Yankees Commentary Leaves Fans Yearning for More Cone, Less Flaherty
New York Yankees devotees have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with John Flaherty’s performance on YES broadcasts, triggering nostalgia for the days when David Cone graced the commentary more frequently. Despite Flaherty’s attempts to ramp up the entertainment factor during his color commentary alongside Michael Kay’s play-by-play narration, his efforts have largely fallen flat, leaving audiences wanting.
During a recent broadcast, an interesting tidbit emerged as Doug Mientkiewicz, former Yankee and Twin, was featured in the “Name That Yankee” segment. A high school clip was displayed, showcasing Mientkiewicz as a wide receiver catching passes from none other than Alex Rodriguez, who was playing quarterback. The unusual sports crossover certainly caught viewers’ attention, but Flaherty’s subsequent commentary on A-Rod’s quarterbacking skills—or perceived lack thereof—prompted an awkward exchange between him and Kay.
Flaherty’s critique about expecting more from A-Rod’s arm strength seemed half-serious, to which Kay playfully speculated about an imminent text from A-Rod. However, the conversation took a more somber turn when Flaherty suggested he wouldn’t be receiving any messages from the former Yankees star, hinting at a personal rift. The light-hearted banter transitioned swiftly to an unexpected revelation about Flaherty’s relationship—or lack thereof—with Rodriguez.
The tensions didn’t stop there; Flaherty’s broadcast then experienced one of the more memorable announcer jinxes, which Michael Kay didn’t hesitate to call out. Yet, it was the underlying friction between Flaherty and Rodriguez that captured the audience’s intrigue.
Speculation about the root of their estrangement pointed to their brief overlap as teammates from 2004 to 2005. A deep dive into Flaherty’s past comments about Rodriguez provided some context. In a 2022 interview, Flaherty contrasted Rodriguez’s clubhouse demeanor with Derek Jeter’s, implying that A-Rod was overly preoccupied with others’ perceptions of him—a stark contrast to Jeter’s indifference to external opinions.
This revelation from Flaherty’s past commentary adds a layer of complexity to the dynamics within the Yankees’ locker room during their tenure and leaves fans pondering the nature of the relationship between one of baseball’s most prominent figures and a dedicated backup catcher. As the sports community digests this candid glimpse into the personal side of professional baseball, many are left wondering what A-Rod’s side of the story might be, particularly in light of Flaherty’s public reflections on their shared history.
Did John Flaherty admit to beef with Alex Rodriguez during Yankees’ broadcast?
Don’t kill the messenger, but New York Yankees fans, based on commentary far and wide, do not enjoy John Flaherty on the YES broadcasts. In fact, it led to many wondering where David Cone was not too long ago.
Cone’s here, but just not as often as many might prefer. Flaherty’s work as a color commentator hasn’t exactly enticed the audience a whole lot alongside Michael Kay’s play-by-play. And when Flaherty took it up a notch on Tuesday night, his attempt to entertain still didn’t land. Or it did? We’re unsure. Either way, not a great sign!
As former Twin and Yankee Doug Mientkiewicz was revealed as the nightly “Name That Yankee,” the YES broadcast showed a high school clip of him playing wide receiver for … quarterback Alex Rodriguez! How about that?! World’s collide! A-Rod was dropping some passes right in Dougie’s bread basket. The glory days.
But Flaherty had a critique, saying he “expected more arm strength from A-Rod,” and he kind of wasn’t joking! At least it didn’t sound like it. Michael Kay had some fun and said “you’re going to get a text from A-Rod realllll soon.” But then it got … serious?
Flaherty replied, “There’s one thing I can guarantee you: it’s that I’ll never get a text from A-Rod.” Kay asked why: “He doesn’t have your number or he doesn’t like you?” Flaherty came back with, “Well, probably a little bit of the other part.”
Right after that, Flaherty committed one of the more wilder announcer jinxes you’ll see. It literally took seconds.
Michael Kay immediately called out John Flaherty for this jinx 💀 pic.twitter.com/mu14mdaGn0
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 5, 2024
Did John Flaherty admit to beef with Alex Rodriguez during Yankees’ broadcast?
Oh wait, we forgot about the actual worst one ever. OK, back to story time.
Interesting. What’s that all about? The two were teammates from 2004-2005 (Flaherty’s career ended after ’05), but we couldn’t think of anything off the top of our heads that might’ve caused a riff between these two guys,
But Google sure is a powerful tool. One quick search revealed this article from 2022 when Flaherty had this to say about A-Rod on WFAN’s Tiki and Tierney:
“The couple of years I was there when Alex and Derek were together…Alex would walk into the clubhouse and he was concerned about what all the other 25 guys were thinking about him. Every day.
“As professional baseball players, we walk in the clubhouse and we know what our job is every day and how to be prepared. Not saying I wasn’t paying attention to everybody else, but I knew what I had to do as a backup catcher. Alex was very concerned about what other people thought about him and what other people said about him. Derek didn’t care about any of that stuff.”
Now that the Timberwolves are out of the playoffs, can somebody contact A-Rod for comment? We must know how one of the biggest stars of the modern era is in an active showdown with a career backup catcher he barely knew for two years.
