The Yankees and Homegrown Talent

The Yankees and Homegrown Talent

The backlash from the signing of CC, AJ and Tex has been pretty severe and the argument I hear from many Mets and Red Sox fans is that the Yankees simply are buying a championship. Also, they say how could it be enjoyable with no homegrown talent on the Yankee roster? Well perception is not reality;

Yankee Rotation - CC, Wang*, Burnett, Hughes*, Joba* - 3 homegrown starters
Mets Projected Rotation - Johan, Lowe, Pelfrey*, Maine, Perez - 1 Homegrown starter
Red Sox Rotation - Beckett, Dicek, Lester*, Penny, Wakefield - 1 Homegrown starter

Yankee Lineup - Damon, Jeter*, Teixera, Arod, Matsui, Nady, Posada*, Cano*, Melky* - 4 Homegrown Regulars
Mets Lineup - Reyes*, Castillo, Beltran, Wright*, Delgado, Church, Murphy*, Schnieder - 3 Homegrown Regulars
Red Sox Lineup - Ellsbury*, Pedroria*, Youkilis*, Ortiz, Bay, Drew, Lowell, Varitek, Lowrie* - 4 Homegrown Regulars

Yankee Bench - Swisher, Molina, Ransom*, Gardner* - 2 Homegrown Backups
Mets Bench- Tatis, Castro, Anderson, Evans* - 1 Homegrown Backup
Red Sox Bench- Lugo, Bard*, Van Every*, Cora - 2 Homegrown Backups

Yankee Bullpen - Rivera*, Marte, Bruney, Veras, Ramirez, Robertson*, Coke* - 3 Homegrown Relievers
Mets Bullpen - KRod, Putz, Sanchez, Feliciano, Robertson, Smith*, Stokes - 1 Homegrown Reliever
Red Sox Bullpen - Papelbon*, Delcarmen*, Okajima, Lopez, Aardsma, Ramirez, Masterson* - 3 Homegrown Relievers

Total Homegrown Players
Yankees - 12
Mets - 6
Red Sox - 10

So even "buying" three players this offseason the Yankees will have significantly more homegrown players on their opening day roster then the Mets and a couple more the the Red Sox. It just shows you that perception is not always reality.