No One Likes A Loser
img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-101124" title="Irabu" src="/files/wxrimport/2011-08/irabu.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="300" /><
There was something off-putting about the media’s response to the recent suicide of Hideki Irabu, the star from Japan who pitched briefly, and poorly, for the Yankees. Some commentators emphasized his failure in New York, and quoted those who know him as tracing his misery, at least in part, to his inability to succeed in the major leagues as he had in Japan.
The post-mortems made it sound like Irabu’s struggles on the mound stemmed from a character flaw. The New York Times quoted ESPN commentator and former manager Bobby Valentine as saying that Irabu (who never played for Valentine) “wasted a lot of time doing things he shouldn’t have been doing.” Asked for an example, Valentine said, “He liked to drink beer.” Maybe that was euphemism for a serious drinking problem, and maybe Irabu did indeed underachieve because of personal issues. But just as likely (and not mutually exclusive), we’re witnessing an age-old phenomenon: nobody likes a loser. Especially in New York. In New York, you fail at your peril. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. But if you don’t, you’re an irredeemable bum.
Many articles about Irabu noted the epithet attached to him by former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner: “fat pussy toad.” Especially since the pitcher never shed that characterization by the classy Yankees owner, it’s interesting to think about the different treatment the two received upon their demises. As noted, Irabu was stigmatized as a failure. Steinbrenner? While everyone noted (sometimes in passing) his record as a felon twice suspended by baseball, overall he was treated with remarkable generosity.
The fact that Steinbrenner abused his employees and changed managers the way normal folks change underwear? The fact that he actually paid a thug $40,000 to dig up dirt on his own star player, Dave Winfield?
These “details” were treated as the foibles of a great man, subservient to his contributions to charity and, the really important thing, his ability to build (buy?) a Yankee dynasty.
Was it just a case of not speaking ill of the dead? Hardly. That admonition often goes by the boards – just ask Hideki Irabu. Indeed, Steinbrenner received the hero’s treatment while alive. His 80th birthday celebration at Yankee Stadium amounted to an exercise in hagiography. Monuments in his honor pre-dated his death. He left a trail of victims, but what’s that next to five World Series rings? In the end, the post-mortems for Irabu and Steinbrenner dovetail, as both rest on that terse observation attributed to Vince Lombardi: winning is everything.
Certainly it was to Steinbrenner. He never cared a twig for the game itself, and made life miserable for all around him when the other team happened to outscore his. Which they did, quite a bit. We tend to forget that he actually had destroyed the Yankees before calmer heads like Gene Michael and Joe Torre (undeniably aided by George’s wallet) turned things around. But forget his success and failure -- there was plenty of both, and his track record is beside the point. Even the absurd parade of 17 managers in 17 years is beside the point. The point, and Steinbrenner’s major legacy, is his role in reinforcing the concept that defeat equals disgrace.
Reasonable people can disagree about the effect on baseball of big-market teams swallowing up the quality free agents, a trend undeniably ushered in by George. What is inarguable is that the homage paid to this bully reflects little more than his willingness to dig deep into his bottomless pockets. Also inarguable is his despicable treatment of Dave Winfield, Yogi Berra, and dozens of little guys like Hideki Irabu.
The respective treatment of Steinbrenner and Irabu is all too revealing. Steinbrenner represented much of what’s wrong with professional sports, including the notion, seemingly accepted by Irabu’s critics, that failure to win ballgames is a serious sin.