The Yankee fan-base has come to know the notorious home-run calls of John Sterling, but due to the corona-virus, it will be a while before Yankee fans hear enthusiastic voice of the radio anchor again.
Before the world was devastatingly struck by the disease, Yankee fans were getting ready to see the newest pitching stud that was added to their team and welcome Brett Gardner back for another season.
Due to the corona-virus, it will be a while before Yankee fans will hear John Sterling’s home run calls over the radio voice Gardner is not known for excessive long balls leaving the ball park, but he has made clutch hits and stellar defense apart of his game.
As a tenured Yankee and veteran ball player, the left fielder doesn’t need to depend on the long ball to help his team, but when he does connect to drive the ball out of the ballpark, the fans listening on the radio will hear John Sterling’s exclusive home run call for Brett Gardner:
“SWUNG ON and….. IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR….IT IS GONE. GARDY GOES YARDY!!!!”
Brett Gardner has made himself a household name in the Yankees fan-base, even though he may not grab the attention of millennial fans of the game today. The game of baseball is meant to be played with passion. To me, this is a guy who steps onto the field everyday wearing his heart on his sleeve. The veteran Yankee outfielder is just an old-school athlete in an updated game.
Like I said before, Brett Gardner may not be a player that grabs your attention, but he is an interesting player because he is what some fans might call, “an under the radar guy”. This is a player that solidified his entire Yankee career by being himself. For a player who has dedicated his craft to being a life-long Yankee, he is seen as an underrated player in the current game.
With major league baseball glorifying the power displays of various players and the gigantic size of these upcoming players, guys like Gardner just don’t fit in. The 36-year-old isn’t performing poorly; he just a veteran among this new wave of baseball players. That is okay though, because he performs at the level of the up and coming studs of the game.
It may be surprising to some, but a baseball game isn’t just won by home runs and throwing no-hitters. Yes, at one time that type of game play was the blueprint teams followed, but there is so much more that goes into get the “W” in the score-book.
Brett Gardner is a representation of that way of playing. Even though he is a 10 year veteran of the game, he exemplifies the old, gritty baseball player that played well before his time. We see it even today with his dives into first base and his consistent use of small ball to get on base.
Reflecting on his career, Brett Gardner told New York Post’s columnist, Steve Serby the following statement:
“At this point, I’m just kind of taking things one year at a time. I’ve really always looked not too far into the future, obviously. The contract that I signed, the Yankees have a team option on me for next year. In a perfect world for me, I stay healthy and have a good season and they pick that option up and I come back and do it all over again. For me, I’m just focused on this current season and literally taking things one day at a time, trying to get prepared for a season. I know it sounds cliche, but I kind of learned that from some guys that I’ve played with along the way, that when you’ve been around this long, there’s no sense in looking too far into the future, really. You don’t know how much longer it’ll last, so really just enjoy every minute of it.”
In my opinion, even though Brett Gardner is seen as an under rated player, he is by far my favorite player in today’ s baseball game. Yes the game of baseball is constantly changing, but the Yankees’ left fielder is a key figure to look at when analyzing the gradual evolution of baseball. Gardner once was everything the game needed, everything has shifted so that Gardner is now a reminder of what the game used to be.
When baseball returns, the Yankees will be on the hunt for their 28th championship and will look for Gardner to be an asset to their effort.
The Pinstriped Baseball Lane 