I remember as a little boy I used to love to stay up late at night and watch old movies. On CBS TV at 11:30 pm there was no such thing as Letterman, they use to have “The Late Show.” We “old timers” remember exactly what that was, old classic movies every night. I must have been eight years old and this movie came on called “The Pride of the Yankees.” In between smiling and crying, I fell in love with Lou Gehrig and Gary Cooper, the actor that played Gehrig in the movie, baseball and naturally The New York Yankees. As faith would have it, I would get to join the fabled organization and become very close to the man who would become the most powerful man in sports, George M Steinbrenner. I loved the arts very much especially films and every once in a while I used to love to talk about movies with him. I remember once asking him that if they ever made a movie about him, who would he like to play his character and he told me Brian Dennehy.

Another time, I remember asking him what his favorite all time movie was and he told me it was “The Pride of the Yankees.” He said the reason it was so great was the heart and soul that Gary Cooper put into the role. On the Boss’s 75th birthday I gave him a beautiful framed picture of Gary Cooper in a Yankees uniform and Cooper In his cowboy outfit from the film “Highnoon”, which was the Boss’s second favorite film. I was very proud ofc the fact that he really seemed to like this gift because of the way he stared at it.

Today in the Hollywood community it was announced that a film called “Gehrig” was going into pre-production. Jay Russell was brought on to direct the film, which is based on the Jonathan Eig book, “The Luckiest Man,” and Dan Kay wrote the script. The producers of the film are Michael and David Uslan, from Batman fame. Armando Gutiérrez, who I worked with in “Walt Before Mickey and now here is the kicker– the other producer is the reason that I feel so good about this project. His name is Robert Molloy. I have known Robert since he was born and I know his passion for sports and entertainment, his heart and soul to win and succeed and how much he cares about people.

Don’t cross him though because if you do, he will bite back. Sounds like someone that I use to work for doesn’t it? Well that’s because Robert Molloy is the grandson of none other than George M. Steinbrenner himself. I probably know Robert better than any of the other grandkids and feel confident that his love of the Yankees will help protect the brand and the dignity of both the Yankees and of course the Lou Gehrig name. I know that Robert wanted the rights to the Gehrig book because of the incredible context, probably never before heard or really known. Such as the fact that after baseball Gehrig became a parole officer and actually sent the future world middleweight champion Rocky Graziano back to prison. Also how when Gehrig was in a weak physical state he still tried to deal with the unjust done to many black and Puerto Rican inmates. There are a lot more incredible facts that will make this film great. The process of casting this film will probably be the most fun and I know that Robert is anxious to participate in this part of the film’s process. Molloy is just completing the film Little Mermaids with Gutiérrez starring Academy Award winner Shirley McClain. He is also in pre-production with Bill Chartoff, of Rocky, Karate Kid and Creed fame, in a film called “Stano.” “Stano” stars Joe Manganiello, Sofia Vergara and Whoopi Goldberg with the screenplay by Robert Bruzio. Robert has worked very hard to try to bring great films to the silver screen. If he runs his production company the way his Grand Pop ran the Yankees, then I hope we are talking about future academy awards!

This really is a special country when the men that help and advise the most powerful person in the world can take the time to congratulate a young person just starting his life.

Such was the case when the NY Daily News wrote a piece on my son, Ricky Negron, and the fact that he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves. The first call came from Michael Cohen, the personal attorney  for President Trump. Michael is a dear friend of mine who has been on my ESPN Deportes radio show, Impact. Being the father of a very talented left handed pitcher, Jake, Michael knew exactly what to say to Ricky.

The second call came from Anthony Scaramucci. Anthony is a very flamboyant political figure who has had great success in the financial arena and has worked very hard in assisting the President in selecting the right people for the right posts in Washington.

Anthony is also a regular visitor on ESPN Impact. His knowledge of sports is great and when he comes on the show with Mr October, Reggie Jackson, it makes for great radio. To have Anthony wish Ricky good luck, knowing that in the next breath he could be telling the President something important dealing with world views, is incredible.

Finally we received a call from Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax and probably one of President Trumps closest advisers and friends. I am proud to say that I write a column on Newsmax.com every week. The enthusiasm that Chris showed for Ricky really made me feel very proud as a dad.  It also made me feel good that in this country people like this have not forgotten the young men and women who are next in line to lead our great land. These men have not forgotten that in their quest to be somebody, the kids still need that little pat on the back. I also know for a fact that these men are here to support all young kids not just mine.

