There is a reason the Yankees keep bending and twisting their roster year to year to keep Brett Gardner on the team, even if he’s only 85 percent the player he used to be. From the start, he has been a teammate’s teammate, a pro’s pro, a guy other players look to for guidance and leadership.
And, damn, he plays the game hard.
It is why you must take him at his word when he tells you that however it may look to the outside, his recently acquired habit of banging dugout ceilings with his bat is not intended to show up umpires, to call umpires out, to embarrass them, to infuriate them.