Columns

Anthony Scaramucci now walks with President Trump and we are better off for it. Whenever I reached out to Anthony he was always there for me. He helped to make my radio show on Espn Deportes a better and more interesting show.

I loved reading the story on CNBC about Anthony Scaramucci. I was even more excited to see the quotes from my longtime friend and mentor, Alfred Zaccagnino. Alfred said “One of the most likeable traits of Anthony Scaramucci is that he willingly gives his time, attention and courtesy to a wealth of his relations, whether personal or business, and whether they’re highest level parties, or mediocre.”

I’ve personally seen this proven at Skybridge’s SALT conference year after year. As the White House Communications Director he will be able to really help the President keep a handle on things and give the office of the President the prestige that it’s really supposed to have.

Selfishly I will miss him. I will miss his knowledge in sports that he brought to the show and I will miss how he could give and take fun loving banter with Reggie Jackson. I know how busy he will be but I hope he can find the time to come on the show again. Anthony really was a big fan favorite on ESPN Impact. Even though he was always on demand at Fox and CNBC, he always found the time to come to our show and have fun with us. He never saw us as the “little guy.” Thank you Anthony, we will always be grateful for that. I know our country needs you more.

Anthony is a good man who has a great sense of humor. When he told me that he owned a small piece of the Mets I told him,that doesn’t necessarily make you a bad guy. Naturally we had a good laugh over it.

On the other hand when he found out that my son Ricky had been drafted in the Major League Baseball draft but not assigned a team he showed concern for a young mans dream.

It’s not like Anthony and I are close friends, of course we’re not. However that tells me that he has concerns for all people and the White House situation is in better hands. A good choice by the President for a good man.

I’m just gonna have to dig deeper to find other good guest for my show on ESPN Deportes Impact . The only bilingual radio show in sports and entertainment.

What the heck, I figured I’d give the show a free plug.

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One of the poorest congressional districts in the United States happens to be the Bronx, Yet it’s funny that some of the greatest times in this city seem to happen in poor little Bronx.

Whether it’s the Yankees winning 27 World Championships, the circus performing here or the fact that some of the greatest performers and world leaders were born here in the Bronx.  People like Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Academy Award Winner Burt Lancaster, and television host Regis Philbin or me.

There have also been a lot of movies filmed in the Bronx, too many to mention. On Tuesday, the Bronx was “burning again” when people were running up and down Arthur Avenue saying that Joe and Sofia were in the neighborhood. For you non movie fans, Joe is Joe Manganiello and Sofia is Sofia Vergara. (By the way they also happen to be married.) They are in the Bronx filming a movie called “Stano.”

Stano is about a Bronx boy with a dream and how the facts of life sometimes can derail our dreams. Stano is a film about Love, strength, vision and desire.

After reading the script, I knew that I had to be a part of this as an associate producer. After meeting the writer, Robert Bruzio, feeling his heart and soul and finding out how he formulated this story, I knew this film would be a winner. I heard that Manganiello and his brother Nick were producers in this project and that told me just how much they believed in this film. I was told that Sofia was doing this film and also working on her TV show Modern Family pretty much at the same time. Not too many actors would do this unless they thought the project was really very special.  The film is being produced by Lynn Hendee and Bill Chartoff of the famous Chartoff Hollywood production company which brought us all of the Rocky classics and last year brought us the very popular big hit “Creed.”

Another one of the producers in the film is Robert Molloy, the Grandson of the great NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. I guess this tells you that the film has a little bit of a baseball twist to it–I won’t say.

The film will be in production from now until mid-September with scenes also being shot in Staten Island.
I must congratulate Screen writer Robert Bruzio on his first film. I worked with Neil Simon on the film “The Sluggers Wife” and at that time Simon had already done a dozen films but he was still extremely nervous on the set. I can only imagine what Robert is going through!

Thank you Joe and Sofia for bringing class and dignity to my beloved Bronx.

My Boss, George Steinbrenner would have been proud of both of you and the Chartoff group for bringing this project to the Bronx.