Ricky and I want to take the time to thank these very fine individuals just for caring. It really does mean a lot and for a young kid just starting his life, words of wisdom can go a long way.

When you can have one of these individuals bring your son congratulations from the President of the United States, there is only one thing to say, “Only In America!”

Today is Father’s Day. It’s supposed to be a happy day. This is actually the first without my parents. I was told that it would be a tough one. To say that it has been hard would be an understatement. I depended on my parents for true moral support. Their wisdom was thru the roof. They knew nothing about my world of baseball and could never understand the business end of it.

They could never comprehend how if the world was at war or a child may have been kidnaped that Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin would end up on the cover of the morning paper for screaming at each other.
Yet they always knew what to say to me at my lowest moments.

In life, when they talk about unconditional love only a parent or your children can give you that.

I have spent most of this morning crying because of the many text messages that I have received from people. It is a reminder of just how difficult this first parent’s day is without them.

I can only thank God that my four kids are there for me and love me unconditionally.

In my business of baseball, unless you can hit a 95 mile an hour fast ball consistently you really don’t make much money. You are in it for the true love of the game. If I wasn’t in baseball I may have ended up a criminal like a lot of people from my youth.

When I used to try to thank Mr. Steinbrenner for saving me, he always used to tell me that my life was a part of destiny and I would not have taken that bad path.

Billy Martin once wrote me a letter saying exactly the same thing. I miss these two man more than words can say. They treated a poor Puerto Rican kid (me) that had a very low self-esteem like I was really somebody. They both would tell me to never let the ignorant people in this game to ever get you down. If they did get you down to let them know right away and they would take care of business.  Like my parents, the Boss and Billy were very protective of their kids.  They used to tell me that nothing was more important in this world than their kids. At one time, I was having a quiet moment with the Boss in his car and all he talked about was the fact that he wished he could spend more time with his kids and how great they were. He was very proud of his kids. It has really motivated me to always let my kids know how proud I am of them. On this Father’s Day I miss my wonderful Mom and Dad. I miss the Boss, I miss Billy and I miss my big brother Thurman who was always talking about going home to his wife and kids.

I want to thank my son Ricky for the wonderful Father’s Day gift of getting drafted by the Atlanta Braves. You earned this with all your hard work. I hope the Braves do the right thing! I thank my son Joey for never giving up when you could have, and for becoming the golden gloves light heavy weight champion. My oldest son, Jon-Erik who is a police officer in New York and puts his life at risk every night. When he puts on his uniform, he really does care! And then there is my unsung hero, my daughter, my little girl. To me, she is the most beautiful girl in the world, inside and out. She is in the cosmetics industry and nothing made me feel more proud than the night that she was working at the premier party for the television show Vinyl. Her clients that night were a couple of guys named Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese. She has more common sense than anybody I know. I should listen to her more!

Life is really too short and everything is a lesson. Let’s really try to enjoy life one day at a time. Also, let’s not forget that our greatest miracles are our children but at the same time please enjoy your parents and your parent figures while you have them.

Happy Parents Day.

It’s with a heavy heart that I have to report that one of America’s all time great movie directors, John Avildsen, the Academy Award winner for Rocky (Academy Award for Director and Best picture) died yesterday.

I got to know John during the last year and found him to be a really down to earth person. John who was 81 years old with the energy of a 30 year old had looked forward to bringing my book, Yankee Miracles, to the silver screen. Just last week we had meetings at Major League Baseball with officials from the commissioners office regarding rights etc. John’s vision saw Yankee Miracles as a “baseball Rocky.” Screen writer Robert Bruzio, who was to work with John on this project, broke the news to me last night. Even though he was battling pancreatic cancer, he was always hard at work!

During the last conversation that I had with John he congratulated my son Ricky on being drafted by the Atlanta Braves. Always a class act!

I had actually sat down with Yankee team president Randy Levine and co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner to keep them posted on the direction of the film.

John Avildsen was a great story teller who did a wonderful job for the youth of this country when he directed “The Karate Kid.”

My heart is selfishly broken because I will never get to see what he could have done with Yankee Miracles. At the same time I am so happy that we can always see the wonderful work that he left behind.

By the way, we had hoped to present Richard Gere with a copy of the script Yankee Miracles to entice him with the role of George Steinbrenner. Richard would have had to put on twenty pounds.

