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The iconic Yankees captain could no longer consistently hit the ball with authority.
He was holding onto his familiar place high in the lineup on past achievement and because the manager was concerned about what moving the most beloved player in the organization would mean to the temperament of the club house.
The Yankees were in first place, so there was a why-disrupt-a-good-thing vibe. But, finally, too much evidence existed to ignore the problem. So on July 20, 1994, Yankees manager Buck Showalter dropped the team captain, Don Mattingly, out of his signature No. 3 spot and replaced him with Paul O’Neill.
Here we are again in 2011. The Yankees’ iconic captain, this time Derek Jeter, no longer is hitting the ball with authority. He is holding his top-of-the-order role on past achievement and because the manager, Joe Girardi, has concern about what moving a beloved player would mean to the temperament of his clubhouse.
The Yankees have spent most of the season in first place, so there is a why-disrupt-a-good-thing vibe. But if the evidence becomes impossible to ignore that Jeter continues to offer no impact, then Girardi — like Showalter in 1994 — will have no choice but to drop him in the order.
To that end, I spoke to Mattingly, now the Dodgers manager, at Citi Field yesterday and by phone with Showalter and O’Neill. None wanted to speak directly to the Jeter issue. But in speaking about the 1994 switch, they provided the two key issues that apply today:
1) Would Jeter be as gracious about such a shift as Mattingly was so as not to unsettle a clubhouse?
2) Will the Yankees have someone as qualified as O’Neill to step in for Jeter?
To understand the first issue, you must remember how big Mattingly was, which has been lost a bit to time. He was every bit as loved by fans as Jeter. But perhaps even more than Jeter, Mattingly was revered in the clubhouse, by nobody more than O’Neill, who called the first baseman “Cap” and pretty much would have followed him into the center of a volcano.
“Paul couldn’t have done it without Donnie’s support,” Showalter said. “He would have hit .180 without Donnie’s support.”
Mattingly told the media it was his fault Showalter was put in that position. Yes, he was batting .301, but he had not hit a home run in six weeks, had just five on the year and simply was not driving the ball into the gaps. His power was robbed by a wrist injury, a chronic back problem and the reality of age.
Mattingly removed any controversy by saying: “If I were manager, I would have done this a long a time ago.”
It was a significant moment in a brewing dynasty because a comfortable O’Neill took to the No. 3 slot, which he held for much of the Yankees’ championship years under Joe Torre.
“Donnie made it easy for me,” O’Neill said yesterday.
Mattingly recalled: “It was just the right thing to do. I wasn’t swinging well enough to deserve this.”
Will Jeter be as gracious? Mattingly was moved from third to fifth. Jeter probably would be dropped to the bottom third of the lineup, and none of his recent statements suggests he is mentally accepting of such a switch. Remember, there is a difference between subtly offering non-support by saying something such as “I just play here, whatever the manager wants I do” and truly endorsing the move — as Mattingly did — and instantly snuffing out all potential distraction or controversy.
Which leads to the second item: having a worthy replacement.
In 1990, when Bucky Dent became Yankees manager, he instantly moved Roberto Kelly into the No. 3 spot and Mattingly to No. 2, a flip Mattingly did not sanction. In his first game, as a protest, Mattingly bunted, saying afterward that is what No. 2 hitters do.
At the time of the 1994 switch, however, O’Neill led the AL in hitting en route to winning the batting title, and Mattingly saw the obvious reasons to have O’Neill hit in the more prominent role.
“You can’t disrespect the most respected guy in the clubhouse,” Showalter said. “It has to be completely understood by the team and the teammates that you have someone who could do this.”
Mattingly added: “As a player all I wanted to do was win and the manager was putting together a lineup to win. Paul deserved to hit third.”
But on the 2011 Yankees, will some combination of Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin and Nick Swisher deserve to hit 1-2 to make this feel — at least partially — like a promotion for players rather than strictly a demotion of Jeter? Again, you are not moving just anyone. In 1994, Showalter dropped the hardly respected Danny Tartabull from cleanup and already this year Girardi has dropped Gardner from leadoff.
This, however, is Jeter. Showalter brought all the parties into his office in 1994. Girardi would have to do the same.
But will Girardi have as good an option to move into an honored spot as the 1994 version of O’Neill and — if he does — will Jeter be as gracious as Mattingly?