Twenty-five years ago today, everything was coming up roses for the Yankees organization. They had a budding juggernaut in the major leagues that would win its 39th game against 13 losses that night. They had legitimate prospects like outfielder Ricky Ledee, third baseman Mike Lowell, and first baseman Nick Johnson pushing toward the big leagues (and their top pick from 1996, Eric Milton, had helped them net Chuck Knoblauch). Their second selection in the 1997 draft, reliever Ryan Bradley, was tearing it up in his debut season and on the verge of a promotion to Triple-A. They had a World Series title under their belt from 1996, and the league hadn’t yet set up the rules to stop them from acting like the George Steinbrenner Yankees.
1998 Yankees Diary, Draft Day: One that could have been among New York’s best
