If the Yankees, at their best, carry with them a mystique, then there has always been an un-Yankee-like quality to Brett Gardner. He has never been their most fearsome player, just a 9-to-5 grinder who runs out every ground ball as if he were being chased by trouble and seems to want nothing out of the game but a victory.
So, when Gardner, in the midst of his finest season, was approached by the Yankees about starting a campaign to help him land the final berth on the American League All-Star team, it made him squirm.