Yankees pay devilishly good visit to Obama
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President Obama on Monday welcomed the world champion New York Yankees to the White House and in the process lent his popularity to the team whose routine victories once made them the brunt of devilish humor.
The Yankees were so associated with winning that envy and jealousy were routine in baseball circles. The vision was so commonplace that beating the Yankees became a crusade and the backdrop for a 1950-ish re-telling of how to make a pact with the devil. It came complete with Broadway-style music and the type of reverence for the sport that was common before big contracts, big media and (say it softly), performance enhancing substances.
Obama, a noted Chicago White Sox fan, put all that aside on Monday as he praised the team and its rainbow of stars. Before hitting the White House, the Yankees visited the war wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
“That’s what makes the Yankees special,” Obama said in televised remarks. ”It’s not simply the names on the roster or the size of their trophy case -– it’s the people underneath the pinstripes that set this team apart. It’s the players and coaches who shoulder a legacy unlike any other, but who share a belief that anybody blessed with first-class talent also has an obligation to be a first-class person.
“That’s what being a Yankee is all about. That’s why I want to congratulate this team –- for winning the World Series, and for showing every young person what it means to be a true professional.”
Last fall’s win was the 27th title for the fabled franchise, which still calls the Bronx home – and who wouldn’t after the construction of $1.5-billion palace of sports venues? The Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies in autumn in six games.
Monday’s visit was the fifth for the Yankees big guns, including captain Derek Jeter, whose World Series bling fills a fistful of pride. Their string of presidential greetings include Bill Clinton in the 1990s, George W. Bush in 2001 and Obama.
“It’s hard to imagine baseball without the long line of legends who’ve worn the pinstripes,” Obama said. “But what people tend to forget -– especially after watching their teams lose -– is that being a Yankee is as much about character as it is about performance; as much about who you are as what you do.”
Faust would have understood.
--Michael Muskal