John Avildsen was a nice man with a great vision and will be sorely missed.

Weekends With Ray: ESPN 1050 Deportes Saturday-Sunday 12-2pm. Read Ray on Newsmax

Tyler Clippard was honored by NY Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner  and The Hank’s Yanks organization Monday at the third annual Yanks Hank’s fundraiser that enables youngsters to play organized baseball in the New York City Tri state area.

Clippard the Yankees righthander first came to the Yankees organization in 2006 and besides his responsibilities on the field he immediately assumed the responsibilities of someone who needed to go to hospitals and schools in the New York area.  The first hospital he visited was the Hackensack Medical Center in New Jersey where he showed his support for the many pediatric cancer patients.

He appeared at many schools in the Bronx to show the kids support in many ways.  When he left the Yankees to pitch in Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Washington he always continued his civic duties. Clippard is a native of the Tampa Bay Florida  area so naturally Hank has a fondness for this young man.

When Clippard returned to the Yankees, it was easy to select him for the “Hank Award” that symbolizes civic duties. Julia Steinbrenner and Robert Molloy made the presentation to Clippard as the next generation of the Steinbrenner family and their rich tradition of giving back to the community of the Bronx and city of New York.

Clippard was very grateful in his acceptance of the award and was humbled and appreciated that it was his first award in baseball for reaching out and being a part of civic duties.

The Many Hank’s Yanks in attendance including the new members of the TM Baseball Training Academy in the Bronx were thrilled to meet and greet Clippard. He was one of the highlights on this special day of the third annual Hank’s Yanks  Charity Golf Tournament at the Trump Links Golf Course at Ferry Point in the Bronx.

More information about how to get involved with Hank’s Yanks and to make a contribution for a good cause: www.hanksyanks.org

This week, I was reading about an incident that happened at Citi Field. Evidently in the game there was a pop up, and in the process of trying to get out of the way the batboy accidentally interfered with play.

Mets manager Terry Collins argued that it should have been an out. But didn’t get the call and was ejected. I heard that the batboy was very embarrassed and nervous for his job.

My advice to him one batboy to another. Don’t worry about it, that’s a part of the game. The Mets know that it wasn’t intentional and that you’re doing your best. Please continue to have fun and don’t walk on eggshells. Time goes too fast and this batboy job must be the greatest time of your life.

The same thing happened to me as a batboy for the Yankees and after the game the trainer Gene Monahan – a former batboy – and the manager Billy Martin came over to me knowing I was sick to my stomach and poked so much fun at me that we all just laughed. As Billy walked away, he said, “It better not happen again or you’re really gonna need Monahan.”

Weekends with Ray ESPN 1050 Deportes Impact: Saturday-Sunday 12-2pm. Read Ray on Newsmax.

Being involved in the world of sports and entertainment, I have had the good fortune of getting wonderful support from great individuals. People like Atlanta Braves president Jon Hart, Yankees President Randy Levine, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, Super scout T.Bone Giordano, and of course the Steinbrenner family.

However, a lot of my self confidence died with the the passing of George Steinbrenner in 2010.  I have not felt like the person that for 38 years was a constant presence with the Boss. Mr. Steinbrenner made me feel like I was someone special and that I belonged anywhere. Billy Martin was the same way. When I went through my low periods as a teenager, Billy Martin took me to meet Frank Sinatra, and Mr. Sinatra verbally berated me about my lack of self confidence in who I was.  (He did the same to Sammy Davis Jr., until Sammy realized he was somebody.)

For the last seven years, walking around Yankee Stadium is like walking on eggshells because I no longer have my Godfather there–the man who always looked out for me. In addition to losing Mr. Steinbrenner, this past year, I lost both my parents in the course of one month.  Thank God I have family and good friends that have kept me going — but it still hasn’t been the same.

This past week, my friend, Aris, reminded me that Frankie Valli was going to be appearing in Clearwater. Each time I hear Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, it brings a smile to my face. I’ve known Frankie for years, and he is one of the most genuine guys in the world of sports and entertainment. Frankie and his musical director Robby Robinson have treated me like royalty throughout the years.  In fact, the Four Seasons made me an honorary “Four Season” and let me sing Sherry with them (for the benefit of the audience, the microphone was off.) What a thrill to sit next to Craig Pilo, Frankie’s long time and very talented drummer and feel the beat of those drums.

