What Could Have Been

By Ryan “The Goose” Gosiker

If you are a baseball fan, even one only from the turn of the century like me, you remember the “Big-Bad” Yankees and their endless pursuit of titles through every possible way. They built a dynasty that won 4 titles in a 5-year span. Then, they went all-in for a World Series in 2009 with the monster acquisitions of Nick Swisher, C.C. Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira. They won the title that season. However, they have not returned since. The leader of all the spending was George Steinbrenner who had, seemingly, endless pockets and never-ending wads of cash. Since his passing, his son Hal is running the show and likes to draw a line in the spending sand unlike his father. He did spend big for Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, and Carlos Rodon all while eating the enormous contract of Giancarlo Stanton. On the other side of town, the Mets had a mini run in 2000 when they went to the World Series and lost to the Yankees. They won the division in 2006 and reached the NLCS, but the infamous Carlos Beltran strikeout looking ended that Game 7. Then, in 2007 and 2008, they had severe September collapses and could not recover. They went to the World Series in 2015 but lost to the Kansas City Royals. Other than those brief moments of success, the Mets usually stink. They ran into two brick walls, especially in the 2000s through the 2010s. Those brick walls were named Fred and Jeff Wilpon. Their inability to spend money in NY left them in the dust for multiple free agents. They would hand out one large contract per offseason and ask for thanks from the fans. However, in November of 2020, while many argued about the presidential election, Mets fans everywhere threw the biggest celebration because hedge fund investor Steve Cohen bought the team. Cohen is the polar opposite of the previous, frugal, owners. Cohen has spent and used his money to pay older players to play elsewhere and bring prospects back in return. So, I say all this to say, I am sad we never got to see George and Steve compete on the open market for free agents. Could Steve be the first man to make George set a spending limit? Would George crush Steve like he did to every other owner? Obviously, we will never get to the truth of either of those questions, but it is one of the more intriguing hypotheticals to think about and discuss with your friends. Remember, baseball is better when teams are throwing money around. Do not let the small market teams convince you they cannot finance these large deals. George and Steve were and are great for baseball! Check out my sports show: “Game Time with The Goose” every Saturday from 8:00 to 9:00 AM on WTBQ AM 1110 FM 93.5 and on WGHT Radio with co-host Zach Kruk, Sports Director of WTBQ and WGHT!