The New York Yankees and Ira Riklis

Like most of us, Ira Riklis is quite familiar with the many distinctive quips that have been spoken by Yankees great Yogi Berra. Last night in Los Angeles, the team proved one of his most famous quotes true. With the team behind 6-2 going into the top of the 9th, it seemed like all was lost. But fans who listened closely might have hear Yogi’s voice out there somewhere urging the Bronx Bombers on. “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” He once wisely pronounced. And on this night it was true.

The Dodgers tried to psych out Ira Riklis’ home-town heroes by having their closer, Jonathan Broxton, make a dramatic “Iron Man” entrance with three outs remaining. But Yankee batters remained unmoved, hammering Broxton for four runs in a 48-pitch inning, leaving the score tied. It didn’t stay that way for long. As Robinson Cano blasted a two-run homer in the 10th. Rivera closed out the game in the bottom of the 10th giving the Yankees an 8-6 victory. The win means the Yankees took two series on their western road trip, a nice feeling to head back east.

True Yankees fans like Ira Riklis will never forget Joe Torre, the manager who took them to 12 straight playoff appearances and 4 World Series Championships. Between 1996 and 2000, Torre managed the team through one of its greatest runs of all time even rivaling the teams that won 5 championships under the immortal Casey Stengel. Perhaps even more remarkable for those who love the game, he managed to do it in a way that made it hard to hate the Bronx Bombers, who were often reviled by jealous losers (that is to say all other Major League teams and fans) during many of their long periods of domination.

It’s been three years since former manager Joe Torre last wore Yankee pinstripes. It’s been that long since he’s even been on the same field as the same times as the Yankees. But that all ends this weekend in Los Angeles when Torre’s Dodgers host Ira Riklis’ favorite team. On the field, it will be business as usual, but for many fans as well, perhaps, the players and Joe himself, it might seem odd to be sitting in the other dugout.

Long-time Yankees fans like Ira Riklis still remember the 2001 World Series which the Bronx Bombers lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 7 at Chase Field in Phoenix. The D-backs stayed strong for several years after, while the Yankees struggled a bit in the ensuing years. That’s all changed in the past couple of years of course. The Yankees of course are the defending world champions, while the D-backs haven’t been the same since losing the 2007 National League Championship series.

Now Ira Riklis’ home-town heroes are back in Phoenix for an interleague series againt Arizona. It will be a hot time with temperatures above 100 during the day. But the Yankees are planning to enjoy themselves. Manager Joe Girardi noted, “It’s always great to see ballparks you don’t see a lot of… That can be fun. It’s what Interleague is.” It might not be as much fun for the D-backs who have one of the worst records in baseball so far this year. But going up against the Yankees—who have the best record—gives them a chance to test themselves and find out what they’re made of.

On Tuesday, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi was in Downtown New York to help unveil a new sidewalk marker commemorating the November 2009 ticker-tape parade honoring celebrated the team’s 2009 World Series Championship. Such parades have become iconic of victory of all sorts. There have been 204 of them down the so-called “Canyon of Heroes,” the stretch of Broadway from Battery park to Central Hall. Seven of those have been in celebration of Ira Riklis’ heroes, the Yankees, after winnig World Championships.

The first parade was held way back in 1886 to celebrate the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. Other parades, all marked by blizzards of ticker tape and confetti, have been held in honor of victories in World Wars. The Mets had a parade after their 1969 World Championship and the New York Giants baseball team had one right before they swept the Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series. The Yankees won seventeen other championships with being honored by a parade. But fans like Ira Riklis hope to see another parade this fall.

The midsummer classic—Baseball’s All-Star game—is coming up next month and voting is still going on. Yankees’ fans, such as Ira Riklis, are happy knowing their team will be well represented there. Manager Joe Girardi will pilot the American League squad, who will be this year’s home team. Hard-hitting shortstop Derek Jeter and second baseman Robinson Cano also seem likely to be there; both hold commanding leads in the voting to date. Both have made the All-Star list in years past.

Less certain, but still in the running, is first baseman Mark Teixeira. He made it onto the team last year with the help of a late surge in votes. Ira Riklis and other true-blue fans of the Bronx Bombers are hoping the same will happen this year. He encourages fans to take the time to vote for him. It will be great to see the Yankees’ great double-play combo of Jeter and Cano joined by Teixeira to make it a 6-4-3 triple header for the team!

Ira Riklis knows that hard work is the secret to success. Well, maybe it’s not a secret or the only thing that’s needed, but it’s certainly important and something that not everyone is willing to keep up. But some people have to work twice as hard as others. A case in point is switch-hitting Yankees Mark Teixeira. It’s hard enough to be a good hitter on one side, but it’s doubly hard to be able to hit effectively both right and left.

While Ira Riklis’ favorite team is off to a good start, Teixeira has struggled at the plate. And rather than just having to practice and adjust his swing from one side, he’s got to do it on both sides. He indicated how much of a struggle it was in a recent interview, saying:
“There are times where I might be feeling really good from one side of the plate, I might have five or six good at-bats in a row, and then I’ll switch over and feel completely lost.” It’s slow work and frustrating at times, but he hopes to soon regain the touch that earned him the single-season record for runs batted in by a switch-hitter.

As a successful businessman, Ira Riklis knows the importance of finding and developing new talent. Whatever profession you’re in, people move on to other opportunities or retire. This is especially true in the sports world, where the careers of even the best players can be ended suddenly by injuries or more slowly through aging and diminishing skills. One of the things that keeps the Yankees at the top of their game year after year is the attention they pay to developing new players through their farm system.

They’ll have a chance to select new players who may become the stars of the future at this year’s MLB draft which starts tomorrow. Of course, Ira Riklis’ favorite team will have to wait a while before they make their first selection. Being the defending world champions means 31 teams will get to pick before them. But their scouts have already done their jobs, so that when get their chance, they’ll go for the best available player.

Baseball fans like Ira Riklis will likely long debate an umpire’s call last night at Comerica Park in a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians. With two out in the ninth, Tiger’s pitcher Armando Galarraga—who needed one more out for a perfect game—enticed an Indians batter to hit a bouncing grounder to which first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded and tossed to Galarraga (who rushed to cover first base) for the clear out to end the game. Unfortunately, the out was clear to everyone except the one person who mattered—the first-base umpire who called the batter safe (and who later admitted he’d blown the call.

Fans everywhere are now wondering whether the call should be reversed and the perfect game awarded. For their part, the players and the umpire—who went out of his way to apologize to Galarraga—have handled the blown call graciously. For Yankees players and manager Joe Girardi, the question’s moot. Said Girardi, “He’s a very good umpire and works very hard at what he does. I feel bad for him today. That’s something you don’t really want your career marked by.” Ira Riklis would probably echo Derek Jeter’s comments on the matter. In his words about the umpire, Jeter said, “He’s one of the most respected and best umpires in the league. You feel bad for him, but he’s human. People are going to make mistakes.”