Brett Gardner Set to Bring Old School Baseball Back to Yankees

There was a time in Major League Baseball where you had to think your way through an at-bat. The greats of the game were not the only ones to deliver the knock out punch and a sacrifice was not a form of punishment. Bunts were much more common, as was taking the extra base on a single when the outfielder was not paying attention. Young New York Yankee Brett Gardner is a throwback of this kind and he is bringing his game to the Pinstripes in 2010.

In the American League, the game is all about the huge inning. Who can hit the longest home run and score the most before the nine innings are up? Brett Gardner is from the school of moving over runners to score that one run that you need to win a ball game, playing solid defense by patrolling a large area in the outfield and sacrificing your stats to ensure the ball club gets a win. It almost seems ironic that he ended up with the Yankees.

There is another Yankee that has a similar outlook named Derek Jeter. You might have heard from him. He has made a legendary Yankee career by employing those same principles. Gardner and Jeter will bat close together in the 2010 Yankee lineup as Gardner will be batting ninth and Jeter of course is usually near the top of the lineup. This combination of players might actually turn the Yankees into (Gasp!) ...an old school lineup. Manufacturing runs through bunts, hit and runs and stolen bases has not really been the Yankees thing in recent years. Not as an every game occurrence.

Brett Gardner is a young man that does all of the basics well. He is a fantastic bunter and often uses this skill to reach base much like some of the old schoolers. He is lightening fast and steals come in bunches for the young man. In the outfield, he is like a deer. He seems to reach every gapper that comes into his zip code. He is a natural center fielder but it is beginning to look like the Yankees may put him in left field for now. No doubt that is partly due to the Big Green Monster in Fenway. Someone has to chase those balls down, so it might as well be your fastest player.

Regardless of where he plays, Brett Gardner will bring back memories of a day when playing the game was more about team. With Jeter and a few others, Gardner might just be the glue that puts the Yankees right back in the Championship seats they are accustomed to. He is that talented and that good.