The Summer of 1998

I won't bother to watch the Sosa/McGuire ESPN because fuck those guys, but Joe Torre reminds us there was something else super-special that summer: The New York Yankees:

SO EVERYBODY FORGETS about those '98 New York Yankees. It makes sense, in some ways: History remembers faces. When it comes to individuals, there are no loyalty issues about cheating on the team you love, no hesitations about what that well-struck moonshot means on the scoreboard. We can just watch the magic of the moment and ogle.

1998 was the year I moved to NYC and began my fandom of the Yankees, but even I can't say think they're "forgotten", right? But then you read the following, which is in complete juxtaposition to the Sosa/McGuire nonsense:

While McGwire and Sosa were having their individual moments, the Yankees were undeniably a collective: No Yankee hit even 30 home runs in 1998, but eight hit at least 17 (Martinez led with 28). Williams won the AL batting title with a .339 average, but six Yankees had an OPS+ of 120 or more. Scott Brosius, who was the No. 9 hitter, hit .300 and drove in 98 runs.

It was the same with the pitching. Six hurlers had 10 or more wins (Cone finished with 20), and three starters threw more than 200 innings. The bullpen was dominant, led by Rivera, who saved 36 games and had an ERA of 1.91. Even the reserves made significant contributions. Homer Bush scored 17 runs primarily as a pinch-runner, and Shane Spencer hit 10 homers after being called up from the minors late in the season.

It was the greatest team of all time, and I feel lucky I strolled into that summer and got to see so much of it.

Also, this is funny:

"I just never had a lot of luck on my birthday," Torre said on a recent video call. "I'd go hitless or we'd lose or whatever. But in '98, I remember saying to one of my coaches, 'Hey, we even won on my birthday,' and he looked at me and said, 'Joe, we won on everybody's birthday.'"

Here's the box score from my first-ever game at Yankee Stadium, April 30, 1998. Tino hit a double in extra innings to win it. Strawberry hit a home run into the black in center, which (at the time, at least) was shocking and had only been done a few times. A-Rod hit one out for the Mariners, and Jeter was dating Mariah Carey at the time, who we all gawked at as she sat behind the Yankees dugout. And I'll never forget, Ken Griffey, Jr walked up to the plate and the first thing I thought was, "oh my god, did someone drop a Datsun in the back of his pants?"  And then he hit two out.

Still have my ticket! :)