TwitterBobby Meacham
30 Oct 2007
Want a quick and easy way to see if someone in their 30′s or older is a real Yankees’ fan? Say the name Bobby Meacham to them. If they stare at you blankly, they are not a real fan. If they say to you, "the guy who tried to hold back Milton Bradley a few weeks ago?", they know their baseball, but not their Yankees. If they start shuddering at the very mention of the name, they are a true Yankees’ fan.
For those of you who are too young to remember, Bobby Meacham was the starting shortstop for the 1985 Yankees, probably the best team of the Mattingly era and the one that fell two games short of the division title. (Sadly, we didn’t have a wild card then) Those two games were probably due to Bobby Meacham and the psychological damage he caused to this writer was immense. The guy simply couldn’t play. He would strikeout in a big spot or make a huge error. For the record, Meacham hit .218/.302/.266- yes a .266 slugging percentage and made 24 errors. Why the Yankees didn’t do anything to upgrade that position is still one of the greatest frustrations of my years as a fan.
Why do I bring this up? Because Peter Abraham is reporting that Bobby Meacham is going to be the Yankees ‘ third base coach next season. I am sure he is a nice man, but the scars of 1985 run deep and I can only hope he is a much better coach than he was a player. One thing is for sure, the Yankees have to re-sign Posada now because I think a lot of us couldn’t handle seeing Bobby Meacham wearing #20 again.
Oct 31, 2007 @ 08:29:36
wow, that has to be right up there with the Sox announcing this morning that Bill Buckner is going to join the Sox staff as a special assistant and fielding coach….gotcha
Oct 31, 2007 @ 08:53:10
Yes I remember him. And really old Yankee fans will shudder when I utter the name of Bobby Meacham’s patron saint: Phil Linz.
That 1985 team, and all those teams after 1981 just did not have the pitching. As the 1968 Tigers proved, you can win with anyone at short so long as you have the horses on the mound. We’ve been re-learning that lesson the last few years.
The Yanks should, then, hang tough and develop their young pitchers. Pressing the panic button and trying to win it all every year will keep them in the cold for another decade. How about adopting a three year plan that gets them to the Series in 2010?
Oct 31, 2007 @ 09:07:36
Poor Bill Buckner….
Corey- I think you are right on. What the Yankees need to figure out is how to get some more young batsinto the lineup.