Artest Correct About New York Pressure
By Mike Silva ~ November 27th, 2009. Filed under: Mike Silva.
This is probably the first and only time you will hear the name Ron Artest on this site. After all, what does the loony forward for the Lakers have to do with baseball? Nothing, but his comments about playing in New York are telling and should be examined. When Artest said free agents “are scared to play in New York” because of the “pressure and media” it’s another example why this city isn’t for everyone.
Think about what athletes that play here have to deal with. With the Yankees its World Series or bust and you get the feeling they are playing 162 one game seasons over nine months. Across town there is a constant feeling of negativity that leads to a fear of failure. The perfect display of this was Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. The Mets, clearly the better team, played tight and scared when it mattered most.
That is why you can’t obtain just anyone to play here. Carlos Beltran mentioned the adjustment his first season in New York. There were many doubts early on if he would be able to withstand the pressure the town can give. The Yankees have had their mistakes such as Ed Whitson, Jack McDowell, and Javier Vasquez. Whitson was the one that had the worst time because not only was he an object of ire for the fans, but he also got into it with his manager.
As the media landscape advances it will only get harder to play here. I mentioned to Biz of Baseball’s Maury Brown, during my Thanksgiving Eve show, that only in New York could baseball take the stage when football, basketball, and hockey are in full force. It never ends and sometimes players have to question if it’s worth the pressure if the money is the same elsewhere.
This is something I hope Brian Cashman and Omar Minaya factor into the equation when they evaluate a player. I think it’s going to be an even more important factor in the new age of information. Who would have thought from of all his craziness that Ron Artest actually understands the importance of not just having the right players, but those that can produce on this big stage?
November 27th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
when you think about most people consider New Yorkers a little crazy in some respects some more so than others but deep down all have city smarts and undefinable intelligence no known in many other cities in America.
New Yorkers always stand out from the rest of America in most situations and are “crazy like a fox” especially in the case of Ron Artest, a lot of what he does and says is for publicity.