Making Old Timers' Day Better

By Paul Semendinger

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NOTE - This article was written for the IBWAA and was published in their daily newsletter Here's The Pitch on August 30, 2024.

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Imagine having direct, first-hand access to a host of living former All-Stars such as Bobby Richardson, Al Downing, Chris Chambliss, Mickey Rivers, Ron Davis, Dave Righetti, Steve Sax, Roberto Kelly, Mike Stanley, David Wells, Scott Brosius, Mike Stanton, Robin Ventura, Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, Tom Gordon, Javier Vazquez, Mark Teixeira, Phil Hughes, Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Andrew Miller, and Dellin Betances. 

All of those players all suited up, as New York Yankees, for the American League in the All-Star Game (over many seasons).  

But none of them were present at the Yankees’ annual Old Timer's Day in 2024.

Also imagine, having the following borderline Hall of Famers, all players who added significantly (if not exclusively) to their Hall of Fame cases, as part of your team's great history:  Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry, Graig Nettles, Tommy John, and Don Mattingly.  

Those players were also absent from Old Timers' Day in 2024.  

In addition, there are many great ballplayers who are considered Hall of Fame worthy who were Yankees, if only briefly.  This list includes Luis Tiant, Kevin Brown, Kenny Lofton, Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltran, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones, and the-soon-to-be-voted-in Ichiro Suzuki.  

Adding to this great list of baseball players are a number of current Hall of Famers each of whom made cameos with the Yankees during their distinguished careers.  That list includes Bobby Cox, Jim Kaat, Lee Smith, Randy Johnson, Ivan Rodriguez, and Tim Raines.

And, finally, there are numerous living Hall of Famers who spent significant time with the Yankees in their careers including Reggie Jackson, Rich Gossage, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, and Mike Mussina.

Those are remarkable lists of great baseball players.  All of those players have direct ties to the New York Yankees.  

And yet none of them were present at Old Timers' Day.

I find that problematic.  

To me, Old Timers' Day should be a day to celebrate the entirety of a team's history.  While time can (and should) be spent recognizing special teams, as the 2009 World Champions were honored this year, the team must also reach out and bring back as many stars as they can. 

Sadly, for the last many years, some of the greatest Yankees, some of their biggest stars, have not been present for this annual event.  And that's a shame.  And, quite bluntly, it's wrong.  

Old Timers' Day should be the one day each year when the franchise brings the greatest from their history together.  For whatever reason, the Yankees of today do not seem to do this. These Yankees seem to close the doors to so many on the day they purport to celebrate the team's great history.  

Old Timers' Day should be inclusive.  The great Yankees should be invited back and welcomed instead of excluded.

It is through Old Timer's Day that fans of all ages should get to see the heroes they saw in their childhoods, but that seems to happen less and less each year.  

Sadly, in addition, many of the players listed above are well-advanced in years.  While they are still with us, the team should go out of its way to recognize and remember them — and allow each of those players a few more moments to hear the cheers, the applause, the love and adulation from their fans.  

In addition to welcoming back all of the greatest and most legendary alumni, the Yankees should also take time at Old Timers' Day to add a worthy player or two to Monument Park.  I have made the case, many times, that players such as Roy White (among others listed above) belong there.  It is wrong that they have been excluded for so long.  

The Yankees can and must do a much better job with Old Timer's Day — the one day each year they seek to honor their history.  All it takes is a little forethought, great planning, and some compassion for the players who made the franchise what it is today.  

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Paul Semendinger is the author of a host of books including From Compton to the Bronx (with Roy White), The Least Among Them, and Scattering the Ashes.  Paul runs the Yankees site Start Spreading the News and is still playing baseball today, chasing his dream of one day being a Yankee and an Old Timer himself (even though he is older than many of the current old timers).