November 19, 2024
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This week, we posed the following to our writers:
If you were making a football team from Yankees players (past and/or present), name who would have play the following positions:
Quarterback:
Running Back:
Wide Receiver:
Defensive Line:
Linebacker:
Corner Back:
Place Kicker:
Head Coach:
Here are their responses:
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Lincoln Mitchell:
Quarterback: Joe DiMaggio
Running Back: Reggie Jackson
Wide Receiver: Mickey Rivers
Defensive Line: Aaron Judge, Hank Bauer, Clete Boyer
Linebacker: Billy Martin
Corner Back: Bernie Williams
Place Kicker: Sparky Lyle
Head Coach: Casey Stengel
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Paul Semendinger:
Quarterback: (Can I have John Elway?) Jake Gibbs
Running Back: Rickey Henderson
Wide Receiver: Tim Raines
Defensive Line: Aaron Judge, Glenallen Hill, Darryl Strawberry
Linebacker: Lou Gehrig
Corner Back: Deion Sanders
Place Kicker: Dave Kingman (I have no idea why, I just see him being able to kick a ball a mile)
Head Coach: George Halas
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Ethan Semendinger:
Quarterback: Drew Henson (though I want Russell Wilson, who struck out for the Yankees in a spring training game)
Running Back: Hinkey Haines (of legendary fame in The Least Among Them)
Wide Receiver: Ichiro Suzuki
Defensive Line: Aaron Judge, Dave Winfield (if the Vikings can draft him with no college experience, that's good enough for me), and Kyle Farnsworth (Yes. I'm serious about Farnsworth.)
Linebacker: David Robertson (NOBODY showed more hustle than him on this play.)
Corner Back: Darryl Strawberry (his punch in that Orioles brawl shows me he could punch out a football, easily, on a wide receiver)
Place Kicker: Paul O'Neill (For obvious reasons)
Head Coach: Chuck Dressen (he was a Yankees coach for a few years, and was a quarterback for the Decatur Staley's)
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Mike Whiteman:
Quarterback: Derek Jeter
Running Back: Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson
Wide Receiver: Bernie Williams, Brett Gardner
Defensive Line: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton
Linebacker: Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada
Corner Back: Willie Randolph, Mickey Rivers
Place Kicker: Mariano Rivera
Head Coach: Joe Girardi
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Ed Botti:
Quarterback: Derek Jeter, was there a better leader?
Running Back: Rickey Henderson (half back), Mickey Mantle (Full back)
Wide Receiver: Dave Winfield, Bernie Williams
Defensive Line: (4-3 Defense) CC Sabathia, Dellin Betances, Cecil Fielder, Jose Canseco
Linebacker: Aaron Judge, Thurman Munson, Tyler Austin
Corner Back: Deion Sanders, Slade Heathcott
Place Kicker: Paul O’Neill (kicked the ball well in Cincinnati!)
Head Coach: George Steinbrenner (his football mentality never left him)
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Cary Greene:
QB: Derek Jeter
RB: Mickey Mantle, Rickey Henderson
FB: Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson
WR: Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Rivers, Bernie Williams
DL: Chris Chambliss, Giancarlo Stanton, Babe Ruth, Moose Skowron, Jason Giambi
LB: Brett Gardner, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard , Graig Nettles, A-Rod
CB: Roy White, Bobby Murcer, Paul O'Neill, Roger Maris
Place Kicker: Phil Rizzuto
Head Coach: Casey Stengel
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Andrew Hefner:
Quarterback: Dave Winfield
Running Back: Brett Gardner
Wide Receiver: Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio
Defensive Line: Giancarlo Stanton
Linebacker: Lou Gehrig
Corner Back: Jazz Chisholm
Place Kicker: Paul O'Neill
Head Coach: Deion Sanders
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Andy Singer:
Quarterback: Alex Rodriguez (athleticism, a gun for an arm, and an instinctive athlete)
Running Back: Mickey Mantle (an all-around great athlete with speed and power)
Wide Receiver: Rickey Henderson, Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge (speed in the slot and a red zone threat!)
Defensive Line: Giancarlo Stanton, CC Sabathia (obvious reasons)
Linebacker: Tommy Kahnle, Aroldis Chapman, Kyle Farnsworth (Kahnle is a froth-at-the-mouth linebacker, Chapman's a physical specimen, and Farnsworth can hit and actually played semi-pro football!)
Corner Back: Deion Sanders, Jazz Chisholm, Bernie Williams (a real HOF corner and two guys with determination to stick on someone else)
Place Kicker: Mike Mussina (rumor has it that he kicked a 60-yard field goal in high school and had an offer to kick for Penn State)
Head Coach: Joe Girardi (the temperament, intensity, and attention to detail make this a good fit)
2 points for Paul
for selecting Oneonta's Elway
Paul, the problem with Kingman is that while he could kick it a mile, most of the times he'd just swing his leg and miss the ball. He's more Charlie Brown than Tom Dempsey.