Yankee lore: Remembering McCann’s toe

Peter Max is a long-time fan of New York sports teams. In fact, every time he gets together with friends, he loves talking about all the legends and lore that surround the Knicks and Yankees as much as he loves talking about current news about these organizations.

Image source: espn.com

Image source: thenypost.com

On this blog, Peter Max recounts one of his favorite more recent Yankees stories – Brian McCann’s toe.

The world sees Brian McCann as a tough guy, especially after discovering that he not only played but excelled with a swollen left toe. Any baseball player will tell you that it’s darn near impossible. But McCann did it, and he did it splendidly.

Throughout the season, McCann has been a force to be reckoned with, being on base in 13 of 22 plate showings. He has reached base without incident twice in the five games he played in and even led the league with a jaw-dropping .591 on-base percentage. He tied the great Yogi Berra as a catcher to score 10 runs in six games.

But even with all the accomplishments, it was his effort despite having injured his left big toe that people will likely remember. A foul tip hit his toe, and yet he still managed to reach home base and tie the game. McCann refused to quit and helped the Yankees get their fourth win five games.

Could Aaron Judge Be The Next Big Yankee?

Image source: nymag.com

Aaron Judge seems to have filled the hole that Derek Jeter left after the latter’s retirement in 2014. A giant of a man, Judge stands 6’7 and weighs a whopping 282 pounds. He could have been a professional football player or even a forward in basketball. But as fate would have it, he’s with the greatest professional sports team in American history – the New York Yankees.

Judge’s rookie season was phenomenal. He set the record for home runs by a rookie at a staggering 52. He also hit 33 homers in Yankee stadium, breaking Babe Ruth’s record by a single home run. But most impressively, Judge became the first rookie in professional baseball history to lead the league in homers, runs, and walks. His dominant showing in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby was the icing on the cake.

Image source: bigplay.com

After his rookie season, Judge was unanimously named the American League Rookie of the Year. He was second behind Jose Altuve in the American League Most Valuable Player voting because of a slump in the latter part of the season.

Sportswriters and baseball experts predict that Judge will in a year or two win the MVP and perhaps even lead the Yankees back to baseball glory.

My name is Peter Max, and I’m a sports management student with dreams of being a known agent to star athletes. I’m from New York and a big fan of the teams of the city. Read more about New York teams here.