The Yankees network, YES, has made a decision with the broadcast team that has only one way it can be forgiven.
Overall, New York Yankees fans are pretty happy with the broadcast quality of the YES network.
Play-by-play announcer Michael Kay is a pro and his passion for the team is clear. Paul O’Neil and David Cone bring player knowledge that is both on-point and insightful. Meredith Marakovits brings it all together as the clubhouse reporter, and that team is anchored by the studio squad of Bob Lorenz, Jack Flaherty, Jack Curry, and crew.
But on Monday night, news came out that a rising star with the team would not be coming back: Cameron Maybin won’t be returning to the YES Network team according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
That is, frankly, a huge loss. It’s even worse because Maybin mentioned on Twitter he had an interest in returning. So it was entirely the Yankees’ decision.
Maybin will be just fine, as he’s continuing to work with the Cubs network and MLB Network. But Yankees fans lose in this one for sure.
There’s only one way it can be repaired, and Marchand gave a hint in his column about how that might be.
Derek Jeter joining the YES crew would be massive, and is the only way to fix this error
As a part of the flurry of moves, Marchand said the Yankees are maintaining interest in getting longtime shortstop and the most recent team captain, Derek Jeter, joining the crew.
Jeter has been pretty distant from the Yankees since his retirement. While he was part of the Miami Marlins ownership group, that was understandable. Jeter stepped down this past season and has since re-entered the public light in more ways than one.
His ESPN multi-part documentary was released. He has appeared on somewhat fringe and risque corners of the media, like Drink Champs. And he also returned to Yankee Stadium for both his jersey retirement as well as Aaron Judge’s re-introductory press conference where Judge was named the first team captain since Jeter’s retirement.
So, the hints are there that Jeter is looking to get more involved with YES and the Yankees organization.
If Maybin is out because Jeter is in, sign us up. But if not… then the Yankees have missed on a huge opportunity to get one of the rising stars of MLB media locked in for the future.