by Joy Schultz

Created on: July 21, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Reasons To Hate The New York Yankees

Listen children, while I sing you a song of overpaid, overhyped, and over-the-hill baseball players. Allow me to spin you a yarn of men in pinstripes who have collectively dominated and effectively denigrated America's glorious pastime. Lend me your ears as I regale you with tales of doping, signal tipping, throwing games, gambling scandals, cheating spouses, and crooked ownership.

Ah, the New York Yankees: proud owners of 26 championships and close to 40 caps on plaques in the Baseball Hall of Fame. There are few things that are black or white about the Yankees with one glaring exception: most people either blindly love or hate them. There seems to be no in-between, and this writer sits firmly on the "hate" side. Just sit back and relax and I will give you what I consider the two best reasons to hate the New York Yankees.

"Hate" is such an ugly word; and if the truth were told, probably a bit strong. However, "strongly dislike" just doesn't seem to fit the bill, either. The Yankees legacy is deserving of respect, and I am one of the first to admit that. Ask any Yankees fan why he or she loves the Yankees and they will probably recite, with misty-eyed awe, names like Berra, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Mantle, Maris, Ruth, well, you get the picture. Similarly, ask most fans of baseball (regardless of the team they follow), why they are fans, and they will probably recite the same list at some point. The roster through the years has certainly been impressive and the ability of the Yankees to land the best and brightest the sport has to offer is almost magical. Or is it financial?

One of the immediate reasons to hate the Yankees is the leadership. The Yankees are, in my opinion, one of the best arguments for a salary cap in baseball. A-Rod's salary alone is more than the combined payroll of the entire Florida Marlins team! Does this give the Yankees an unfair advantage? You bet it does. By offering ridiculous salaries to players once they reach free agent status, the Yankees ensure that other teams do not have access to that talent. Consider this scenario for instance: Johnny Ballplayer is recruited by Team A, develops on that team's payroll through that team's coaches and trainers, and gains his experiences in Team A's farm system. Johnny then goes on to an impressive rookie season, subsequently fulfills his contract, and is ready to go free agent. The Yankees spend these years watching him mature, letting him make his mistakes and letting

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