his swing (as a righty-it didn’t work). From his highlight reel catches to his HOF worthy video game, everything Junior did was amazing. I was so enamored that when he was traded to the Reds, I went out and bought a Reds jersey. (To this day it is the only jersey outside of my fandoms I’ve purchased).
Going back in time, I would have loved to watched Willie Mays play. Somewhat in the same vein as Griffey, he was an outfielder that could do it all. A five-tool player that was ahead of his time with his athletic ability. Seeing guys track down balls in vast outfields of the bigger parks back then would have been a wonder to see.
JM- You’re at the Stadium for a game, what’s your go-to drink/food order?
JM- I’m kind of a nomad when it comes to food at the Stadium. I like to find my seats and settle in before making the move for food and drink. When I do, I usually end up with a cheeseburger or a cheesesteak. The only constant is the drink.. always a Bud Heavy for a summer baseball outing.
JM- What is your most memorable moment sitting in Yankee Stadium?
JM- I think I am spoiled when it comes to this because I got to see the greatest baseball TEAM of all-time (potentially biased) play, and win, a World Series game. I was in 8th grade when my dad took me to Game 2 of the 1998 World Series against the Padres. I saw El Duque go 7 innings while striking out six guys. I saw a Bernie Williams 2-run homer in the second inning and a Jorge Posada 2-run homer in the fifth. On Posada’s shot, some guys a few rows back threw their beers up in the air and they came crashing down on my dad and I- it was magical. I have never quite felt electricity at a game like that before, nor ever again. The only thing that would have made that night better was if it was the Series clincher.
JM- If you were on the Yankees, what position would you be playing?
JM- I grew up playing shortstop until I got to high school. I play shortstop on my softball teams today. Seems that shortstop would be the obvious answer, but it’s not. When I moved positions, I moved to centerfield and I fell in love. The amount of ground I was responsible for covering made my adrenaline pump every time a ball was in the air. It was also a ton of fun throwing guys out at home, which I’m pretty sure I am currently better at than Jacoby Ellsbury. Give me .0001 percent of Ellsbury’s contract and I’ll suit up every day.
JM- Since you’re on the Yankees now, you hit a HR- what’s Sterling’s radio call as the ball leaves the park?
JM- Let’s give this a whirl.. “The 2-1 pitch is swung on and driven deep to left field, it’s mac, mac, mac, mac, gone! Just in credible! McElrath ties the game in the bottom of the 8th.” (Sorry apparently Sterling and Berman have been hanging out too much).
JM- When you aren’t watching the Yankees, what are you most likely doing?
JM- Does watching the Cowboys count? No, ok. More than likely I am focused on my fantasy teams, out golfing, hanging out with friends, family and of course, my newly acquired wife! Also, I am an old school WWE fan so watching Monday Night Raw is on the agenda as well as hoping on PS4 and playing NHL, Madden, FIFA or Call of Duty. Hit me up on Twitter @Jtmac21 if you want to get a game or two in. (Rich, we need to get our Madden game in).
JM- What is your Top 3 baseball movie list?
JM- I think I agree with most of our other writers that in some order it goes:
- Sandlot (just a classic)
- Major League (all of them)
- 42 (I love the historic aspect)
JM- You’re a golfer- who is your dream foursome, and what course (anywhere in the world) are you playing on?
JM- Dream foursome would have to be: Emmitt Smith, Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan. I want to play with the best of the best at their sports. These guys have a total of 14 championship across their careers. As for the course, we would be playing Augusta, or St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland. Probably St. Andrews due to my Scottish background.
JM- Dream vacation spot, or your favorite vacation you’ve been on?
JM- First, my dream vacation is a safari in the African plains. I’m a big Discovery Channel, National Geographic guy and seeing these beautiful animals in their natural habitats would be unbelievable. It is definitely on the bucket list. As for favorite vacation, well, I’d have to say my honeymoon in August to Hawaii. Everything you hear about the beauty of Hawaii is true. It is paradise.
JM- Since you are the are one half of the #YankeesChat team, who is your favorite “non-Yankee”/ “non-baseball” Twitter profile to follow?
JM- This is going to be a lame answer, but I don’t really have a “favorite”. I follow a ton of fantasy football writers that I enjoy reading their insight and thoughts. I follow a ton of Cowboys related profiles, both media and fans. Maybe I just haven’t found the right people to follow yet to entertain me! Challenge given people!!
JM- If you could break one record in baseball what would it be?
JM- All-time runs record. Rickey Henderson‘s 2295 runs scored is a record that I think shows your value. It shows you are consistent in getting on based and contributing to your team’s success. If you look at the top 10 list of runs scored, all you see is Hall of Famers: Henderson, Ty Cobb, Barry Bond, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Pete Rose, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Cap Anson and Stan Musial. Move over Rickey, here I come!
JM- Last question: Hitting a walk-off HR in the 9th of the 7th game of the World Series, Scoring the winning TD in the Super Bowl, Hitting a winning three in game 7 of the NBA Finals, Scoring the winning goal in overtime of Game 7 in the Stanley Cup, Winning an Olympic Gold or Winning the Masters– which do you win?
JM- I think I’ve narrowed it down to a Game 7 walk-off and an Olympic Gold. Hitting a walk-off to win the World Series would be absolutely epic. You would go down in history and have your home run played over and over again for years to come. Winning an Olympic gold is the paramount of sports. You truly are “the best in the world” at what you do (had to throw an old school Jericho quote in here somewhere). Too bad they got rid of baseball in the Olympics or this would be a no-brainer. After all is said and done, give me the walk-off long ball. Game. Set. Match.
Phew, now that was interesting to say the least. I hope you enjoyed my inner conversation as I gave myself the tough questions, but swung back with some truly outstanding answers. It was a pleasure to give you guys some insight on who I am and would love to connect with all of you on Twitter so please hit me up. Again I can be found at @Jtmac21 and love talking Yankees, sports and any other nonsense along the way.
Please continue to look out for new editions of Behind Bronx Pinstripes as we continue to put our writers on the hot seat.
