Remember when the belief in sports was that a player couldn’t lose their starting spot due to injury? Has that myth of job security ever really been a thing? Because in 1925, Lou Gehrig filled in for Yankees first baseman Wally Pipp who was dealing with the effects of a headache, only to watch Gehrig play the next 2,130 consecutive games.
In 1996, a broken elbow sustained in Spring Traning to starting shortstop, Tony Fernandez, gave way to Derek Jeter.
Was manager Joe Torre supposed to hand the reigns back over to the veteran Fernandez once healthy, because, on paper, Fernandez was supposed to be the starter?