A surly looking manager card! Woo-hoo! I actually really dig this card for some reason. I love the classic Cubbies logo on the sleeve and the "C" on the cap right next to the printed logo in the upper left. And Gene's looks is just what I like to see on a manager. One thing that bothers me is the red in the name plate is really clashy with the red in Gene's uni. Other than that, nice manager card.
Yanks and Cubs fans probably have better thoughts on this guy, but he certainly didn't have much success as a manager. Where he DID succeed, however, was as a GM for the Bombers in the late '80s and early '90s. Michael is a huge reason for New York's dominance at the end of the 20th century, putting a lot more emphasis on homegrown talent, including Jeter, Posada, Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. You don't hear Gene Michael's name mentioned much as one the architects of those great Yankee teams (or at least I don't), but you should. He really reversed the the strategy they had in the '80s of bringing in washed up, high-priced "talent" to fill seats instead of win games. Personally, I wouldn't mind if they returned to that strategy so I could keep making fun of them, but that's just me.
I was watching a Yankees game on TV a couple of years ago and Gene Michael stopped by the booth and talked to Michael Kay for an inning or two. It was probably the most fascinating baseball conversation I have ever heard on TV. Michael was informative, revealing, well-spoken, funny. I learned a lot in just that one inning. He should be on there all the time!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point and something I have been thinking about starting a blog about. There are plenty devoted to bad sports commentary, but not many that focus on the insightful, relevant, good stuff.
ReplyDeleteThere are just so many bland color men out there that we've all just become desensitized to the point where we don't even notice them unless they're truly awful.