New York Yankees: Weekend Regime Change

The retirement of long-standing veterans and an emergence of youth over the weekend may signal a new regime for the 27-time World Champion New York Yankees.

This weekend saw a few ceremonies that announced big changes for the New York Yankees’ storied franchise. From Alex Rodriguez, and his retirement on Friday, to Mariano Rivera and his enshrinement in Monument Park Sunday, we saw the “old guard” or regime taking their last bows and farewells at the old ballpark.

Sandwiched in between, we saw Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin announce their arrival in the Bronx in back-to-back fashion. On a bigger scale, we may have seen the new youth regime entering over the weekend.

For some of us New York fans, the last Yankees championship almost feels like a distant memory, 2009 to be specific.

While that might not be that long to most, it feels like an eternity for the 27-time World Champions. They’re conditioned to winning, and the team’s roster reads like a whos-who of Yankee greats from Jeter, Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada to Hideki Matsui, Rodriguez and the first years for Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia in the big apple.

World championship number 27 represented the swan song for the “Core Four” who brought the franchise five championships in 14 competitive seasons. A short time later, after watching Rodriguez’s retirement and the ceremony for Rivera’s addition to Monument Park, the Yankees are signaling the new regime.

History Always Repeats Itself

The Core Four entered in pretty similar conditions to the current situation. The Yankees were coming off a long stint of subpar seasons starting from the early 1980’s. They were overspending on free agents, which were not able to produce to the level needed whether it was due to age or attrition and ultimately this depleted the youth system.

By 1990, the Yankees finished the season with the worst record in the division and this ultimately began a rebuilding process that abandoned filling the roster with expensive free agents in favor of developing youthful talent.

Over the next few seasons, Buck Showalter gave more playing time to the younger players as the organization shifted to developing their minor leaguers. Among that group? Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte, and Bernie Williams. These young players, combined with key acquisitions represented a change to a newly developed regime that captured five championships over 14 seasons starting in 1996.

We find ourselves at a similar point now. Rodriguez was ushered out very unceremoniously, much like Dave Winfield, on Friday.

Next: Alex Rodriguez Most Memorable Moments In Yankees Career

By Saturday, we’re watching Judge and Austin establish themselves in the Bronx, not too different from how Jeter and the crew did all those years ago.

Combine the bright spots of the weekend with the assets acquired in the trade deadline deals for Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Carlos Beltran, and the parallels can be seen with the Core Four and now.

The Yankees were desperately in need of a regime change. They needed to dish out the old and bring in the new. If this weekend was any indication, the Yankees may have turned the page, and the new regime coming in will hopefully reign soon, and for years to come.