I’m tired of hearing about the “classy” Yankees from the media, particularly after Halsey’s throwing at the head over the weekend. Take this example from Gary Miller’s Clubhouse Confidential column, over at ESPN.com:
Take the generation’s old ritual of stealing the rookies’ clothes on the final road trip of the year and replacing them with something highly humiliating. Most clubs abuse their first-year players with Hooters outfits… The Yankees had a little more class
Um, yeah, that showed much more class, putting your rookies in Elvis suits. Just to show how classy they are, here’s Matsui going all Huggy Bear last year in his leopard print pimp outfit:
Mmm, yes. That’s classy. Miller keeps piling on the “class” idea.
Crosby thought about buying his as a keepsake, but just to show how high class the Yanks are, all five were rented costumes, complete with rings and necklaces, and would have cost $1,000 to buy.
Um, so apparently renting is classier than buying. Or something. Even when what you’re renting are top-dollar Elvis costumes.
I think it’s fun, this dressing up tradition, and I like that the Yankees made Contreras and Matsui both do it last year, despite their established veteran status in their respective leagues. I just think it’s really contrived to try and make it sound classy when it’s supposed to be fun. Elvis costumes, pimp outfits - if they’re not kitsch and over-the-top, they’re not working. (Sox initiation this year: Lenny DiNardo and Kevin Youkilis as Hooters girls, going through Toronto customs. Too declasse for Miller, who harumphed at both practices.)
Miller does have some good bits on the Sox:
[Shonda Schilling] almost threw me and producer Craig Rothberg out of the box though, when I carelessly mentioned Curt hadn’t given up a hit yet.
Right. So who knows how to respect traditions around the ballpark? Breaking the jinx: very, very declasse. Shonda just shot up in my shesteem. As does her husband:
On Sunday, Sept. 19, [Dave] Roberts and his wife Tricia decided to induce labor back in Boston, as soon as the Yankees series ended in New York. [Curt] Schilling arranged for his jet to whisk Roberts back to Boston, where his wife would already be in labor.