“A totalitarian like Steinbrenner would have gleefully battered people with that kind of power, which is why it’s so entertaining to find him railing against Vincent’s application of the clause in the Spira case. But there’s a meta-irony on top of the mini-irony: In protesting the Spira decision so vociferously, Steinbrenner helped force Vincent out as commissioner and install a replacement who, in 20 years, has almost never used the “best interests” clause within baseball because he’s almost never stood in any real opposition to owners. What vestiges of independent authority remained in the commissioner’s office got boxed up with Vincent’s three-hole punch as he exited the building.”

From Deadspin’s How George Steinbrenner Helped Kill Off Baseball’s Last Real Commissioner.

Sweeney Murti of WFAN in New York just reported that Jorge Posada will announce his retirement within the next two weeks. »

Always knew this day was coming (and pretty soon, will have to face the Jeter and Rivera retirements), but still sad. While Jorge’s production for the Yanks diminished the past year, it’s another line of demarcation for millions of us who watched him take over the catcher’s position from Girardi and Leyritz in the late-90s. More thoughts on this in a few days (Old Time Family Baseball, I think I have my blog post for you). But for now, thank you Jorge. Hip, Hip, Jorge!

Since he joined the Yankees in the latter stages of the 1995 season, a handsome 21-year-old rookie assigned a uniform number (2) that immediately put him in the single-digit company of franchise legends, Derek Jeter has been in the public eye. The most famous player on the most famous team in the hemisphere, front and center in baseball’s marketing campaigns and Nike’s sneaker ads, he has performed day in and day out in New York, New York. What’s more, his career coincides with the Information Age; his rise mirrors the explosion of our collective bandwidth. And yet he is the antithesis of the result of the Information Age: narcissism exemplified by a get-rich-quick mentality based on having absolutely no talent. And, no sex tape.

Since he joined the Yankees in the latter stages of the 1995 season, a handsome 21-year-old rookie assigned a uniform number (2) that immediately put him in the single-digit company of franchise legends, Derek Jeter has been in the public eye. The most famous player on the most famous team in the hemisphere, front and center in baseball’s marketing campaigns and Nike’s sneaker ads, he has performed day in and day out in New York, New York. What’s more, his career coincides with the Information Age; his rise mirrors the explosion of our collective bandwidth.

And yet he is the antithesis of the result of the Information Age: narcissism exemplified by a get-rich-quick mentality based on having absolutely no talent. And, no sex tape.

(via thenewrepublic)

Christian Lopez was the lucky fan who caught Jeter’s 3,000th hit. And when he could have, ahem, played hardball with the Yankees, he did something that in today’s “me-first, celebrity-driven” world is astounding: he gave the ball back without asking for anything. The Yankees wound up giving him tickets to games, signed bats/balls and other trinkets.

Lopez, sitting in the YES booth with Michael Kay and John Flahrety, said, ”He’s worked so hard for this. I’m not the kind of person to take away something like this. He earned it.”

It’s great to see a fan - who sells cellphones for a living - not even think to cash in when he had the opportunity to and instead do the right thing.