As the Yankees' players hopped happily in the middle of the infield late Wednesday, in the first moments after winning the World Series, plastic glasses were dispensed in the suite of general manager Brian Cashman. There were about 20 members of the Yankees' baseball operations team in the room, including amateur scouting director Damon Oppenheimer and professional scouting director Billy Eppler.
Bottles of champagne Cashman had brought from his home were opened, and glasses were filled, and in his first act after the Yankees clinched the organization's 27th championship, he lifted his glass in praise of the folks who are generally unseen and unknown: the staff members within the team's player development, scouting and medical departments. In his toast, Cashman talked about how the scouts and staff members were a crucial part of what the team had just accomplished. "This goes out to all of you," Cashman told the others in the room.
Down on the field, a victory stage was set in place, and the players and the Steinbrenners gathered for the trophy presentation. Cashman lingered in the suite, to honor the people who make up the blood and guts of his organization. "It was pretty classy," Oppenheimer said Friday, from his desk in Tampa, Fla., where he was looking over scouting reports. "It made people feel really good about it. It's a sign of what he's been for us -- someone who has brought everyone together, from top to bottom."
To read more about Brian Cashman's toast to his behind-the-scenes personnel and why the Twins traded Carlos Gomez for J.J. Hardy, you must be an ESPN Insider.
Buster Olney
