If you’re looking for the game thread, you can find it here. Please refrain from discussing tonight’s game in this thread.
On Tuesday, Lonn Trost earned the ire of Yankee fans with some ill-conceived comments about stadium access. Talking about the Yanks’ decision to bar fans from watching batting practice from the field level, Trost laid bare the Yanks’ policies.
“There’s an area by the Legends Suite which is not an area that fans can get into,” he said. “If you purchase a suite, do you want somebody in your suite? If you purchase a home, do you want somebody in your home?”
While Trost rebuffed reporters who asked if the team was going to change policies, the Yankees are singing a different tune today. Beginning with their next homestand this weekend, the Yankees will allow fans into certain areas for batting practice. While the expensive Legends Suite seats will still be inaccessible to those without tickets, other field level and bleacher sections will be open. The new policies put the stadium in line with access during batting practice as it was across the street last year.
Bryan Hoch has more:
The Yankees have amended some of their Yankee Stadium operational policies, including permitting fans to access certain areas of the field level two hours before games.
Yankee Stadium gates on Babe Ruth Plaza, located between Gate 4 and Gate 6, will continue to open three hours to the start time of every home game.
Fans will be now permitted to watch batting practice and infield workouts during the first hour gates are open — for example, between 4-5 p.m. for a 7:05 p.m. game — from Sections 103-110 (right-field corner), 129-136 (left-field corner) and all of the Bleachers, provided the seat is vacant.
All seats between Sections 111-129, including areas near the dugouts, will remain off-limits unless fans hold a ticket for those sections.
The same Yankee spokesperson who earlier this week grew tired with reporters peppering her with questions explained the philosophy behind the new policies. “We liberalized the policy even more,” she told Ken Belson of The Times. “This is part of living in a new home and making adjustments. It’s only been a month.”
The new policies can be found here under the “Batting Practice” section. Fans can stay in those sections until the players leave the field or until one hour and 15 minutes before the game is scheduled to start.
I’ve harped on this for the last few weeks, and today we saw what can happen if enough people raise their voices to protest unfair arrangements. This is a victory for fans.
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