The Architect

When I learned of the passing Thursday of Yankees Senior Advisor and former General Manager Gene Michael, the word "architect" was the first that passed through my mind. While the Yankee legacy is symbolized by iconic stars such as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter, there has also been a series of astute architects who designed and built the teams brimming with championship talent.
Gene Michael was part of that remarkable line of executives. Much like Ed Barrow, George Weiss and Gabe Paul in earlier eras, the man known as Stick made the savvy personnel decisions.
With George Steinbrenner about to be suspended in 1990, and the Yankees floundering as a losing and uninteresting club, he appointed Gene the Yankee general manager. Under his patient leadership, the Yankees drafted Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. He promoted Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera -- and traded for Paul O'Neill, the heart of four World Series champions. He also brought David Cone aboard from a 1995 deadline deal.
And here's proof, that sometimes the best moves are the ones not made. In 1996, after George Steinbrenner demoted him to a senior scouting position, Gene spoke the loudest when the Yankees came close to trading a then-little known setup reliever named Mariano Rivera for insurance at shortstop in Felix Fermin. We'll never know who concluded Jeter wasn't quite ready or Rivera was disposable. But Gene was the wise hand who advised not to go that way. And we know how history vindicated that opinion.
Gene Michael served the Yankee organization as a player, coach, manager and front office executive for most of the last 50 years. Ed Barrow built the first of the franchise's dynasty -- he has a plaque in Monument Park. George Weiss, who built the one that stretched from the 1940s to the '60s, does not. Gene Michael, whose wise hand restored the winning tradition, should be the next to receive one.  Just look at the back of the baseball cards of the players he put together to make it happen.