That last story made me nauseous after writing about it, so I had to look up a more heart-warming story. And I found one.
And this is yet another reason why I LOVE THE YANKEES.
You can read the full story on the Wall Street Journal's page, and I highly recommend you do that, because it almost made me cry, but here's a summary:
Kevin Long, the hitting coach for the Yankees, is good friends with Ron Johnson, the 1st base coach for the Red Sox. Johnson was Long's manager in the 90's, and he also helped him get his first coaching job after his playing career ended. Last year, Johnson's daughter lost her leg in an accident, and the family couldn't keep up with the medical expenses, especially after her body rejected the reattached leg and it had to be removed permanently. Long, anxious to help his long-time Red Sox friend, gathered the Yankees together before spring training last year, and told them what had happened.
None of the Yankees knew Johnson. None had met his 11-year-old daughter, Bridgette. All they knew was that the family of a friend needed help, and it didn't matter if they were part of Red Sox Nation. One by one, many of the Yankees reached for their checkbooks and donated undisclosed amounts, but it was enough to bring Johnson's wife to tears when they opened the unexpected package from the Yankees.
Over this past year, the Yankees remembered Bridgette enough to ask Long how she's doing with her new prosthetic leg, and how her recovery is coming along.
So you may hate the Yankees. You may hate the Empire. You may hate the franchise. But the players are stand-up guys with good hearts. Rivalry or not, they're good people who know that baseball is just a game, and family and friends come first.
Props to the Yankees for being the shining examples we expect them to be.
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