Why is Joey Gallo still being asked about his horrible tenure with Yankees?
Why do we need more and more quotes about how depressing this was for everybody?
Joey Gallo isn't an All-Star. The New York Yankees aren't scheduled to face the Minnesota Twins. The 2023 MLB season has birthed countless interesting topics for the media and fans to talk about. So why is anybody still alluding to Gallo's run of disgrace in the Bronx?
How did this come up? Who is asking for this story? Who wants to read about this topic for the 10th time in the span of a year?
Gallo was a terrible Yankee. In fact, an all-time worst Yankee. And fans had a really awful time watching him. Fans felt bad for him, too, because they knew was he was experiencing was 100 times worse than what they were.
We already know how jarring it was for Gallo to become a pariah almost instantaneously upon his arrival in New York. It was even more troubling for everybody to cope with because he grew up a Yankees fan.
Gallo registered a -0.1 WAR in his 140 games with the Yankees. He hit an impossible .159/.291/.368 with 65 runs scored, 25 homers, 46 RBI, 194 strikeouts, 77 walks and an 85 OPS+. He completely forgot how to play defense. Again, why do we need to be reminded of it?
Here's what Gallo told Dan Martin of the New York Post:
I really grew up a Yankee fan, and all I wanted to do was play for the Yankees. I think part of it, not that it was a problem, but I wanted so badly to do well there.
I’ll probably never have a chance to play for the Yankees again. That was my opportunity, and now I’m known as the guy who [f–king] sucked for the Yankees. That part is tough, and I have to live with that for the rest of my career and the rest of my life, really.
It's more of the same we've read previously, just in different context. Was the resurrection of this story really in response to Yankees top prospect Clayton Beeter making the Futures Game? If so, we should be celebrating the fact the Yankees managed to recoup any value for Gallo after trading FOUR prospects for him rather than re-live his struggles that very well emulate what the 2023 Yankees are doing right now without Aaron Judge.
It's sad. For as angry as fans were, they were also upset for Gallo. Everyone wanted this to work. The Gallo and Rizzo memes were a blast when they both arrived in the Bronx. Would've been fun if they could've been utilized for longer than a month.
But for as much as fans feel for Gallo, they certainly don't need any more of this. He's moved on, the Yankees have moved on, that's the end of it. Though not much has changed for either party, that doesn't mean this particular chapter of recent baseball history needs to be regurgitated constantly within the calendar year.