Mariano Rivera wants to play center field before he retires — Will the Yankees allow it?
David Brown September 26, 2013 12:46 PMBig League Stew
There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who approve of gimmicks in Major League Baseball and those who don't. And so, it is with such an understanding that The Stew without hesitation supports relief pitcher extraordinaire Mariano Rivera in his bid to play center field for the New York Yankees before he retires from the game forever Sunday in Houston.
While it's not exactly Bill Veeck sending little person Eddie Gaedel up to bat, or ageless Minnie Minoso getting a chance to play in his 11th decade (or whatever), MLB's all-time saves leader playing center for a day sounds like a lot of fun — for everyone.
Rivera has made no secret through the years that one of his fondest baseball dreams is to play center field, just like Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Bobby Murcer, Mickey Rivers and Bernie Williams did for the Bronx Bombers at one time. Well, maybe not just like them. Maybe more like Stan Jefferson.
The gatekeeper/ringmaster regarding this issue is Yankees skipper Joe Girardi, who has been a saint in dealing with a strange team in the clubhouse and the odd mixed signals from New York's executive branch. Hey, what's one more juggling act in the final days of the circus, now that the Yankees have been eliminated from the playoffs?
Girardi might be rolling his eyes on the inside, but he seems open to the possibility, via the New York Daily News:
No comments:
Post a Comment