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Unveiling Sports' 'Mindset List'

How those entering college this fall might see the world of sport
08/23/2012 10:04 AM ET
By YESNetwork.com Staff

Those born in 1994 weren't even alive for Paul O'Neill's tenure in Cincinnati.(MiLB.com)
Every year since 1998, Wisconsin’s Beloit College has published what they call a “Mindset List,” a compilation of factoids, anecdotes, and trivia that relates to the age of their incoming freshmen.

As the school says on its website, the list “provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college.” This year’s list, which you can read here, notes that most members of the Class of 2016 were born in 1994 – meaning that in their lifetimes, Kurt Cobain and Richard Nixon have always been dead, there have always been blue M&M’s, and there has been no such thing as the Soviet Union or the Berlin Wall.

With that in mind, we here at YESNetwork.com decided to take a look at the Yankees, Major League Baseball, and athletics in general to how someone born in 1994 might view the world of sports. Of course, we took a few liberties in timelines, assuming many in the Class of 2016 wouldn’t have too many memories in their first couple years of life, but the fact remains that all of these milestones are a couple decades in the past. Enjoy!

To those born in 1994…

-Don Mattingly isn’t remembered as “Donnie Baseball,” but as a coach and legendary Yankee.

-The Core Four have always been Yankees (minus, of course, Andy Pettitte’s years in Houston).

-Paul O’Neill has always worn pinstripes.

-The Yankees have always (save for 2008) been a playoff team.

-Only three men – Buck Showalter, Joe Torre, and Joe Girardi – have piloted the Yankees in their lifetimes, and Showalter’s tenure was way before their frame of memory.

-Mickey Mantle has always been gone (but never forgotten).

-Mariano Rivera is the only Yankees’ closer they likely remember, and “Enter Sandman” is an “old” Metallica song.

-John Sterling and/or Michael Kay have always been the voices of the New York Yankees.

-Tom Seaver, Reggie Jackson, and Phil Rizzuto have always been Hall of Famers.

-Wade Boggs was never a member of the Red Sox.

-The Rockies and Marlins have always been MLB franchises.

-There have always been six divisions and a Wild Card.

-The Orioles have always played at Camden Yards, the Rangers have always played at Ballpark at Arlington, and the Indians have always played at Jacobs/Progressive Field.

-Cal Ripken has almost always been the all-time leader in consecutive games played.

-Joe Carter has always been a World Series hero.

-Michael Jordan is a baseball player turned NBA star.

-Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd have always been elite NBA players.

-Tiger Woods has always been a professional golfer.

-There has always been football in Jacksonville but never in Los Angeles.

-The NHL has always had at least 26 teams.

-Jimmy Johnson coached the Dolphins, Bill Parcells coached the Patriots and Jets, and the Ravens have always played in Baltimore.

-Mountain biking, beach volleyball, curling, and snowboarding have always been Olympic sports.

-The New York Rangers are still waiting for a Stanley Cup.

-O.J. Simpson has always been in trouble with the law.

-The Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) has always been around.

-The YES Network has been in existence for more than half their lives.

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