Joe and Sofia will always remind me of Bogey and Bacall….great actors with great hearts. When you watch the old Bertie Higgins music video Key Largo, you can’t help but to think of Joe and Sofia. Being an old movie romantic, I only hope that their romance is just like Bogey and Bacall.

Not to take anything away from the great Chazz Palminteri but I guess this is just another Bronx Tale!
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The last time that I attended an all-star game was in 1977. The players at that time were named Reggie and Munson and Johnny Bench and Tom Seaver and the all-time hit leader, Pete Rose. It really was a galaxy of all-stars.

This year the all-star game was going through a revamp. The names now are Harper and Judge and Cano (who was the MVP for getting the game winning HR) and Sano and Giancarlo etc. Nice names that in the near future will make baseball really great again.

My favorite name of all happens to be Nelson Cruz, the outfielder for the Seattle Marines. The reason is not because he happens to be one of the great power hitters in the game (even though he is.) It’s because he is one of the great gentleman in sports. He really cares for thy fellow man. He quietly does a lot for the less privileged throughout all of Latin America.

Even though Nelson is from the Dominican Republic, he has organized campaigns to help other Latin countries with food and medical issues. A couple of years ago, I was thrilled to make a humanitarian presentation to Nelson at the United Nations. As always, Nelson was truly very humble in his acceptance.

A person that has quietly been one of the great humanitarians throughout my forty four years in sports is the former Mariners catcher and presently the broadcaster for the MLB network Dave Valle. I asked Dave what his opinion was of the humanitarian efforts of Cruz and Valle said, “He is wonderful. What he has done and what he can do for his country is overwhelming.”

Dave Valle would know a thing or two about helping in the Dominican Republic. Dave heads one of the Dominicans biggest charities, called Esperanza. They have helped to build schools, create jobs, and create businesses.

You have to wonder how a person becomes such a terrific individual and it doesn’t surprise me that Nelson has two of the greatest parents a person could have. I’m sure it helps that they are both teachers in the Dominican.

The highlight of the all-star game for me was when Nelson came to bat. Nelson asked the catcher, Molina if he would take a picture of the umpire, Joe West, and himself. I asked Nelson why he wanted a picture since he is a person that never makes waves or brings attention to himself, and he said that he wanted to honor the retiring umpire for a job really well done.

At the after party, he gave the attention to my son, Ricky, who was drafted by the Atlanta Braves. He joked with Ricky that he should have been a Yankee.

Former Yankee Robinson Cano had only one thing to say about Nelson Cruz, “The Greatest!” I have to agree.

Diamond Dust

A special congratulations to the Yankees contingent at the game. They were very classy in how they went about their business.  You could tell that other players noticed how special it truly is to be a Yankee in an all-star game or in a World Series.

I must add that yes, Aaron Judge is all that and can hit a baseball a long way, but more importantly he really is a very nice young man and I hope that all the attention that he is getting and will continue to get does not overwhelm him to the point that he shuts himself off from the fans like other big time Yankee stars of the past.

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For the second straight early summer, high school students from all over the country come to New York for a two week crash course in the business of sports. Taught by longtime New York area sports business pro Joe Favorito, the program gives these rising juniors and seniors a chance to find out what they like, and maybe don’t like, about a field they may be passionate about.

On Thursday, the class, which also includes a young lady from Amsterdam and a Yemeni-American softball player from Texas, spent the day at Yankee Stadium, where Yankees Magazine editor Al Santasiere spent time with them talking about the ins and outs of business life with the Bronx Bombers, as well as imparting career advice (“Use your internships as a semester long job interview,” was one of his pearls of wisdom shared, along with the value of networking and working hard).

Several of the students are aspiring journalists, so the day, which included tours of Monument Park and the Yankee Museum, served them well.

Yankee Stadium was only one of the stops during the two week program for the group, which includes students from as far away as San Diego and Los Angeles and as close as the Upper West Side of Manhattan. They visited MLB Advanced Media to talk digital sports, the Barclays Center to learn about the arena business, another trip to Yankee Stadium to check out NYCFC and even Coney Island to see how the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest is run. Some of the students even crossed paths with former Giant now Packers tight end Martellus Bennett and retired Yankee Alex Rodriguez while they were in midtown last week.

