Ed Botti
January 10, 2025
Here we are, it is January 10, 2025. A lot has happened since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series was played way back on October 30, and I am not talking about the frigid weather.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that long ago. It’s been only 72 days, after all.
However, the 72 days notwithstanding, quite a lot has actually played out.
In no particular order, and off the top of my head (kind of), since the Game 5 disaster, we have observed the following. Keep in mind, that some of these occurrences may have been in the works for months or even years, while some of them happened instantaneously.
We have a new President,
The Rangers nosed dived,
DeShawn Watson scammed the City of Cleveland, again,
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson scammed us all,
Drones invaded New Jersey,
My niece Diana and (new) nephew David got married,
A Healthcare CEO was ruthlessly assassinated in the streets of NYC,
Ex-President Jimmy Carter passed away,
US Republicans re-gained control of the House of Representatives,
School shooting in Madison Wisconsin,
Justin Trudeau resigned as Prime Minister of Canada,
My Cousins Thomas and Kate had their second child, Anna Jane,
The bells of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris rang out for the first time since the 2019 fire,
Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge both unanimously win their league MVP awards,
Archaeologists reveal the first evidence of two different early human species coexisting in the same place,
Australia became the first country to pass legislation banning children under 16-years-old from social media,
The Classic Baseball Era Committee of The Baseball Hall of Fame elected Richie Allen and Dave Parker,
Google unveils a new quantum computer capable of performing a mathematical calculation in 5 minutes that the most powerful supercomputers could not complete in 10 septillion years,
Six-time Super Bowl winning Coach Bill Belichick, was introduced as next head coach at the University of North Carolina,
The 90th Heisman Trophy Award went to Travis Hunter, University of Colorado,
Saturday Night Live is in it's 50th season,
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by a vote in the National Assembly,
Paul McCartney wrapped up his “Got Back” tour with guest appearances from Ron Wood during "Get Back", and Ringo Starr drumming on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Helter Skelter",
Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson broke the NFL career rushing record for quarterbacks,
22-time tennis Grand Slam Champion, Rafael Nadal ended his career,
New York became the first US city to introduce a congestion charge of $9 for Manhattan's central business district,
A Bob Dylan biopic hit the theaters (I highly recommend it), and
Extreme Santa Ana winds caused wildfires across Los Angeles.
In only 72 days all of that, plus a lot more has happened globally. It really is amazing how time moves forward and things change so rapidly.
If you don’t stop to absorb it all in current time, it just flies on by past our radar and we forget about it until CNN does a new series called “The 2020’s”.
Baseball wise, Juan Soto and his Mother decided to take Steve Cohen’s money and the Dodgers continued to abuse the system by deferring more salaries and thus accumulating more talent.
The Yankees for that matter, have been very busy filling holes they already had, and the hole Soto’s departure left in the batting order.
We can debate ad nauseam whether we agree with the moves made or not, and who they still should pursue.
The bottom line is, it’s 10:00; do you know who your leadoff hitter is and who is on third (actually it was “I don’t know” at third base -- according to Abbott and Costello)?
In my book, the answer to both of those questions is, No.
As I have mentioned previously, playing Baseball at the MLB level is very difficult. Only a rare person has the athletic ability and God given talents to do so.
Finding the right mixture of players and building a system to develop players is also no walk in the park either.
Brian Cashman, because of his previous efforts and decisions, had several key moves to make and holes to fill.
He created this situation, and has to dig his way out since his boss has given him such a long leash.
Did he do so adequately? Are there more moves to be made? Or, has he left the 2025 Yankees with weaknesses and flaws?
Good questions. And only time will tell.
Nonetheless, instead of playing "the world according to..." Sal Licata or Evan Roberts and tell every GM what they should do (despite having no serious playing time in their lives), I thought it would be interesting to re-examine a piece of history that has also been erased by time.
Long before Bruce Springsteen’s connection to Asbury Park, NJ became part of pop culture, Asbury Park had another claim to fame that seems to have been lost in the annals of history.
Believe it or not, Asbury Park was once the host city for the Yankees Spring Training.
The year was 1943.
During World War II, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis instructed all teams to reduce travel costs and hold spring training north of the Potomac River and east of the Mississippi River.
All 16 Major League teams had to find new training facilities and locations that fit in with the Commissioner’s directive.
The Yankees chose Asbury Park.
Practices were held at the Asbury Park High School, and inside Convention Hall. The Yankees even held a promotion inside Convention Hall where batters tried to hit a ball off the 137-foot high roof, a sort of Home Run Derby.
Not sure if they did, but I’d like to see Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton give it a shot.
At that time, many MLB teams had star players serving our country overseas in the Military.
The Yankees were no different, as Joe DiMaggio and Phil Rizzuto were in the War.
In addition, a young minor leaguer named Lawrence Berra was in Europe also serving our Country. In Fact, “Yogi”, as he would soon become known as, was part of the D-Day operations on Normandy Beach, France on that fateful day of June 6, 1944.
So was my Uncle Italo, who then went on to be recruited by the recently declassified Ghost Army and fight at the Battle of the Bulge.
The Asbury Park training camp in 1943 had the “wartime lineup” that Manager Joe McCarthy would lead into the 1943 season.
The “wartime” team consisted of players such as right-handed pitcher Bill Zuber, lefty pitchers Marius Russo and Tommy Byrne, first baseman Nick Etten, shortstop George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss and outfielder Johnny Lindell.
The Yankees also had a couple of future Hall of Famers on that team, catcher Bill Dickey and second baseman Joe Gordon.
These veteran stars would continue Yankee tradition and lead the Yankees to a 98-56 record and a ticket to the 1943 World Series, where they matched off against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The “wartime” Yankees beat the “wartime” Cardinals in 5!
Following the 1943 Season the Yankees returned to the Jersey Shore for Spring Training, but moved further south down the Parkway to Atlantic City and trained there for 2 more years.
At the beginning of the 1945 season, military victory was imminent.
The Germans surrendered on May 7; Japan followed in September, and World War II was officially over.
In 1946 Judge Landis lifted his directive and Spring Training returned to the warmer southern states.
Spring Training at the Jersey Shore became a footnote.
In 1973 Bruce Springsteen brought it back to the public eye!
Stay warm folks, its only 32 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training!!
To the Fireman and First Responders in Southern California fighting those fires, our thoughts and prayers go out to you. Stay strong!
