One of my favorite TV Shows of all time is Seinfeld. Last night,while watching the classic 1993 episode, “The Smelly Car,” I caught this quote in the first act:

JERRY (to Kramer): What’s the matter with you?

KRAMER: Steinbrenner! He’s ruinin’ my life…

JERRY: Oh yeah, Steinbrenner…

KRAMER: I don’t think I can take another season with him, Jerry. He’ll just trade away their best young prospects, just like he did with Beuner, McGee, Drabek… McGriff…

JERRY: I know the list…

This episode premiered on April 15, 1993, a little over ten months after the 1992 MLB Draft, when the Yankees drafted Derek Jeter. At this point, the Yankees already had Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera in their organization since 1990. While neither Jeter, Pettitte, Posada, nor Rivera would make their major league debuts until 1995, all four were highly coveted prospects in the Yankees organization. This brings me to ask the question: did Cosmo Kramer’s rant convince George Steinbrenner to hold on to these players and subsequently win five World Championships?

The episode’s initial airing drew in 25 million viewers in the United States and that night, the Yankees blew a 4-0 in the ninth inning to lose to the Kansas City Royals. Granted this game was going on when the episode aired, but I bet Steinbrenner taped this episode to watch later and when he did, he got an idea. An idea that would ensure his darling Yankees wouldn’t blow a four-run-ninth-inning-lead again. For those fans of the New York Yankees, I think you owe Cosmo Kramer a big thank you. Or at the very least, the Yankees should hang this up in Monument Park: