There is a saying with great power, there come great responsibilities. And, being a captain of the New York Yankees, the responsibilities also included looking after the food of the players. Yes, these little, or let’s say, big issues occurring in a team while traveling comes on the shoulder of the captain only. Becoming the captain is indeed a moment of pride and an “incredible honor,” but one must keep in mind that it is not an easy task at all. One has to change oneself in order to fulfill the duties that come with the title, as suggested by the former Yankee captain, Derek Jeter.
Let’s go to the story of Ron Guidry, who was the New York Yankees captain from 1986 to 1989. Speaking with ESPN, Guidry explained the events that sound ludicrous but actually happened with him in his captaincy period.
There is one incident when the former Cy Young Award winner had to run here and there in order to make the players eat their meals. Ron revealed that he once had a meeting because the food given on the flight was not good enough. The team stopped eating it, and as the plane and it was nighttime, all restaurants had already shut down. As a matter of fact, to whom will the players go to complain? They will definitely not go to the ownership of the Bronx Bombers. They will go to you. They will go to the captain. Earlier, it was Ron Guidry, and now it will be Aaron Judge!
Aaron Judge Holds The Responsibilities Of Yankees Airplane Food TOO!
When Ron went to the then-manager, Billy Martin, to speak about the food issue, someone stopped him. Martin simply denied listening, saying it was not my department. He then, with a lot of struggle, managed to speak with Steinbrenner. The Yankees captain wearing the pinstripes uniform went running to Steinbrenner, who asked, “What is your problem?”
Then Ron explained the scenario, and finally, Steinbrenner lightened his shoulder, taking the food responsibility of the hungry player last night. This is indeed a very little incident but very unacceptable that a captain never supposes to find himself in. Now, Aaron Judge is going to have that on his shoulder. There are several behind the scene scenarios where a captain needs to play an important role.
According to Derek Jeter, who had been Yankees captain from 2003 to 2014, becoming a captain is not like you flip a switch and becoming fit for the role. Also, Willie Randolph, who has been Guidry’s co-captain from 1986-1988, says that one grows into his leadership role. However, you gotta be yourself. You need to do things the way you find comfortable doing them.
Aaron Judge found himself speechless when got honored as Yankees captain last December. Let’s hope he is aware of the responsibilities as the former captains are already there to warn him, teach him, and guide him. However, Judge has proven himself great so far. Only then he got the chance to become the captain after eight years. So definitely, he will be a good captain. Let’s wish him good luck!