XM MLB Chat: Jack Curry YES Network debut column

Jack Curry covered the Yankees in the 1990's as beat writer and later as a national columnist. He adds this perspective to the YES Network:

3/12: "During my first week as a YES analyst and columnist, I received a raft of reactions. Derek Jeter called me "a YES guy" and teased me about the prospect of wearing makeup, Jorge Posada asked me for details about my role, Nick Johnson wondered how come I wasn't nervous doing live interviews and Mariano Rivera shook my hand and wished me luck. The response from the gentlemanly Rivera was not a surprise. The surprise was when two fans asked me to autograph their baseballs, an act which is ahead of incineration as the greatest way to diminish the value of a ball.

Even as my employer and my job have changed, I noticed people that reminded me why some things are still the same. When I saw Joe Girardi, it reminded me of how I wondered what it would be like to drive to a game with the manager. So I asked Girardi to accompany him to his first game as Yankee manager. As Girardi passed the 230th Street exit on the Major Deegan, he said, "Seventy blocks." He sounded like a boy who was about to open a pile of presents on his 6th birthday.

When I saw Alex Rodriguez, it reminded me of covering his stint with the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic last year. After a workout, Rodriguez separated from his teammates. It seemed odd. I did some digging, made some calls. A few hours later, I was the first to report that Rodriguez had a hip injury and was flying to meet a specialist in Colorado....

When I saw Bernie Williams visiting his former teammates, I recalled traveling to Venezuela and Colombia with him on a goodwill tour five years ago. Since Williams, a famous Major League player, would have been an
appealing prize to kidnappers, he was surrounded by armed security on the trip. When one of the security officers told us that
snipers could shoot the tires of our armored vehicle and we would continue rumbling along,
I thought I might need to hand Williams an air sickness bag. That is, after I used one first."...

via Neil Best Twitter. "Curiosity has fueled my career"