When I got to the show, I sat in my seats and naturally was enjoying all the wonderful music like “My Eyes Adored You” and “Swearin’ to God”. After Frankie finished singing Grease, he announced, “I want to introduce you to a friend of mine that has been with the Yankees for a long time.”  When Frankie said that, I thought that a former player was in the audience. Frankie then asked, “Where is Ray sitting?” The lights came up and Frankie said, “Ray has been with the Yankees since he was a little boy.  Ray take a bow.”  I was blown away. It was like the people up above sent Frankie a message. It was like I was someone again — it recharged my spirit.

After the show, I was escorted with Aris and my friend, Sean Druin, backstage. Frankie came over and gave me a big hug and told Robby Robinson to take off his Dodger shirt!  (Frankie was always a Joe DiMaggio and a Yankee fan.)  I couldn’t stop thanking him for his generosity. Frankie said, “Don’t be silly.”  But that is the hallmark spirit of Frankie Valli.  He is truly my generation’s Sinatra.

Weekends with Ray ESPN 1050 Deportes Impact: Saturday-Sunday 12-2pm. Read Ray on Newsmax.

This week marks – what I believe is – the eighth annual Hope Week.

During Hope Week the Yankees have many of their players attend many wonderful charitable causes for the underprivileged. Thru the years, there have been some great stories that would make people proud of the love and care the Yankee organization has shown the great city of New York.

Hope Week is the brainchild of Yankees P.R. Director Jason Zillo. He has come up with some great stories of people in all sorts of life turmoils, and with the help of the players, has helped make there lives better.

This seems to be a page right out of the George Steinbrenner play book, because The Boss believed that every day was hope week. Steinbrenner was attending a funeral for a slain police officer in New York City. He stared at the widow and then he got extremely sad when he saw the children. He turned to his dear friend and business associate Jim Fuchs, the great Olympic shot put champion, and said we have to do some about this.

This is how the Silver Shield was formed. In Tampa they have the Gold Shield. These foundations help the children of police officers and fire fighters killed in the line of duty, with their education. Thank God for these foundations because, unfortunately, many of these civil servants have lost their lives and many of these kids received an education thanks to the help of the Silver and Gold Shield.

When it came to the truly less privileged, people close to The Boss knew that he had a very soft place in his heart for them. Whenever he did something nice, we were never allowed to talk about it. I remember one time I drove to Miami with him from Fort Lauderdale and he helped out a poor family that was in trouble financially. He had known the man from one of his schools. This was back in the 1970s, so I can’t quite remember the details except that the wife was so happy that they were not going to lose their home. The thing that I found so beautiful was that they were a black family. At this stage in my life, it showed me that blacks and whites could really help each other. For me, it was a very important lesson in my life at that time. On our drive back I mentioned how happy he made them and he made me promise not to mention this to anyone.

This was not the only time I saw him do something like this and then make me swear not to mention it to anyone.

Another time, he was coming out of a medical building on Martin Luther King Blvd. in Tampa and he passed a lady with a kid with that I believe had M.S.  She had a really beat up van that was suppose to transport the kid around. The Boss wrote down the license plate number and found out about the lady with her family. He called the local Ford dealer that he knew and had a special van made for the lady so that life would be a little better for their family. Oh, and I swore not to tell anyone.  There were so many stories and I guess that’s why I will always be so proud to of worked with him in such a close capacity.

I also know that he is looking down at his kids and people in the organization and is very proud of the things he used to do in a very quite and private way is being done in a very beautiful and prideful way.

I used to say to The Boss that when people see all the good things that you do they will want to do the same thing, especially the truly influential people of this country. He use to tell me that you don’t have to be rich to be able to help thy fellow man. You just have care. He was always right about that.

Congratulations to Jason Zillo and the organization for this wonderful week ahead.

All players that participate in Hope Week always become better people because they never forget they can do great things off the field too.

Weekends with Ray ESPN 1050 Deportes Impact: Saturday-Sunday 12-2pm. Read Ray on Newsmax.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1977 New York Yankees. That iconic team was George Steinbrenner’s first World Championship ball club. Some very colorful players wore the Yankees pinstripes that year. Their captain Thurman Munson, Sweet Lou Piniella, Bucky Dent, Willie Randolph, Mike Torrez, Roy White, Ed Figueroa, Fred “Chicken” Stanley, Graig Nettles, Ron Guidry, Chris Chambliss and the list just goes on and on.

