Yankees Mess with a Winning Streak

Matt Lewis | September 22, 2008 5:25 PM

Crash Davis, the Kevin Costner character from the classic baseball film "Bull Durham" famously quipped: "a player on a streak has to respect the streak."

Well, the same could be said of a team on a streak. And with Yankee Stadium hosting its last baseball game this past Sunday, I can't help but feel the move is an example of hubris. After all, the Yankees didn't enjoy their unprecedented success until moving into "The House that Ruth Built" in 1923 The many Yankee Dynasties and World Series Championships (26, to be exact) speak for themselves. ... Sure the building is in need of major repairs, but why let a few creaks and cracks mess with the greatest "winning streak" in baseball history?

... Of course, some will say this is not tradition, but rather, pure superstition. They will argue in favor of modernism, and that a team must "keep up with the times." Others, seem to believe they can merely transfer their good fortune to a new location.

Derek Jeter's famous line from 2006 that "the ghosts from the old place would simply move across the street" may -- or may not -- pan out. But even Jeter seems to be admitting there is something special about the place that he has called home for more than a decade.

Why am I among those who believe the move is unwise? Conservatives, by nature, value tradition, and though I'm certainly not a Yankees fan, count me among the traditionalists who thinks it's unwise to mess with a winning streak. The Yankees' good fortune over the years has been nothing short of amazing. They should respect the streak ...