Alex Rodriguez has been going through a slight crisis of confidence lately, but fortunately he's in the perfect place to overcome that: New York, home to the greatest and most supportive fans in the world. Thanks to their famed nurturing ways, they'll have the league's best player back to his old self before the trade deadline!
Many players struggle when they switch teams, but Yankees fans help ease the transition. "If you've made it anywhere, you can make it here" is the unofficial motto in the Bronx. Here, fans appreciate and respect what a player has achieved elsewhere in the past and they know that it's 60 feet, 6 inches from the mound to home plate and 90 feet between the bases at Yankee Stadium, just like in Seattle and Texas. That's why they understand that all Alex needs is a little time and support before he comes through big, just like he did in Texas, when he personally carried the Rangers on his back each September and saw to it that they only finished 31 games out of first place instead of 32 or 32½.
And as far as not feeling worthy to play with such a storied franchise? That might be a problem in Pittsburgh, but not here. Fans believe a player becomes a true Yankee as soon as he pulls on the pinstripes -- if not even earlier when he holds his first press conference -- and they always cheer him as loudly as if he had won four World Series with them. "We wouldn't have beaten the Twins in the 2004 Division Series without you!" is a frequent cry when A-Rod takes the field.
Never is heard a discouraging word in the Bronx. Fans know that the worst thing you can do for a slumping player is to put even more pressure on him by booing him. They take it as a personal responsibility to get him back on track. So instead of heckling a player, Yankees fans only yell encouraging things like, "That's OK. We'll get them next time," or "Relax, it's just a game," and "As long as you try your hardest, you'll always be our hero." These cheers are so effective that Tony Robbins uses tapes of them in his self-affirmation seminars, while author Robert Fulghum is working on a new book: "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Bleacher Section 39."
Yankees fans also have memories so long they would embarrass an elephant. The attitude might be, "What have you done for me lately?" in so many cities, but not in New York. Here, it's, "It's OK if you went 0-for-October because we remember all you did for us in April. And we also remember that big series you had in 2004 against the Royals, too."
But it's not surprising fans are so understanding when they have the benefit of the famously supportive New York media, which goes out of its way to focus only on the positive. The New York tabloids don't even print the standings when the Yankees aren't in first place, so as not to discourage the players. Rodriguez will try to take responsibility for a disappointing performance, but the reporters will have none of it. "Awww, the sun was in your eyes, Alex," they'll say after he makes a bad throw. Or, "That SOB must be on steroids to get you out, A-Rod," after a strikeout in the clutch. Or when they see Rodriguez looking downhearted by his locker after a loss, they'll come up and say, "Geez, we don't know how you're able to play at all with the way the government taxes you, poor guy," and then offer to buy him a beer and cheer him up.
Naturally, the YES Network is equally supportive. Every team's broadcasters emphasize the positive, but the YES Network has taken that to a new extreme with A-Rod this season. Instead of showing his modest ".278, 21 HR, 72 RBI" numbers, they show ".300, 57 HR, 142 RBI" with only the smallest of asterisks indicating that those numbers are from 2003. Rather than harp on his low average in late-inning/close-game situations, they help by saying, "This is the man Yankees fans want up at the plate most with the game on the line because he's due."
The man setting the tone, of course, is owner George Steinbrenner, aka Mr. Positive. He knows A-Rod is a proven winner and a true Yankee who will break out of this funk and return to his status as the league's best player. And if not? It's not that big a deal, according to the Boss. The important thing is that A-Rod is enjoying himself.
Granted, Steinbrenner and Yankees fans can afford to be patient, content in the knowledge that even if A-Rod doesn't snap out of it, they can all enjoy another All-Star third baseman playing across town for a division champ. As long as one New York team is winning, that's all that really matters to Yankees fans.
