from Yankees Magazine

December 1997 (?)

BY ED LUCAS

During the season they may be well-known baseball stars, but during the holiday season the Yankees are just like everyone else-- they like to spend time with their families.

Bernie Williams returns to Puerto Rico for the holidays while Chad Curtis spends his time with family in Michigan. Baseball marks a unique passage of time for most fans. What begins as a thaw in the early chill of February as the pitchers and catchers report to training camp quickly turns into the blossom and promise of spring training and the opening of a brand new season in April. The long, hot "dog" days of our summer are made easier to bear by following the Yankees day in and day out. Finally, baseball treats us every year to the Fall Classic, its showpiece, the World Series. The only part of the year that doesn't involve the National pastime is the final stretch, November and December. (Unless you count the winter meetings, which are as exciting as a rain delay.) While there is a sense of loss and a post-season vacuum, it is quickly filled by the thoughts of the holiday season which begins in late November and continues all the way through December. How do the Yankees spend this time away from the House that Ruth Built? Just like everyone else, they go home for the holidays.

While New Yorkers and those in the northern climates are bundling up and getting warm as they head out to do their holiday shopping, many Yankees are enjoying warmer climates in different parts of the U.S., other countries, other time zones, and even across the international date line. Graeme Lloyd, the Yank from Down Under, spends his holiday season in his native Australia which, due to its location, is a day ahead of the United States. "Basically, that means Santa has to come to our homes first and then hurry over to the States," Lloyd joked. "It's also summer down there in December, so our temperatures can get up into the 80's or 90's on Christmas Day." Quite a difference from the Bronx, but that means that the lanky lefty can spend time at the beach as well as near the Christmas tree.

Relief ace Mariano Rivera makes his home in Panama, and to him getting one of the biggest trees available is of primary importance to celebrate the season. Rivera has nothing on coach Willie Randolph, who lives in the New York metropolitan area all year long, and, says Randolph, following in a tradition started by his wife Gretchen searches for the "most tremendous Christmas tree I can find, usually between 10 and 15-feet high, and it takes up the entire corner of the living room!"

Jeff Nelson heads into the mountains outside his Seattle home around December 1 each year to cut down his own tree. Wade Boggs is a Tampa, FL resident so he goes from lot to lot looking to buy a pre-cut tree because, as he put it, "there are many forests in my neighborhood."

Food plays a part in most Yankees holiday plans as their attention turns from home plate to the dinner plate. Randolph's whole family including cousins, aunts and uncles, gets together at his home for a great feast featuring lots of soul food. "It's great to sit around with family, have a big meal and indulge," Randolph said, "but you can't overindulge or you'll be sending the next few weeks on the treadmill."

Joe Girardi's holiday meal is spent with his wife Kim and his in-laws in Chicago, and in addition to the usual holiday staples (turkey, ham, etc.) his table is filled with lots of pasta dishes and unusual items such as tortellini soup. Orlando, FL resident Mike Stanley is, as he puts it, the "designated turkey chef" in his family. "I get up bright and early on Christmas morning to start preparing the bird and the stuffing," Stanley said, "and I must do OK because I've never had complaints and people usually ask me for seconds." Slugger Darryl Strawberry has a big family gathering at his home in Rancho Mirage, CA. He summed up his holiday plans as this, "spends a joyous time with the family, eat a big, healthy meal, lay down and my day is pretty much over."

Last season, the Yankees spent Thanksgiving on a float for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The most frequently heard tune during the holiday season is "Jingle Bells" which praises "dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh" as one of the best activities in December. One Yankee actually lives up to that Currier and Ives picture postcard image. 1997 hero Chad Curtis spends the holiday season with his family in upper Michigan where, according to him, "it usually snows, so there is a good chance of a white Christmas." Curtis actually owns an open sleigh and he does indeed hitch it up to a horse to be drawn through the frozen turf while wrapped up snug in blankets.

The overwhelming sentiment that most Yankees expressed was that the holiday season was one to be spent and enjoyed with those they loved the most. Paul O'Neill has his entire family, which includes four brothers and a sister along with their respective children, gather at his home in Cincinnati with his wife Nevalee and their three children to spend the holidays together. Tino Martinez, who lives in Tampa, said that he celebrates the holidays with his family at his uncle's house, which is close to his own, and "takes lots of pictures." Bernie Williams returns to Puerto Rico for the holidays and has a big celebration which starts, as he puts it, "in the middle of November and doesn't end until the middle of January." "It's obviously a festive time for us," Williams said. "We have a Latin American and Caribbean flavor to our holiday season from the food to the decorations. The most important thing that was always emphasized in my family was the true meaning of the holiday season. We were shown that it's not just about presents and gifts and money but that the spirit of joy and a love for others is what means the most."

Bernie's philosophy on the holiday season is a perfect one, shared by many of the Yankees, and it's a spirit that should be carried not just in December but all year round. So from the House that Ruth Built to your house, all the best this holiday season!