Yankees....The Legacy Continues

The 2009 New York Yankees are baseball's top team, and I'm not just talking in terms of payroll, as they have captured their 27th world title in their illustrious history. It had been almost a decade since the New York Yankees captured a World Series Championship and while most franchises in Major League Baseball would hardly consider that a drought, it feels more like a twenty or thirty year hiatus to Yankee fans.

Commonly referred to as the "Evil Empire," due to their ability to monopolize free agent talent which coincides with an exuberant payroll, makes the Yankees one of the most despised sports franchises amongst the majority of non-New Yorkers, but I am here to actually commend the Yankees and to congratulate them on their World Series crown, as it takes more than deep pockets to achieve a World Series Championship.

I present to you exhibit A; the New York Mets, whos 2009 team payroll totaled $135,773,988 compared to that of the 2009 Yankee team payroll which was $201,449,289. Now granted, that is significantly more, but it balances out when you consider where the Mets finished in the 2009 Season. The Mets 2009 record was 72-90 placing them fourth in the National League East Division standings only in front of the Washington Nationals, who finished last in the division. The New York Mets and New York Yankees have been the top two franchises in terms of payroll in Major League Baseball dating back several decades, and all though the Mets franchise has only been around since 1962, it has produced just two world series championships; 1969 and 1986. To put this in comparison, the Florida Marlins, whos payroll is nearly a quarter of what the Mets payroll is, has two world championships in its franchise history, and they have only been in existence since 1993!

The point is this, spending inordinate amounts of dough and attempting to buy a world series doesn't always work and more often than not, this is not the recipe for success. You have to have good ownership, a crafty general manager, superb scouts, an excellent coaching staff, team chemistry, etc. There are plenty of MLB franchises that consistently spend well over 100 million dollars in an effort to field a winning club and lure free agent talent away from smaller market clubs. These high priced teams have had little to no World Series success, let alone a pennant. The Chicago Cubs stand out in my mind, as they spent $135,050,000 in 2009 and have consistently been in the top 5 in terms of team payroll in recent history. What have those spending results netted them? Only two world series championships...in 1907 and 1908!!

I am so sick of people complaining about the New York Yankees buying championships and how it's not fair that they can spend that much money, as its not about how much money you spend, but what players you spend it on. Take for example the San Francisco Giants, who shelled out a $126,000,00 contract for Barry Zito. This contract is the third richest contract to ever be given to a pitcher in baseball history and this contract has in no way, shape, or form, contributed to Giants' ultimate goal of winning a title. In fact, this bloated contract has merely been a hindrance as it has handicapped their ability to fill other necessary holes offensively. Barry Zito was a decent pitcher when he hit the free agent market, but you didn't see the New York Mets or New York Yankees come in there and outbid the San Francisco Giants for Zito's services, why? Because its not about the money, its about evaluating the talent, then spending appropriately.

The New York Yankees are the most successful franchise in sports history because they have made ingenious moves in regards to fielding a winner throughout the course of their franchise existence, which has led to championships, which in turn has led to a high revenue stream, which has led to the ability to spend. Their greatness is not because of how much they are capable of spending, its because they spend wisely and have received mass return on their investments, which ultimately created the domination of the league at the hands of the Bronx Bombers.

There is a nickname in the rap game, when individuals are jealous and despise other's accomplishments in which they are incapable of achieving themselves, its called, "haters." One does not need a high payroll to win a World Series Championship and many Major League Baseball teams have proven this point in the past. The main reason that non-native New York fans hate the Yankees is simple, because they are consistently successful while their teams are usually failures and rather than ridicule their own team, they will justify their team sucking by saying, "well, if we had the money the Yankees did, we could win the World Series too." Uh, sure, you just keep telling yourself that!