This was a team that fought with each other off the field but like brothers, come game time, they would get together and just could not be beat.

At the Third Annual Hank’s Yanks Golf Outing on June 5th, two players from this incredible team will be honored, Mick “The Quick” Rivers, who was truly the team catalyst and arguably the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of the New York Yankees and of course “Mr. October” Reggie Jackson who probably performed the greatest feat in World Series history when he hit three consecutive home runs on three pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers that October evening in the Bronx.

Not everyone knows that Thurman Munson is actually the one who gave Reggie the name “Mr. October” It was after the game when Thurman walked by his locker and said, “You sure put on a hell of a show Mr. October.” And the nickname was born!

It’s symbolic that a month after Reggie and the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series he would run into the great Beatle John Lennon in Central Park. It was a crazy year in NY with “The Son of Sam” and the death of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley but despite this and the fact that Lennon did not know much about baseball, he congratulated Reggie and told him that right now you’re bigger than all the Jackson’s put together- in reference to the great singers known as “The Jackson Five.”

Mickey Rivers will be receiving “The Pride of Hank’s Yanks Award.” This award is given to the person who always reaches out to the youth of the city. Mickey Rivers has always been that person- always there for the kids. The same way Hank Steinbrenner reached out to the kids of the city when he started Hank’s Yanks.

Reggie Jackson will be receiving the “Boss Award” named after the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and like “The Boss” if you really know Reggie Jackson than you know his great heart.

This day is dedicated to all those that we have lost including Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Paul Blair, Jim Spencer, and of course our fiery manager Billy Martin and the man whose passion to win helped put it all together, George M. Steinbrenner lll.

Hanksyanksgolf.com for information about attending the event.

On the weekend that the NY Yankees honored Derek Jeter, ESPN 1050 Impact staged their radio program at the McDonald’s Restaurant across the street from Yankee Stadium. This was the same McDonald’s that Thurman Munson used to eat his two cheeseburgers everyday before games at the old Yankee Stadium.

If he didn’t stop there to buy them himself, when I was the Yankees batboy and walked into the clubhouse, Thurman used to scream out “Ray two cheesies” and I would run like a madman across centerfield and through the back gate across River Avenue right to the McDonald’s still in uniform.

The guy behind the counter knew exactly what I wanted and would throw the burger and fries at me because he knew they were for Munson. On days when he got to the ballpark early he would stop by the McDonald’s himself and buy cheeseburgers for the kids.

On this day, through ESPN Impact hosted by Felix DeJesus, Savier Lebron and myself, we set up our show on the McDonald’s Plaza where Thurman used to sit and did our program right there. We honored the former captain and Tony Rodriguez brought out a ton of cheeseburgers and handed them to all the people there.

Mickey Rivers came over to represent his former teammate and presented a painting of Thurman and some of his teammates eating cheeseburgers that was done by sports artist John Pennisi. Tony Rodriguez will unveil it during Oldtimer’s Day weekend when Thurman’s wife Diane and Bobby Murcers’s wife Kay are in the neighborhood to see it for the first time.

Thurman Munson was just one of those good souls that many of the fans just don’t want to forget. There were actually some of us oldtimers there that remembered when Thurman used to sit in that McDonald’s and some were actually brought burgers by the cool Mr. Munson.

The McDonald’s Plaza was wall-to-wall people. All in all it was a fun time for the people that wanted to remember the legacy of Thurman Munson. On Sunday, ESPN Deportes dedicated it’s broadcast totally to the last Yankee captain Derek Jeter. The guests included Tony Orlando, Chazz Palminteri, Jose Feliciano, Richard Gere and Billy Joel’s band mate Richie Cannata.

It was appropriate that the last two Yankees captains would be remembered at this time. Leaders that were loved by the fans, by their teammates and at the same time led their team to glory.

The youngsters in the park were in complete jubilation and enjoyed the great festivities the Yankees held for the no. 2 jersey retirement that belonged to the captain Derek Jeter.

And outside the park at the McDonald’s, the hundreds of kids who could not go inside the stadium had a great time celebrating the legacy of their adopted home boy Thurman Munson the first Yankees captain since Lou Gehrig.

Weekends with Ray ESPN 1050 Deportes Impact: Saturday-Sunday 12-2pm. Read Ray on Newsmax.