They will wrap the program with a special presentation on Friday, and will even get to hear from former Mets and Oakland A’s pitching coach Rick Peterson on how the inner workings of an MLB team operate.

“The goal of the program is to give these kids an important look into all areas of sports business, with the hope that they realize they can turn a passion into a real career, which should allay some of their parents fears,” Favorito, who also does a similar but more intense program for Columbia University later in the summer, said.  “We bring in experts in many fields, from collegiate sports to brands to media members, and give the students real life experience that can hopefully help them choose a college, and with that get a better understanding of the great potential that lies ahead.”

There is nothing better than work life experience, and these students are learning from some of the best, in the greatest city in the world for sports and business.  This past week we would have celebrated the Boss’s 87^th birthday. Nothing would have made him happier than to spend time with all of these kids and to give them advice on life and the career paths that they might choose.  He was great with young people especially when he saw that they were serious about their education. As a parent, I thank the Yankees for never forgetting and always welcoming young people who are just realizing their dreams.

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Every dad that loves baseball and has a son dreams that some day his son plays professional baseball. Two weeks ago, my son Ricky was drafted by the Atlanta Braves. To say that it brought tears to my eyes would be an understatement. Ricky was an original member of Hanks Yanks and the 16th player signed from the organization.

Dreams do come true. This week the Cleveland Indians signed George Valera, an outfielder that played four seasons for Hank Steinbrenner’s storied youth baseball team Hank’s Yanks.

Hank and I founded the team in 2010 and George came on board in 2012.

“Jojo” as he was known to his teammates, was an exceptional baseball player but more importantly he was already an exceptional person. Jojo was on our junior team and his parents felt that it was so important for him to be on Hank’s Yanks that the youngster used to commute from the Bronx to Long Island. His parents and coach, Sandy Kyrkostas was always able to work out the long journey to Baseball Heaven in Yaphank. Even organizational coach, Aris Sakellaridis took his turn picking up the youngster and delivering him to his game. Coach Sandy is a motion picture producer by trade and has produced many films including Empire State staring Duane “the Rock” Johnson, a film that George also appeared in.

I had a long talk with Jojo last night and gave him my two cents about pro ball, agents and life as a professional baseball player. I begged him to never change as a person. The thing that impresses me the most about this young man is how he is so grateful to his coach Sandy for teaching him so much as a man. This kid is only 16 years old but you would think he was 26. He is so grateful to Hank Steinbrenner even though he only met him once and says Hank is the reason he wanted, so badly to be on this team.

During this whole conversation, not once did he ever mention that the Indians gave him one million three hundred thousand dollars.

During the eight years that we have had the Hank’s Yanks teams, we have had seventeen players signed and I can honestly say that most usually talk about their bonus money. This kid never mentioned it. I thought that was so very cool.

I asked him what the most important thing was that he got out of Hank’s Yanks and Jojo said, “This was the first time that I had actually been around white people and because of this experience I now feel comfortable around anyone.

“I actually feel that I learned to be a leader and feel that I can always help all people.”

Jojo was very surprised when I told him that I had worked with Charlie Maher, the team psychologist with the Indians for four years. I told him that he is going to a class organization and that he would really grow as a player and a man there. He asked me if all teams were like this and I told him only a few, but definitely the Yankees!

George Valera wanted to thank his parents, Delabona and Jorge that he loves so much, a school teacher, a Jennifer Jaeger, that introduced him to Hank’s Yanks, and of course his beloved baseball coach Sandy and all the assistant coaches and naturally all of his teammates that he still stays in touch with. The Indians will have Jojo in a Dominican Summer league starting sometime next week. Jojo says that that he will never forget his wonderful summers with Hank’s Yanks.

“Even though I’m with the Indians, I will always be grateful to the Yankees for my wonderful opportunities as a kid,” he said.

Someday the baseball world will be in for a treat when this young man gets to the big leagues. Hank Steinbrenner should be very proud because the labor of his love has produced a very beautiful story.

This year we have three Hank’s Yanks teams in the Bronx so that these kids don’t have to travel so far on school nights.

Go Hank’s Yanks!

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

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