The New York Yankees and Ira Riklis

Back in baseball’s earlier days, pitchers went the distance more often than not, staying in for all nine innings. But as the sport has evolved, so have pitching strategies. Middle relievers step in to handle mid-game situations, specialty pitchers are called in to handle specific batters and late relievers help finish off games. But as baseball fans like Ira Riklis know, it’s the team’s closer who’s called in to seal the deal by saving the game.

And when it comes to closers, the Bronx Bombers have one of the best in the business. Since he joined the team in 1995, Mariano Rivera has gone on to become a ten-time All-Star and a three-time saves leader. Last summer he recorded his 500th save, a level reached by only one other pitcher. He’s played a key role in the team’s success over the years, especially in the glory years of the late ‘90s. He’s earned five championship rings with the Yankees, and Ira Riklis anticipates Mo will garner more saves—and perhaps another ring—in 2010.

As befits a team that has won far more championships than any other in baseball, the New York Yankees have had their fare share, and more, of legendary players. Fans such as Ira Riklis can debate about their favorites (you can vote for yours on the Yankees website, which has a feature where readers pick the top nine Yankees of all time), but there’s no doubt that today’s teams are still producing new legends.

One of these is Derek Jeter. One of the best players in baseball, he set a team record for all-time hits this past September. His single to lead off the third inning of a rain-delayed home game marked his 2,722nd hit, pushing him past Yankee great Lou Gehrig. But fans like Ira Riklis know that Jeter’s stats tell just part of the story of his greatness. It’s his leadership and intangibles like making the right defensive play at the right time, or getting a hit just when it’s needed most that have made him such an iconic Yankee, a legend in the making.

Just two days after members of the New York Yankees visited the Dominican Republic with the World Series championship trophy, neighboring Haiti was devastated in a major earthquake. Players and coaches of Ira Riklis’ favorite team visited the Dominican Republic in a symbolic gesture honoring the many Dominicans who have played for the team over the years. While the small island country has been a major pipeline of talent for Major League Baseball, the visit marked the first time any organization had made such a gesture.

Now, with tens, or perhaps hundreds, of thousands of people feared dead in Haiti following the quake, the Yankees have made another gesture of support, donating a half-million dollars to support rescue and relief efforts there. The donation reflects the beliefs of the team’s ownership group that both the organization and its players should set high standards as role models in society. The adherence to these values is just one of the many reasons Ira Riklis is such a big fan.

The attention of most sports fans right now is focused on the football playoffs, professional basketball and hockey and the upcoming Winter Olympics. Die-hard baseball fans are keeping an eye out for trades made by their favorite teams as they patiently wait for the new season to begin. Most players are still enjoying the off-season. But for a few players and coaches for Ira Riklis’ New York Yankees, next year is here!

Hitting coach Kevin Long has already on the road (or perhaps more accurately, in the air) traveling to meet with players like Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson to help them perfect their swings far in advance of the official opening of spring training late next month. His goal is to coach them on what to expect from pitchers, work on their weak areas and build a team-oriented hitting core ready and able to help propel Ira Riklis’ Bronx Bombers to the World Series again next year.

Baseball great Rogers Hornsby, who holds the record for the highest batting average for a right-handed hitter in major league baseball, one said: “People ask me what I do in the winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” Those were simpler times, of course. These days, few of us have the time to sit and stare out the window. As a busy businessman, Ira Riklis certainly doesn’t. And likely few players these days do, either.

But lovers of the sport, like Ira Riklis, still feel that sense of anticipation as they wait for the new season to begin. It’s a little hard to image in the short, cold days of early January, but there are really just a few more weeks of waiting left. Spring training begins in mid-February. And the first game, March 3 against the Pirates at Steinbrenner Stadium in Tampa, is less than two months away!

Here it is a new year and much of the country lies under a blanket of colder than usual weather. The north-central states are keeping an eye out for any possible blizzards that might blow their way. In New York City, where Ira Riklis lives, temperatures won’t break above freezing for several more days, and new snow’s expected. And down south in Florida, citrus and strawberry growers are doing all they can to protect their crops from freezing at night.

But things will be different a little over a month from now, especially in Florida. No one knows just what the weather will be like, but on February 17, pitchers and catchers for Ira Riklis’ home-town heroes, the New York Yankees will gather in Tampa to begin training for the 2010 season. The full team will join them a few days later and the Grapefruit league will soon be in full swing!

In baseball, as in every other sport, things change from season to season. Players and coaches retire—or get fired. Players get traded in the interest of shoring up some other part of the lineup, to make way for (what managers hope will be) up-and-coming talent or in the interest of balancing the bottom line. This is equally true for teams in the basement, or teams like the Yankees who are coming off championship years. (And Ira Riklis can tell you that the same things happen in the world of business as well.)

The Yankees have already made a number of key moves in terms of players for the 2010 season. Some stars from last year are gone, new stars (or so the team hopes) have been signed. But one thing that won’t change for Ira Riklis’ Bronx Bombers is the coaching staff. Joe Girardi has another year left on his contract. And following a championship season, the team is holding onto all its position coaches as well.

Die-hard Yankee fans like Ira Riklis might have taken a moment or two this past Christmas Day to remember that it was on that day twenty years ago that former Yankee player and manager Billy Martin died in a tragic automobile accident. Martin was, no doubt, a firebrand who raised his share of controversy. But he was also a true-blue Yankee to the end.

As a player, he never had the same level of talent as contemporaries like Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and other Yankee greats of the time. But he did have memorable moments, like a .333 World Series batting average and a game-saving catch against the Dodgers in ’52. As a manager, he won 1,253 games, two American Leagues pennants and the World Series title in 1977. And when the team retired his number in a ceremony at Yankee Stadium, he told the fans: “I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I am the proudest.” And it’s that Yankee pride that makes Ira Riklis such a devoted fan.