Writes Ben Schwartz,
“Newsday’s Jim Baumbach reveals how Jason Giambi earned back the respect of his teammates the old fashioned way.
By listening to his lawyers.”
But going into last season, what Giambi (above) did have in his favor was the support of his teammates, many of whom understood why he had apologized publicly without using the word “steroids.” Doing so might have given the Yankees legal ammunition they could have used to void his contract.
“He was the only person who said it out straight. Everyone else tightened up,” Posada said, referring to other players accused of steroid use. “That says a lot about the guy . . . The way he did it was the right way.”
Continues Ben, “All of which taught Giambi a valuable lesson,”
“A lot of people take niceness for a weakness,” he said, “but that’s not true.”