(Photo provided by Tony Cuevas)

Yankees Fan Feature Friday: Tony Cuevas

Welcome to the first-ever Yankees Fan Feature Friday, featuring Tony Cuevas!

The offseason is upon us, and as you know, it can be long, cold, and lonely. Rogers Hornsby once famously said, “People ask me what I do in the winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” I feel this with every ounce of my being, so I thought, why not keep us all connected somehow? We know that at heart, we’re all connected by the pinstripes, but what brought us here?

This offseason, you will have the chance to get to know fans, where and when their love for the Bronx Bombers originated, and what they would like to see from our beloved Bombers next season.

Leading off: Tony Cuevas

When did you first become a Yankees fan? How old were you? What year was it? How did it come about?

Back in the 80's, when I was a very young buck, I got introduced to baseball by my dad and grandpa. Together, we would watch the Yankees in the living room on our old tv with the wire antenna sticking out. Of course, back then, I had no idea what I was watching, but I knew it was baseball and I was fascinated with the game.

By the time I was 11, in 1988, my dad and grandpa were out of the picture at this point, but the Yankees seemed to fill the void. My best friend at the time played baseball and was a Yankee fan, too. I remember going to many Yankees games together cheering on our team and players at the old stadium.

Who is your favorite player of all-time? 

For me, it’s Don Mattingly…Donnie Baseball...#23! He was a quality player, a 9-time Golden Glove recipient, and he's not in the Hall of Fame? Unacceptable. Mattingly was an exceptional player to watch growing up on the field and at the plate. Being a 1st baseman is not an easy position. You’re involved in a good percentage of plays, you need great timing, field awareness, and to be quick on your feet—all attributes that Mattingly possessed on the field.

Who is your favorite most underrated player? 

Switch-hitting, feel the Bern, Bernie Williams! Many people talk about the Core Four, yet they forget that Bernie was an instrumental player in those seasons, too.

What is your most memorable moment as a fan?

On October 3rd, 1990, my best friend Brian and his dad took me to the last game of the season. Cecil Fielder was up at the plate, and my friend's dad looked over at us and said, “#50 is going in the upper deck". Cecil swings...and BAM! He crushed the long-awaited #50 and the crowd went wild! A few innings later, Cecil came up and my friend's dad called it again “Here comes #51”. Of course, Brian and I were thinking, no way! What happens? Cecil swings...and BAM! He crushed #51. It was incredible to witness historical moments in time in Cecil Fielder's 50th and 51st homeruns of the season.

What would you like to see in the 2023 season? 

Well, our 28th World Series Championship, but in order to get there, we need some good closing pitchers, better on-base percentages, and lastly to re-sign Aaron Judge. Lock him in!

If you could sit down with any former Yankees player, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you talk about?

This is tough, so I'll give you two.

I would love to sit down with Roger Maris and talk about his chase to 61 home runs. I would ask him, "Did you really think you could do it? What went through your mind after hitting each homerun at the end of the season?"

Secondly, I would love to sit down with Rickey Henderson and about his stolen-base record. I would ask him, "How many moments did you think, I’m faster than the catcher can throw that ball? Did you study the catcher’s moves and throws before each game? You had to have come up with your own science to stealing bases...what was it?"

On-deck

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Jonna M. Perlinger