Yankees Marketing

Over the past few days a lot of folks have weighed in on the Yanks' plans to honor Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Willie Randolph in 2015.  I don't want to misrepresent anyone else's point of view or set up strawmen to knock down, but OF COURSE the Yankees should honor their heroes and in doing so aggressively markets their past.

The Yanks aren't just a baseball team, but they are a brand - like Disney.   And Disney doesnn't retire their characters once their movies are out of the theaters.   They build their theme parks around the characters.  Hell, they acquire other sudios' characters to pump  up their parks.   Remind you of anyone else's business model?

Sanctifying their greatest players not only adds to their brand value, ratings and gate receipts but creates a more immersive experience for their consumers, some of whom remember the honorees and some who will need to be intiated.

For people who see a value in the Yanks keeping their financial edge, marketing their rich history is a way to do so, that thus far cannot be taxed or tariffed by MLB.

So honor away, Yanks!