Cash $

BY KEVIN KERNAN

NOW that Thanksgiving is over and Lane Kiffin Leaving Season is complete, it is time to look at what the Yankees are up to after not having won a World Championship for the 16th straight season.

First, let’s go back 62 years to begin to put the Yankees’ early offseason in perspective. I was nine years old on February 27, 1963, which was a big day for Yankee fans. On that day, Mickey Mantle became only the fifth ballplayer and second Yankee to hit the $100,000 mark.

Joe DiMaggio was the first to be paid that amount in 1949 and then Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Hank Greenberg rounded out the first four to hit that magic financial number; in 1963, Willie Mays made it to $105,000.

Cash money.

I point all of this out just to give you an understanding where I come from with baseball contracts. Yes, I am old enough to remember when $100,000 was the Big Deal. That is on me. Having said that, I am stunned the Yankees will pay centerfielder Trent Grisham $22.025 million this upcoming season.

Absolutely stunned.

But that is only the start. I also am absolutely stunned Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, born on third base, is basically complaining about the team spending big money and that he would like to get the payroll down from $319 million, if possible.

So, the same guy who is complaining has a management team that painted the Yankees into a $22 million corner with Grisham for 2026 because he accepted the qualifying offer. Make it make sense.

And you wonder why the Yankees despite the high payroll could not get past the ALDS in 2025?

While the Dodgers celebrated their second straight World Championship, something no MLB team has done since The Boss’ Yankees won three in a row in 1998 — ’99 and 2000 — with their second straight championship parade in Los Angeles, Hal Steinbrenner’s postseason wrap-up was a video conference call with reporters.

Hey, but look at the bright side!

At least the Yankees were allowed to wear beards this year as Hal Steinbrenner consciously tries to change everything his father George stood for as The Boss. Awesome.

Also, Hal made it clear that the Yankees are already moving in the right direction for 2026 because they relieved first base coach Travis Chapman of his duties. Brian Cashman has been known to fire coaches before, so this is really nothing new.

In the conference call it was pointed out that the Yankees, according to Forbes, had $700 million in revenue: that’s a lot of Trent Grishams.

Hal, though, begged to differ.

 “I don’t want to get into it,’’ he told reporters. “But that’s not a fair statement or an accurate statement. Everybody wants to talk about revenues. They need to talk about our expenses, including the $100 million expense to the city of New York that we have to pay every Feb. 1, including the COVID year. It all starts to add up in a hurry.

“Nobody spends more money, I don’t believe, on player development, scouting, performance science,’’ he added. “These all start to add up. If you want to go look at the revenues, you got to somehow try to figure out the expense side as well. You might be surprised.”

Really?

If the Yankees are such a financial burden Hal, sell the team.

If the Yankees are such a financial burden Hal, sell the team.

No fan wants to hear the Yankees crying about the money they spend. They sure take in a lot — and every year the worth of the franchise increases to even crazier numbers. I feel for the young Yankee fans who for the past 16 years have not been able to experience what so many Yankee fans have experienced in their lifetime.

For example, I’m lucky enough to have the Yankees win 12 championships in my lifetime, including the year I was born; 1953 when the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in six games. This was the 50th World Series.

That season Casey Stengel’s Yankees won their fifth straight World Series, and 16th overall. Billy Martin hit .500 in that World Series, including the walk-off hit in Game 6, a single to center that scored a rampaging Hank Bauer for the 4-3 victory on October 5.

To watch that black and white replay now, it is fun to see Bauer madly sprint across home plate as he scored from second base, unlike Isiah Kiner-Falefa who opted not to get a substantial lead this year in the ninth inning of Game 7 at third base and then slid into home plate — costing the Blue Jays the opportunity to beat the mighty Dodgers. Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas, who tied the game 3-3 in the top of the ninth with a home run, thought he had cost his team the World Series because he stumbled while making the play and throwing home for the force out.

However, baseball prevailed.

I guess players like Hank Bauer from 72 years ago understood the nuances of the game a little bit better than today’s players, even though we are always told the opposite by Nerds and their many, many sycophants.

Anyway, Billy the Kid got it done in 1953 and he was a kid back then, 25 years young, and that single gave him 23 total bases for the World Series, breaking the six-game Series mark set by none other than Babe Ruth back in 1923, the first of the 27 World Championships for the Yankees. In that series, the Yankees beat the New York Giants in six games. That also marked the first season of Yankee Stadium, the House that Ruth Built.

I say all this to put the Yankees in perspective and as a reminder to Hal Steinbrenner that the Yankees are sacred to their fans, and that he is in charge of a public trust — not just a baseball team, and the Yankees have been making money for their owners since 1923.

I also point this out about all the Yankees championships in my lifetime because my friend Dave Dagostino recently told me that his teenage son Tanner had never seen the Yankees win a World Series. It was difficult to compute because my generation of Yankee fans have been spoiled rotten with championships, until Hal’s latest dry spell.

As for all the money poor Hal has to spend as Yankees owner, he also said last Monday, “Would it be ideal if I went down [in payroll]? Of course. But does that mean that’s going to happen? Of course not. We want to field a team we know could win a championship — or we believe could win a championship.’’

I don’t hear any of those type of comments from the Dodgers’ money men. They just keep spending and finding new creative ways to spend cash money and deferred money.

And therein lies the rub.

The Dodgers have cornered the Japanese superstar market, but they also have role players who come up big in October and a big part of that, I believe, is because Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is one ultra-competitive leader. Roberts out-managed Aaron Boone in last year’s World Series as the Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games. He did the same this year against Toronto’s John Schneider, with the Dodgers winning Games 6 and 7 in Toronto, making all the right moves, including putting the veteran Rojas in the lineup in Games 6 and 7 _— and then late in Game 7 inserting Andy Pages in centerfield for defense who inevitably made the Series saving catch. Pages steamrolled his teammate left-fielder Enrique Hernandez to make the leaping backhanded grab, he was not to be denied.

Those are the kind of postseason moments that last forever. Why? Not only because it was an incredible play, it won a World Series.

What price glory?

And that is one of the biggest problems I have with Hal Steinbrenner. Because he doesn’t seem to know the game inside and out, he is always talking money, and no fan base wants to hear any owner talking money.

At least though, Hal’s Yankees made it to the playoffs. Steve Cohen’s Mets spent more money than anyone and they could not even become one of the 12 teams that were invited to the playoffs.

That is a big reason why Hal gets away with his money comments, the Mets never put the winning heat on the Yankees in New York.

How bad is it?

In 2026, the Mets will be going into the 40th year since they last won a World Series, one of only two Mets World Series.

No matter how badly the Yankees mess up, Uncle Stevie is always there to tell Hal, “Hold my beer.’’

So, here is the deal.

Hal, stop talking about money and start holding Brian Cashman (The Forever GM) responsible. Same for Forever Manager Aaron Boone. The Yankee window will not be there forever because Aaron Judge is getting a bit older. This coming season he will be 34. Do what you have to do to surround Judge with championship caliber teammates. Judge hit .364 in the win over the limited Red Sox team in the wild card round and a stupendous .600 against the Blue Jays in the ALDS.

Let me remind you that Trent Grisham, your $22 million player next year, hit .167 against the Red Sox and followed that up with a .118 mark against the Blue Jays.

It is not just that you spend $319 million – or less come 2026 — it is how you spend your cash money.

And stop complaining about it.

Yankees fans do not want to hear any of it.

They deserve better.