5 Reasons Why Brian McCann Will Fail With New York Yankees

5 Reasons Why Brian McCann Will Fail With New York Yankees

As soon as Brian McCann was announced as having signed with the New York Yankees there were countless thousands of people anointing him as the next team captain and the next legendary catcher for the Yankees. Those things have a very real chance of happening as McCann has consistently been one of the best catchers in baseball for the last several seasons. It is possible however; some might say it is even likely that McCann could struggle in the new environment.

There could be more reasons for him to succeed and over the long-haul I think it is very likely that McCann will be okay in New York. Playing for the Yankees isn’t the same as playing across town from where he spent most of his youth baseball years in Atlanta. Sure Atlanta is a big city but there is a completely different feel for that town compared to New York. Many players have been significantly different players there than they were in a calmer environment.

For sure there will be a few reasons for people, especially fans of McCann and the Yankees to disagree with me on this. Those counter points will be more than welcome. Even I can think of several reasons to disagree with a few of the points that follow. The fact remains however that these can be real stumbling blocks for any newcomer to the Yankees and McCann will need to overcome these or he will end up a failure in New York. Place your comments below.

David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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5 – Media Distraction

Some of the better players in MLB have had real trouble dealing with the monstrous media in New York, especially surrounding the Yankees. McCann is a great guy, husband and father and should be the apple of their eye. One bad month however and McCann will have to deal with the media’s dark side and some superstars find that impossible to overcome.

4 – Reaching for Short Porch

There has already been talk about the short-porch outfield wall in right field as it relates to McCann. Being a strong left-handed bat it seems obvious that he would have better power numbers because of the closer wall but it is possible for that wall to be too large of a target. If McCann were to focus too much on trying to plop baseballs over that wall he could find himself in a nasty slump very quickly.

3 – Catching and DH Flip-Flopping

A lot of players switch back and forth between their regular starting position and the DH position for off days. It seems clear that catcher would do this on his off days but a lot of players have real issues with the DH role. Coming from the National League McCann will be getting his first taste of the DH occasional role and there is no guessing how well he will take to it.

2 – Big Contract Blues

This is a huge stumbling block for McCann and every other free agent in baseball. After getting a nice new contract, players often go into a bad slump. The problem with that for McCann are clearly the expectations placed upon him. If he does hit a big slump he will have huge media and boo-bird issues that could also trip him up.

1 – Pressure of Being a Yankees Legend

We touched on this already but specifically McCann is expected to hit the ground running in 2014 and to begin his legendary Yankees career. That could very well happen and he might go down with all of the other great Yankees catchers. However that is a ton of pressure for anyone to deal with. McCann will have to get passed what others think he should be and go out and play his game. If he struggles with the burden placed on him by the media and the Yankees faithful, it could be an impossible load to carry.