During season one of the non-Derek Jeter era, the New York Yankees are in need of a real leader on the team. Can Brian McCann be that guy?
By Michael Iuzzini
For almost two decades, New York Yankees fans have had the privilege of watching Derek Jeter during his Hall of Fame career.
Jeter was the captain and face of the team. So, it goes without saying that there will never be another Derek and we won’t see the word captain used for the Yankees for a very long time.
Every team needs a leader in the locker room and a spokesman for the team. The Yankees are full of veterans that can stand up and lead, but there still needs to be the one go to guy.
The question for today, is who is that one player?
The list of candidates can be any one of the men in pinstripes.
Alex Rodriguez is having a season where he is surprising everyone including himself. Truth be told, the Yankees cannot have A-Rod be that guy.
He can lead on the field and he can be vocal in the locker room, but the tarnished relationship with him and his team will always provide an enormous elephant in the room. He is a lighting rod for negative publicity which means his role is solely based on performance.
In any event, there are a core of players that are looked at by the Yankees brass as a leader, but no one player has yet to step up and carry the team on their shoulders.
The point here is that the team needs that one player to be the representative of the Yanks.
Jacoby Ellsbury, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran and Brett Gardner can handle the role, but none of them seem to want the title. We have yet seen any of the above players take the next step in being the vocal commander.
Gardner does the post-game interview just about as perfectly as anybody in the clubhouse. Still, however, he doesn’t fit the mold.
Then, there is the silent type like Brian McCann.
McCann left his comfort zone in a smaller city market with Atlanta and took the leap into one of the toughest sports media markets in the world.
His first season as a Yankee was a roller coaster of a ride as he struggled the majority of the season at the plate. It was not until the last six weeks of last season that he began to really find himself and show that he can play in New York.
THEN, WE HAVE THE SILENT TYPE LIKE BRIAN MCCANN.
THEN, WE HAVE THE SILENT TYPE LIKE BRIAN MCCANN.
His late season success has carried over and McCann is very quietly becoming the leader this team needs.
He is not here to fill Jeter’s roll, but remember Derek was really not all that vocal, only when called upon. Jeter led by example on the field. That’s what the current Yankees backstop is doing now.
McCann needs to be aware that he can be the face of the Yankees.
His presence on the field automatically takes over when he pulls that mask on. You can instantly see him transform into his warrior mode. He calls a great game and reminds many of Jorge Posada.
The coaching staff does not want to nudge their catcher too much and take him out of his comfort zone, especially as he is really finding himself in New York.
Although he’s battling a bum foot right now, it shouldn’t stop him from elevating his importance to the clubhouse.
#Yankees get good news as scans of Brian McCann’s foot come back negative. Read http://t.co/dLp6SNC6cs #MLB #NYY
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) June 4, 2015
Still, it must be acknowledged that when a leader is needed it is Brian McCaan that should speak for the Yankees.
[su_button url=”https://elitesportsny.com/2015/06/06/uefa-champions-league-barcelona-edges-juventus-final-3-1/” target=”blank” background=”#0b396d” size=”10″ wide=”yes” radius=”0″]NEXT: Barcelona Edges Juventus, 3-1[/su_button]
