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When you own the most identifiable sports logo in the country, perhaps the world, you use it to your advantage whenever possible.
In so many words, that’s how Brian Cashman summed up the thought process behind the naming of our minor league baseball team Tuesday night. In what should go down as one of the most glorious moments in the history of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre officially ended ties with the Phillies and began anew as the home of the Triple-A Yankees.
Allow me to be the first to say good riddance and welcome aboard all at once.
Regardless of your feelings toward the Yankees, this is truly a time to celebrate. Opportunities to have one’s business associated with a top-flight organization such as the New York Yankees come along rarely, if ever, in life. Thanks to the dogged persistence of Bob Cordaro, what started out as a pipe dream became reality.
You don’t have to understand the game of baseball to know that the Lackawanna County commissioner hit one out of the park.
Wherever your allegiance lies, Tuesday night was a win for all of us.
“Bob Cordaro made a huge difference here,” said Cashman, the Yankees’ senior vice president and general manager. “I’m glad it all worked out because, from my end, this is a no-brainer. This has been a no-brainer for a long time. This is something that should work forever.”
This is where Cashman comes in. Long just one of the many pieces in owner George Steinbrenner’s real-life Monopoly game, the 38-year-old former Yankees intern has emerged as the driving force behind one of the most lucrative businesses in the free world.
Though he went out of his way to show reverence to “The Boss” when he spoke at the Stadium Club restaurant before the unveiling of the new logo and uniform design, it’s pretty clear Cashman’s the guy running the show in the Bronx these days.
That New York’s top farm club is operating in our backyard instead of Columbus is all the evidence one should need.
It was Ohio native Steinbrenner, after all, who once declared his Triple-A franchise will always stay in Columbus, the home of The Boss’ wife. Steinbrenner also signed off on pitcher Andy Pettitte’s departure from the Yankees a couple of years ago.
Now, Pettitte’s back and the Yankees are playing in Moosic.
Getting the picture?
“You don’t leave an affiliation of 26 or more years easily,” Cashman said of New York’s ties with Columbus. “That’s why you had to find a right fit. This is the right fit that made sense for quite some time, as far as my perspective from the baseball operations standpoint.”
“It (leaving) was hard,” said Steve Swindal, Yankees general partner and son-in-law of Steinbrenner. “We had a lot of reasons emotionally to stay there, but at the end of the day Commissioner Cordaro had compelling reasons why we should be here.
“He (Steinbrenner) was involved from the get-go. He was fully aware of it and supportive of the decision. He loves the Yankees and our fan base. I told him how well ticket sales were going. I think he was so impressed. I think he felt really good about our move.”
Cashman definitely does.
That means the rest of us eventually will, too.
“This is, for me, a marriage made in heaven. We obviously moved our Double-A affiliate from Trenton to Norwich, Conn., and now moving our Triple-A affiliate from Columbus to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is all the pieces of a very long-term puzzle that we’ve been trying to put together as a nice business model that will work hopefully for all parties involved.
“I think we upgraded in all aspects. And, to boot, we’re cultivating a huge fan base that already existed down here. George Steinbrenner is the Vince Lombardi of owners. He wants nothing but the best at all times.
“And if you’re a part of this community, I would think that should excite you.”