"The 2019 New York Yankees: 'OVERCOMERS' "

The 2019 New York Yankees are presently tied for the best record in baseball....DESPITE their best starting pitcher (and one of their best RELIEVERS) not having pitched all year so far, DESPITE one of their top sluggers having only played 6 games (with only one measly home run) so far, and DESPITE a total of 31 guys being INJURED so far, at one point or another during the season.  (Oh yeah, ONE of those 31 injuries was a guy who was runner up for Rookie of the Year last year!!)

It's simply incredible what this team...and they ARE a team...has done so far.

They have overcome obstacle after obstacle after obstacle with a relentless determination that is both inspiring and challenging. Injuries that would have other teams reeling only seem to keep the 2019 Yankees ROLLING.

The SUBSTITUTES the Yanks have brought up as fill-ins for established, injured stars have been downright AMAZING.  Greg Bird got injured (again) and apparently FLEW AWAY because we never hear about him returning, but LUKE VOIT has done GREAT, filling in at first base.  (And when HE got injured, MIKE FORD stepped in and so far has nine homers, in limited appearances!!)

GARY SANCHEZ has revived his career after an injury-ridden 2018, and recently became the 2nd fastest player in baseball history to reach 100 career home runs.  Meanwhile, AARON JUDGE got off to a bad start THIS year but recently became the THIRD fastest to reach 100!!  GLEYBER TORRES is setting ALL kinds of home run records, AROLDIS "THE CUBAN MISSLE" CHAPMAN is blowing 'em away in the SAVES department and DIDI GREGORIOUS, a guy who was supposed to be out for MOST, if not ALL, of 2019 came back early and has contributed constantly to the Yankees' success.

DOMINGO GERMAN suddenly blossomed to become the winning-est pitcher in baseball so far, EASILY making up for the absence of star Starter LUIS SEVERINO (just as the newly acquired ADAM OTTOVINO has made up for the absence of star Reliever DELLIN BETANCES.)

AARON HICKS and BRET GARDNER and JUDGE are great outfielders and hustlers, but MIKE TAUCHMAN and CAMERON MAYBIN have come "out of nowhere" to excel to the point that we don't want...or need...Giancarlo Stanton back this year!! (Mike Tauchman sometimes reminds me of a young Mike Trout, who I coveted in the off-season, but Trout re-signed with the Angels.) Why, the Yankees even had their top TV announcer (Michael Kay) and their top RADIO announcer (John Sterling) go down with temporary afflictions, but the organization had more-than-able fill-ins there, ALSO, until they returned!!

Then, there's the deals the team DIDN'T make in the off-season (passing on free agents Manny Machado and Bryce Harper) and the deals they DID make (bringing in D.J. LeMahieu and EDWIN ENCANARCION), which are to be commended.

***LEMAHIEU*** is the guy with his finger raised, in the photo...a sure candidate for the league's Most Valuable Player award!! He is presently battling for the batting title with teammate / third baseman ***GIO URSHELA***, who never would have had a chance to PLAY on the team this year if Andujar didn't get hurt!! Talk about making the most of your opportunities!!  D.J. is the only regular on the team who HASN'T gone on the Injured List, if I'm not mistaken. Also, at the end of last year, and at the beginning of THIS one, I wrote blogs calling for the firing of manager AARON BOONE but needless to say, that's a substitution I do NOT want to make anymore, Lol!!  I once criticized his lack of "fire" but wow, he must have heard me because he has overcome THAT character flaw...been ejected a FEW times this year defending his guys.  And the way he keeps this diverse team that has men from 7 different countries TOGETHER is very, very praiseworthy.

I really, really hope the Yankees get in, and WIN, the World Series this year and that someone writes a book about this 2019, "Fairy Tale" season. The title?? "OVERCOMERS: The Story of the 2019 New York Yankees."

But even if they DON'T win it all, no one will blame them when they look back on all of the adversity and the EFFORT they've made.  My wife and I are HUGE baseball and YANKEE fans (see pic above), and we are LOVING what we see from our team!! Personally, I've been a baseball fan for over 55 years...before my wife was even born...and I've never seen a team as resilient, as determined and unified as THIS team.