Subscribe
Follow Us
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has been in the business long enough to know that you don't celebrate second place.
With the Yankees back in the World Series for the first time in 15 years, Cashman spoke to old friend Chris Russo, now of MLB Network, about the pressures of the Fall Classic. Since Cashman joined the Yankees organization, first as an intern in 1986 and working his way up to GM in 1998, the Yankees have now won eight American League pennants and five World Series championships. They'll look to make it six next week against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“The accomplishment of winning a pennant is spectacular in and of itself, but no one is designing anything in their offices, or in the scouting community, or the player development side, or especially the owner's chair saying, ‘hey I want to win the American League or the National League,” he said. “The truth is you want to win a world championship because that’s how you’re remembered.”
If the Yankees come up short in the World Series, it's going to stick with Cashman and the team.
“We have high goals, it's about winning a World Series,” he continued. “Whoever doesn't win is going to have regrets. Hopefully we can take advantage of it.”
The Yankees' fate is about to be in the hands of Aaron Boone and the players
Once the Yankees announce their World Series roster, Cashman will no longer be able to do anything but cheer his team on as a fan.
“You’re always in the position of saying, ‘I wish I did more, I wish I did more,'” he said. “You’re not considered perfect unless you’re actually hoisting that World Series trophy… We can be beat but we can also beat anybody, so it just comes down to how you play that week and you certainly hope it’s the best.”
Manager Aaron Boone, Cashman, and the entire Yankees front office has been the target of plenty of criticism from fans, particularly as the team's World Series drought extended over the past few years. A loss to the Dodgers wouldn't do much to change that. Despite the Yankees finishing the regular season with the best record in the American League, they're a team with obvious holes.
And after an 82-80 season last year, the Yankees brought Boone back as manager, while fans believed the front office had become complacent. This is an opportunity for the Yankees to prove their own fans wrong — and it's a fanbase that is begging for that to happen.
