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One of the Yes Network's most aired shows are their Yankee Classics.  Generally, during the regular season on off days and mornings before a game when there was none the day before, you can catch the Yankees Classics.  Then they fill up a lot of the schedule with them during the off-season.  As a Yankee fan, I think it's a great idea, although the ranking of some games as "Classics" can sometimes be questions.

Well, this is an attempt to log as many of the Yankee Classics that have been shown including some commentary and rankings on whether they really are classics or...not so much.

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Regular Season vs. Anaheim Angels
A-Rod: 3 HR, 10 RBI
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Final Score: 12-4
Yankee Classic Rating (1 low to 10 high): 1
The only type of interesting single game performance I would be interested in watching again would be a no-hitter or perfect game. Like a good movie, you can watch and feel the drama build and, especially if it's a home game, sense the buzz in the crowd as well. There's nothing stirring or even interesting about re-watching A-Rod's performance.

The statistics at the time showed that he already owned Bartolo Colon, so a good performance was no surprise. In fact, the only thing surprising was that Rodriguez actually came through with a couple of big hits. His October performances are what make glorification of a performance in April so hard to stomach. Reports were sure to note that at the time of his third at-bat, with two home runs already and now up with the bases loaded, the crowd was on the edge of their seats. Maybe that had more to do with the fact that the Yankees were 8-11 at the time and the fans were clamoring for something to cheer about in what had been a dismal season since opening the season with back-to-back wins against Boston.

Maybe they were not so much cheering or anticipating, but pleading for Rodriguez to finally get a bit hit in pinstripes. At the time, the score was only 6-2, so a hit here against the high powered offense of the Angels was crucial. Maybe that's why they were on the edge of their seats. The crowd anticipation probably had as much to do with beating the Angels and stringing together two wins in a row for only the third time all year as it did with Rodriguez' personal achievements. Isn't this the kind of performance he's getting paid for? Naturally, you can't expect 10 RBI performances all the time. That's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about clutch hits and run production.

Anyway, he hits it, singles later and flies out to center in the eighth. A nice moment, a nice win, but worthy of being annointed a classic? Maybe according to the YES Network. Also according to MLB.com's This Year in Baseball Awards where fans overwhelmingly voted this the 2005 Single Game Performance of the Year.

It should be noted, in a year with zero no-hitters, he wasn't up against much competition. A Chris Carpenter one-hitter against the Blue Jays came in second and Ryan Freel's 3 for 4 performance with 5 stolen bases came in third. So, Rodriguez can put that award on his shelf along with his MVP award, kick back and tune in to Yankees Classics. Or maybe he can sit down and come up with some new canned responses for use during interviews with the media. "I'm just taking it one game at a time" is old hat by now Alex.

Maybe, given his lackluster performances in the post-season, he can figure out how to carry over performances like this into the post-season. Though, you know what Alex? Most Yankee fans would settle for a simple sac fly or fielding an easy grounder in the post-season. Is that so much to ask for? NOTE: Notice I've referred to the Angels as the "Anaheim Angels." The name they're going by at the time of this writing is utterly ridiculous and I refuse to use it. You may feel free to interpret this as my personal protest.
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