Yankees: Brian Cashman Offers Fatherly Advice To His Baby Bombers

The Yankees have a built-in tradition of being rather stoic when it comes to the behavior of their players. Colin Kaepernick would not last thirty seconds as a Yankee, or any other major league team for that matter. And just in case there was any question about it, Brian Cashman recently delivered a veiled message to the team.

The Yankees are typical of Major League Baseball when it comes to displays of political preferences on the part of their employees – i.e. players. And recently, Reggie Jackson went off the reservation a bit in talking about his ties to Donald Trump, but because he’s Reggie Jackson and inactive as a player, it was let go and went largely unnoticed.

“The higher on the tree the monkey climbs, the more you see of his ass. So if you’re going to choose to climb that tree, you’re putting your ass out there” (Brian Cashman)

And in contrast to the NFL and the NBA, where barely a week goes by, and one player or another isn’t garnering headlines that appear on the front pages of newspapers instead of the back pages reserved for sports, Major League Baseball has remained insulated and on the sidelines from these digressions away from the playing field. And that’s a good thing.

Two Sides Of The Coin

Professional athletes, for the most part, are also citizens of the United States. And with that comes the rights granted to all by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

And generally, political activism off the field is treated with the respect from ballclubs it deserves. Some professional athletes, for instance, took their support for Donald Trump public during the recent presidential campaign. Clay Bucholtz, Johnny Damon, were both active in varying degrees. And even one former Yankees name appeared:

Paul O’Neill, the former Yankee, is at this Trump press conference. He is a big Trump supporter he says

— Ben Terris (@bterris) March 9, 2016

The reverse side, though, occurs when political activism makes its way into the stadium or arena during a game. Professional athletes in this setting are also employees, and this means that

management has the right to set guidelines for behavior that its employees are expected to follow. When an athlete deviates, we get the controversy that followed in the wake of a demonstration put on, for instance, by Colin Kaepernick.

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman Weighs In

For the most part, Brian Cashman takes a stance similar to a good dad in which he warns his players about the slippery slope they engage in when they go political.

Because once you put yourself out there, there’s no turning back. You may recall, for example, the saga of the former Braves pitcher, John Rocker, who made some off-handed and insulting racial references that. Later, he compounded by adding to his remarks. Public scrutiny and disgust, eventually, forced him out of baseball.

Writing for NJ.com, Joe Giglio quotes Cashman:

"“The platform of the baseball player is a very powerful one,” Cashman said. “It’s a free country, and you can always utilize that platform whenever you so choose. But just know, when you choose to do so, what the potential ramifications are.”“There’s a quote,” Cashman said. “The higher on the tree the monkey climbs, the more you see of his ass. So if you’re going to choose to climb that tree, you’re putting your ass out there. So I think you just educate everyone on dealing with the media. And you’re educated to know the waters you’re choosing to swim in. It doesn’t mean you have the ‘Don’t swim’ sign. It just means, ‘Caution, no lifeguard.'”"

Caution, no lifeguard. Cashman’s words of wisdom should hopefully make sense, especially with the younger players in camp now and throughout their farm system.

In essence, the message to these young men is simple. You have an opportunity that most others would die for – to play for the New York Yankees. Don’t blow it and don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

If you choose to, you can follow the example Jim Bunning, the former Phillies pitcher and a member of the Baseball Hall Of Fame, who retired from baseball and went on to have a long and distinguished second career in the United States Senate.

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Good job, Brian.