TAMPA — If nothing else, Brian McCann should bring more tenacity to the Yankees this season.
The Bombers’ new catcher was involved in two separate incidents from behind the plate last season when he confronted Milwaukee outfielder Carlos Gomez and Miami pitcher Jose Fernandez for what he felt was showboating.
Asked Friday about whether those players violated the code of the game, McCann’s reply was simple — and something that almost certainly wouldn’t have been uttered in the Yankees’ clubhouse last year.
“There’s no code,” McCann said in his first day at camp. “You scream, I’ll scream back.”
McCann was signed to a five-year, $85 million deal for more than his fiery attitude, but that was an element many feel was missing from the Yankees a year ago, when they failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
His left-handed power swing is suited for Yankee Stadium, but his temperament will be important as well.
Gomez shouted at Atlanta starter Paul Maholm on his way around the bases after homering, which angered McCann. Gomez never reached the plate. When he approached, McCann got right in his face and began yelling at him.
McCann now says he wasn’t surprised by how much attention it got after watching the replays.
“I totally understand,” McCann said. “I went home and watched it and understand exactly why it did. It was just a situation where going around the whole bases, it was something I felt like I needed to do. I didn’t like it.”
He struck a conciliatory tone Friday.
“I think he is an amazing player,” McCann said. “I think he is a great person. … He plays the game extremely hard. I’m a huge fan of Gomez, for sure.”
McCann said he doesn’t know if he’d do the same thing again.
“I’m not sure,” McCann said. “My instincts took over. I’d had a baby two days before [and] I got no sleep. I wasn’t in the mood.”
McCann sounded less remorseful about what happened between he and Fernandez after the rookie pitcher stood at home plate watching a home run.
“That whole situation was nothing,” McCann said of the disagreement the two had prior to the at-bat. “I just told him you can’t tell me you didn’t like that and then you are going to do something way worse. That’s it.
“I think he is a tremendous competitor. He was the best pitcher I faced last year. He’s going to be great for a lot of years to come.”
The Yankees expect the same to be true of McCann, but he is uncomfortable with the talk that he is going to be the face of the team once Derek Jeter departs following the 2014 season.
“It’s not the case,” McCann said. “I haven’t even put the uniform on yet. That word gets thrown around a little bit too much for me. No one is going to replace that guy. I got to see it first hand with Chipper [Jones]. No one is going to come in and replace Chipper Jones. It’s not happening.”