Yankees Mag: Bulldog Born, Bulldog Bred
Anticipation had been building all weekend long. Fresno State alumni, former players and supporters of the Bulldogs baseball team had traveled from near and far to see the 12th and 13th numbers in the program’s storied history retired. The sheet covering up the No. 44 of legendary head coach Mike
Yankees Mag: Bonded By Béisbol
On the surface, it had all the makings of a one-way street. The Yankees -- owners of the most famous and recognizable logo in sports, with more championships than any team among the planet’s major leagues -- visiting Mexico City seemed, at first thought, a bit like the gods descending
Yankees Mag: One of a Kind
It was early in the 1992 baseball season, and Michael Kay couldn’t help but feel distracted. John Sterling sat by his side in the broadcast booth at Yankee Stadium, and the veteran play-by-play announcer was repeatedly reaching for his mute button, muttering unprintable words while furiously annotating a series of
Yankees Mag: Gotta Have Faith
Yankees manager Aaron Boone grew up in clubhouses, following around his father, Bob, who caught 19 seasons in the bigs. When Aaron reached the Majors, it was as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, an organization that historically has been known to put on one of the biggest shows in
Yankees Mag: The Show That Never Ends
“We may have to,” Jesse Cole says, tying a bow on a 30-minute conversation before he goes back to whatever reality looks like in the brain center of the Savannah Bananas. “I may have given you a good final piece of your story, by the way, right there: We may
Yankees Magazine: ‘Relentless’
The cheers continued for a solid two minutes, with 33,620 fans at Fenway Park standing in rare salute to a Yankee. Joe Torre had arrived in Boston earlier that day --May 18, 1999 -- having decided it was time to return as Yankees manager after being diagnosed with prostate cancer
Yankees Magazine: From the Ground Up
Whether he knew it or not, Anthony Volpe’s pursuit of the 2023 Rawlings American League Gold Glove Award began when he was an elementary school shortstop. Ironically, the journey that concluded at The Plaza Hotel actually began very close, maybe even across the street, from the ballroom where he received
Yankees Magazine: Closer’s Mentality
For all the breezy, laid-back vibes of Spring Training, when the scents of grilled meats and sunscreen waft across the Yankees’ complex at George M. Steinbrenner Field every March, it can be a stressful time for manager Aaron Boone. There are dozens of Major and Minor League players to keep
Yankees Magazine: The Comforts of Home
It was the first full day of a new baseball year, and Aaron Boone’s brain was straddling two eras. Asked to suggest a comparison for the sensational slugger who would make his home in the top third of the 2024 Yankees’ lineup, the manager, who played in the Majors from
Yankees Magazine: Back On Course
Can’t happen again. Just not us. Unacceptable. While most teams would view a 31st consecutive winning season as a reason to celebrate, the Yankees’ 82-80 campaign in 2023 was acknowledged by everyone throughout the organization as anything but. A fourth-place finish in the American League East meant no trip to
Yankees Magazine: Family Vacation
Oswaldo Cabrera is, by nature, a happy fellow, always smiling, always demonstrating genuine glee and good cheer. He has such a disarming “aww shucks” energy that it almost made his 2022 breakout somehow even more inconceivable. Where did this kid come from, and how is he doing this? Even as
Yankees Magazine: Ultimate validation for Yankees ace
Gerrit Cole understands just how difficult it is to win a Cy Young Award. He certainly appreciates how much it means to everyone around him: his teammates, his manager, the Yankees' front office and, of course, his family. When Cole took the stage at the annual New York Baseball Writers’
Yankees Magazine: Immeasurable Impact
Perhaps Aaron Judge should not have been surprised to learn that he had been named the recipient of Major League Baseball’s most prestigious individual honor, the 2023 Roberto Clemente Award. Bestowed annually since 1971, when Willie Mays was named winner of the inaugural “Commissioner’s Award,” the Clemente Award recognizes the
Yankees Magazine: Roster Shuffle
His heart rate was back to normal. The adrenaline that had been pumping through his body hours earlier had dissipated, and he could finally take a breath and reflect on what he had just done. But Gerrit Cole couldn’t fully relax -- not yet. It was Oct. 27, 2019, Game
Yankees Mag: Just like old times
With 27 World Series championship teams to choose from, Yankees fans can have a spirited debate over which one was the crème de la crème. Nearly a century after winning 110 games and sweeping Pittsburgh in the World Series, the 1927 “Murderers’ Row” team remains synonymous with dominance, while the
Yankees Mag: Historic Rematch
On a cool spring morning in May, University of Pittsburgh head football coach Pat Narduzzi had just finished a recruiting meeting in the Steel City. After he walked the prospective collegiate player to the front door of the state-of-the-art training facility that the Panthers share with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Narduzzi
Yankees Magazine: Jasson Domínguez, a space odyssey
When a ballplayer is so talented that the nickname “El Marciano” (“The Martian”) is bestowed before he has even touched a professional field, there are going to be a lot of high hopes. Given the nickname during his time on the Dominican Republic baseball circuit, Jasson Domínguez has had eyes
Yankees Mag: Quick Hit
Opening Day was a dream for Anthony Volpe, whose smile shined bright as the sun on that late March afternoon, but the rest of 2023 was a lesson in the roller-coaster life of a Major Leaguer. One of the best shortstops in the game all year, Volpe thrilled on the
Yankees Mag: Bauers’ Hour
If you didn’t predict the emergence of Jake Bauers this season, don’t feel bad -- you’re far from alone. As the 27-year-old slugger freely admits, everything that has happened in 2023 has been something of a surprise, even to him. Or if you prefer, you can take it from Yankees
Yankees Mag: Great Expectations
Gerrit Cole is used to it by now. Watchful eyes have been trained upon him since high school. Coaches, teammates, opponents, scouts, fans … not a baseball season goes by in which Cole’s performances aren’t dissected and analyzed from top to bottom by hordes of onlookers. As a former No.
Yankees Mag: Peach of a Guy
It’s easy to get caught up in the scenery on the street that leads up to Ron Blomberg’s home in Roswell, Georgia. Beautiful houses line both sides of the road, just about all of them sitting behind plush green yards. The large hemlock trees that line the pavement are even
Yankees Mag: Thorpedo
The components of a pitching prospect’s scouting report are pretty straight-forward: What do they throw, how well and how hard? Those three factors go into determining a prospect’s overall grade and where he ranks among his peers. For the Yankees’ No. 5 overall (and No. 2 pitching) prospect, Drew Thorpe,
Yankees Mag: Believe
Clarke Schmidt sat in the Yankees’ dugout, weighing the good and the bad. It was the type of early April afternoon that gives the barest hints of an impending summer, a day when 50-something degrees feels optimistically forward-thinking. Two days earlier, Schmidt -- who pitched mostly out of the bullpen
Yankees Mag: Coming ’Round the Mountain
On a picturesque June night in northeastern Pennsylvania, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are getting ready to take the field for a game against the Buffalo Bisons at PNC Field. The sun is out, and the scattered clouds fill the blue sky above Montage Mountain. From the third-base dugout, the view not
Yankees Mag: Roy’s Reflections
Roy White was a steady presence on Yankees teams during an era when the franchise was not at its best, part of the group that helped it return to greatness. For 15 seasons, beginning in September 1965, White was known for playing hard and providing consistency at the plate and