Thanks for the memories, Joe.
His accomplishments are undeniably impressive.
Yes, he had the talent, but a lot of pro sports teams have had it and not maintained the level of consistent excellence that he was able to get out of his players.
And at the risk of getting too sentimental, he did it with class.
Contrary to popular opinion, the Yankees were not outspending all of the other teams (just most) in baseball and buying the best free agents on the market every season when they began this run.
And I'll leave the discussion alone as to how many of his World Series were due to luck, and how many were due to team chemistry.
But making it to the postseason 12 consecutive years - in every year he managed the team - is beyond luck. And it is beyond even the influence of the Steinbrenner payroll or the talent that Stick Michael brought in.
It had something to do with all of those things. But it also had a lot to do with the fact that he was a damn good manager.
