The Yankees 2016 P.R. Scenario

Everyone knows the Yankees have a public relations problem year in and year out. They’re the Yankees, they should. Having a franchise worth 3.2 billion dollars and a city like New York, it’s bound to happen. Add in the great ingredient of winning tradition with high ticket prices, the cherry is on top. Simply, it really is playoffs or bust, and to some, World Series or bust. This year, there are multiple public relation issues I am interested to see how the Yankees handle.

Alex Rodriguez: This is ALWAYS a problem, good or bad. A-Rod has drama, rumors and honestly success, whenever he talks or takes the field. The Yankees honored him in the clubhouse with tying Willie Mays on the all-time home run list (fittingly at Fenway Park over the Monster) and then breaking it in May against the Orioles. They then marketed his 3,000th hit, which was in June against the Tigers. A-Rod, as we all know, was a huge question coming into the 2015 season and he delivered. This year, the Yankees have to hope he stays healthy. The real problem is, what if he passes Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list this year? He only needs 28 more home runs to do so. Willie Mays is a legend. Arguably the best 5-tool player of all-time. But Babe Ruth is a Yankees legend. How will the team honor or even market that?

Aroldis Chapman and Starlin Castro: Ah, the two new Yankees picked up by trades this offseason. First, we will start with Chapman. We all know the allegations against him have been dropped, but MLB will probably drop the hammer by suspending him for violating the new domestic violence rules MLB and the MLBPA have installed. Starlin Castro, back in 2012, was investigated for sexual assault in his homeland of the Dominican Republic, but the case was dropped. There have been rumors about people protesting the Yankees choice to trade for Chapman by local Bronx councils. Can you imagine having people with signs outside of Gate 4 or on River Avenue protesting about Chapman?

$0: The Yankees. Yes, The New York Yankees, have not spent a single dollar in guaranteed major league contracts this offseason. If the team fails to at least make the postseason, the casual fan or even the diehard fan will be extremely annoyed with the Yankees front office. I personally see what direction the Yankees are heading (young, cost controllable assets), but some fans still have “The Boss” mentality within them. Can’t you see Yankees Twitterverse in late September if the Yankees aren’t in the playoff hunt referring to the offseason where $0 were spent? I can.

New York Mets: All the hype in New York this offseason is surrounding the New York Mets. I can’t wrap my head around this one. Yes, you sign Yoenis Cespedes, but he can opt out after one year. He also did not produce in the playoffs and did most of his damage against sub .500 teams. No, this isn’t college sports so disregard strength of schedule, but my point remains.  You trade for Neil Walker and sign Asdrubal Cabrera and Alejandro De Aza and now you’re the Mets of ‘86? Stop. The pitching rotation is great, but I can’t stand baseball fans saying the Mets are THAT much better than the Yankees. Let’s see how the Yankees handle little brother.

Ellsbury and Girardi: We all know the drama between this two after the A.L. Wild Card game and fans aren’t too high on the Ellsbury contract. Can they patch it up? For the Yankees clubhouse sake, let’s hope so.

These are some of the unique situations I thought about for the Yankees P.R. road in 2016. I’m sure there are many more stories we can think of to add to this list, so if you have any more storylines, post them in the comments, or send us a tweet.

Article by: Tom Cronin

Follow me on Twitter: @TomCronin161

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