New York Yankees icon/beloved announcer David Cone has seen his broadcasting career grow in scope in recent months, though he’s yet to abandon his post in the Bronx.
In addition to providing expert color commentary on Yankee games for the YES Network, as well as dancing to Megan Thee Stallion on occasion, Cone has joined ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball team in 2022 and also co-hosts a podcast with Jomboy Media.
Cone is unique among modern broadcasters, as his ability to be an enthusiastic and engaged teammate belies his impressive knowledge of advanced statistics and layers-deep conversations that don’t often find their way to your typical game coverage.
A portion of his Yankees team has been missing in action recently, though, throwing the “team” off slightly.
Although Michael Kay joked as spring training ended about how much he couldn’t wait to hug Paul O’Neill in the tunnel before Opening Day, O’Neill has rarely appeared on broadcasts this season, often giving way to new color commentators like Carlos Beltran and Cameron Maybin. When O’Neill has participated, he’s done so from home in Ohio, as he is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
When asked about the disruption, Cone was his classic self: supportive, wondering if there’s something he doesn’t know behind O’Neill’s personal decision, and hoping for a resolution soon.
As Cone told the New York Post:
Cone said that he was not privy to all the specific circumstances, but was hopeful O’Neill could return to the booth.
“I’m not sure what the details are behind the situation — whether he has a medical exemption or not, or if something else might be going on there. I’m not privy to that information. But, I miss him. I know that. He’s such a big part of the Yankees and our broadcast and I certainly would like to see him back.”
The broadcasts with O’Neill staying home work. They’re not as awkward as, say, John Sterling attempting to call a long fly ball. Occasionally — very occasionally — Kay and O’Neill mumble over each other, but there was no catastrophic clash.
Unfortunately, O’Neill hasn’t even been used remotely much in recent weeks, and has not been a fixture on the YES broadcast seemingly since the opening homestand against the Red Sox and Blue Jays wrapped.
Though the team can soldier on without him, it doesn’t quite feel right to be missing his affability in the booth — though Beltran and Maybin each bring a unique set of skills to the broadcasts they’ve been asked to carry, too.
As Cone’s other duties take him nationally, it would hurt the broadcast to also lose O’Neill’s anchor for a mysterious reason.
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Why the Mets fired Carlos Beltran after sign-stealing scandal
USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale breaks down why the Mets decided to part ways with Carlos Beltran.
Carlos Beltran is back in Yankees Universe, this time as a broadcaster, which leads to a question.
Around the club, is he instantly treated as a treasured old friend, or does something more need to be said or done to clear the air before his first game?
On Twitter this past weekend, YES Network analyst Jack Curry reported that Beltran would be coming aboard this season to work about 36 games.
It’s the first baseball title Beltran has held since being identified for his role in the Houston Astros’ electronic sign-stealing scheme, which caused a lot of hard feelings in the Bronx.
Beltran’s connections to the Yankees date as late as the 2019 season, serving as a special adviser.
Judge’s mentor
No longer a fleet center fielder but a still-productive right fielder/DH, Beltran – in his third and final spring with the Yankees – requested Aaron Judge's locker be next to his.
It was 2016, and Judge would make his big-league debut that August, two weeks after the Yankees sent Beltran to the Texas Rangers as part of their summer sell-off.
But that spring, Judge was an exciting, power-hitting prospect and Beltran made it part of his job to mentor the player who would soon take his place.
Judge recognized Beltran as an important figure, a class act and a model for preparation, performance and how to navigate in the New York spotlight.
A year later, Beltran’s 2017 Astros defeated Judge’s Yankees in a seven-game AL Championship Series, on the way to the franchise’s first world championship – netting Beltran his first World Series ring, in his final season.
Two years later, Beltran would be the player singled out for his impactful role in implementing an electronic sign-stealing ploy in 2017, which carried into 2018 and might have been used in 2019, when the Astros again defeated the Yankees in the ALCS.
“I had a lot of respect for those guys…the way they played, what they did,’’ Judge said in 2020. “And to find out it wasn’t earned, they cheated, that didn’t sit well with me.’’
Yankees connection
Due to their cooperation with MLB’s investigation – prompted by The Athletic, which first reported the scheme – no Astros players were punished by commissioner Rob Manfred, though Beltran might argue that one.
Named Mets manager before the 2020 season, Beltran was let go in the wake of the scandal, before ever managing a game.
Now, Beltran’s hiring can be seen as an extension of how the Yankees value his knowledge and ability to communicate it.
Beltran, 44, interviewed for the Yankees’ managing position that went to Aaron Boone following the 2017 season, eventually leading to the advisory position.
Based in Puerto Rico, Beltran's baseball academy is equally dedicated to academic excellence and the athletic pursuits of high school-aged students.
You didn’t have to be a 23-year-old Aaron Judge, handpicked for a spring training apprenticeship, to acknowledge Beltran’s genuine nature and appreciate his willingness to give back.
Now you wonder, though, if Beltran has to say something more to Judge or the other 2017 Yankees still around, like Aaron Hicks, Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino.
Or is this completely unnecessary?
Brand new start
As per The Athletic’s reporting, the Yankees used their video room to decode opponent’s signs from 2015-17.
And they weren’t alone.
After the Red Sox were caught relaying signs against the Yankees via an electronic device used in the dugout in 2017, commissioner Rob Manfred revised the ground rules of such actions, promising harsher penalties.
Just by his vision and awareness, Beltran was among the best at deciphering opponents’ sign sequences and spotting when a pitcher was tipping.
In a statement to ESPN following what was described as a mutual decision to step down as Mets manager, Beltran said he was “very sorry’’ for his actions on the 2017 Astros and looked forward to returning at some point “to this game that I love so much.’’
Beltran ought to get a shot at managing again, or to fairly compete for any position in baseball. The YES booth is a start.
Retired outfielder Cameron Maybin, who had three different stints playing for the Detroit Tigers, has been hired as a new television broadcaster for the New York Yankees.
Maybin, 34, announced his retirement last month after playing parts of 15 seasons in the big leagues.
He will serve as an analyst on the YES Network for about 40 games in 2022.
Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay said Maybin called a practice game in an audition and passed with flying colors.
“He was incredible,” Kay wrote on Twitter. “First time he had a headset on and he was a natural. Get ready Yankees fans because he is going to be a TV star. Yes, he’s that good.”
Maybin was drafted by the Tigers in the first round in 2005 and made his big-league debut in 2007. At the end of that season, he was one of six players traded to the Miami Marlins for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.
Maybin returned to the Tigers in a trade in 2016 and spent most of the year as the team’s regular center fielder.
Maybin signed with the Tigers as a free agent at the start of spring training in 2020. He became the only player in franchise history to play in three separate stints with the club. (Omar Infante was acquired a third time but didn’t play in the big leagues).
Maybin ended up logging only 45 plate appearances in the shortened season before being dealt to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Zack Short.