Okay I want to get this out of the way up front, nobody is disputing that the New York Yankees spend a lot of money and have vast resources at their disposal. However to say they have no farm system and that none of players from recent championship teams has been developed from within is a misnomer. Heck the 1998 San Diego Padres had more former homegrown Yankees (Jim Leyritz, Sterling Hitchcock and Ruben Rivera) than homegrown Padres (Tony Gwynn and Joey Hamilton).
Looking at the 2009 World Series Champion Yankees, there were plenty of guys who came up through the system to help contribute.
Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner, Ramiro Pena, Francisco Cervelli, Shelley Duncan, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, David Robertson, Chien-Ming Wang, Mark Melancon, Mike Dunn, Ian Kennedy. And if one wants to get technical, a few guys who were drafted by other teams but came up through the Yankees system or signed with the Yankees as free agents, Alfredo Aceves and Hideki Matsui.
So in essence those players regular contributions more or less make-up about a third of the roster. Much more than a handful as some out there would lead or like one to believe.
Let's take it a step further shall we and compare with another team that plays in the big market of New York with their own new stadium, televison network and large payroll, the Mets and see just how easy it is to win errr come in fourth place with all of those advantages.
Mets homegrown in 2009: Daniel Murphy, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Angel Pagan, Fernando Martinez, Nick Evans, Josh Thole, Mike Pelfrey, Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa, Jon Niese, Tobi Stoner,
Not too many regulars in that bunch and if everyone were healthy, only Reyes, Wright and Pelfrey would have been major regular contributors.
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