"A day without cannoli is like a day without sunshine."
Phil Rizzuto - from his Hall of Fame induction speech in 1994

The Yankee family lost a great one last night. Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto passed away at the age of 89. He will be remembered for being the spunky shortstop on the Yankee dynasties of the '40s and '50s and for being the colorful broadcaster for the Pinstripes for four decades (and some will know him for the Money Store commercials or for appearing in a Meatloaf song). I will remember him for epitomizing what in meant to be a Yankee.

I obviously never saw the Scooter play. All of my memories of Rizzuto were from him in the broadcast booth. My favorite broadcasting team was him and Bill White. I can remember watching the Yankees on Channel 11 in New York and just cracking up at how they dealt with the game and everything else. Rizzuto was constantly talking about his favorite Italian pastries, birthday announcements to friends, and about leaving the game early to beat the traffic (for the newer Yankee fans, he actually left games in the 7th inning to get home to sleep). He also was homer and was always abviously rooting for the Yanks, but that was another reason that made him loveable. He once said, "I'm a Yankee fan first, and a broadcaster second."

To me, Rizzuto is synonymous with "Yankee". He loved being a Yankee, he loved the Yankee organization, and he loved the Yankee fans. Joe DiMaggio is always characterized as a classy Yankee, but no one had more class and warmth then Rizzuto, and unlike Joltin' Joe, the Scooter would talk to anyone and make them feel special and important. On the talk shows and in news articles today, there are hundreds of stories of his kindness in and out of the game of baseball. He may not have been the greatest Yankee statistically, but you couldn't find a Yankee who was more respected in the history of the ball club and before Derek Jeter came along, Rizzuto was the starting shortstop on the all-time Yankee team.

"I guess heaven must have needed a shortstop"
George Steinbrenner in a statement on Rizzuto's passing

I have often argued with two of my Yankee friends about whether or not Rizzuto should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. They look just at his statistics (38 career HR's and .273 career batting average) as evidence enough not be in Cooperstown. I usually have very tough standards for enshrinement, I feel it truly is a place for legends, so I must think Rizzuto is a legend, because I am glad he is a Hall of Famer. He played shortstop during a time when it wasn't a power position. He was a master with the glove and Ted Williams said that the Red Sox would have won all those pennants instead of the Yankees if they had Rizzuto. Sometimes greatness is more than just long balls and average. Rizzuto gave his entire life to the game and I was very happy to see him inducted in the Hall in 1994.

The Yanks will honor Rizzuto's memory for the remainder of the year by wearing his retired number 10 on their left sleeve. Let's hope he is reuniting with some of his old teammates and has finally found the "Holy Cow". We'll miss you Scooter.