EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Mets GM Lauds New York Yankees’ Ability to Build Franchise Stars, Recalls Painful Losses to Derek Jeter

Forget moneyball, the New York Yankees have a different formula for success: one legendary player, one iconic face to rally behind. And according to a former NY Mets General Manager, that’s been the Bronx Bombers’ secret sauce for generations.

“The Yankees have always been really good about having the face of the franchise,” ex-Mets GM Steve Phillips told Abhay Aggarwal of EssentiallySports in an exclusive interview. “That player—that recognizable player—that’s the leader of their team.”

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For Phillips, there’s no name that instantly screams “New York Yankees” louder than Derek Jeter. “He was such a winner,” Steve recalls in the EssentiallySports exclusive, with a touch of grudging admiration dangling in his voice. “He was a nemesis to me, because he always beat my Mets’ teams. He always came up with the hit. He made the defensive play. He stole the base and scored the run.”

And the legendary leadership torch of the New York Yankees, Phillips believes, has been passed to a worthy successor. Enter Aaron Judge, the modern-day Captain America in Pinstripes. “Aaron Judge is of the same character as Derek Jeter,” Phillips says. “He’s such a special guy, and so unique.”

Phillips’s anecdote in the exclusive EssentiallySports interview paints a vivid picture of Judge’s character. “I’ve interviewed him a few times,” he recounts, “but players don’t really get, you know, too friendly with people in the media. But there was a time when I was in the dugout at Yankee Stadium, talking to Brian Cashman at the end of the dugout, and Aaron Judge came out of the clubhouse, walked up the steps, stopped, looked down, saw me, came back down the steps, walked all the way down, shook my hands, said, ‘Hey, how you doing? Nice to see you again. What’s going on?’—Players don’t do that!”

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That simple gesture spoke volumes to Phillips. “He is such a gentleman, and such a leader, and such a great representative of the organization, much like Derek Jeter is.” Whether Judge becomes a Jeter-esque dynasty builder remains to be seen. But one thing’s clear.

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The New York Yankees’ tradition of having a face for the franchise—a player who embodies the team’s spirit and leads by example—seems to be in good hands with the All-Rise. And for Mets fans like Phillips, that might just mean a few more years of clenched fists and gritted teeth, come October.