News Archives - River Avenue Blues

CC Sabathia announces retirement following 2019

February 16, 2019 by Mike

At a press conference in Tampa earlier today, CC Sabathia announced he will retire following the upcoming season, as expected. He’s been saying 2019 will be his final season on his R2C2 podcast since last summer and now it’s official. The big man is hanging up his spikes after the season.

“CC has been a great ambassador for our game, and we are proud that he has represented our organization for the past decade.” said Hal Steinbrenner in a statement. “His competitive spirit is matched only by his devotion to family and his relentless philanthropic pursuits. CC has always been a pillar in our clubhouse, and we look forward to him further cementing his impressive legacy this season and contributing to our championship goals.”

Everyone from Derek Jeter to Andy Pettitte to Jorge Posada to Joe Girardi to A.J. Burnett to LeBron James to Fat Joe issued statements congratulating Sabathia. Here’s the release with their statements. Sabathia said his offseason heart scare had nothing to do with his decision to retire. He’d made up his mind before that and he’s ready to spend more time with his family. Sabathia also said he doesn’t want to coach after his playing days are over. He’s ready to relax.

“I had the pleasure of competing against CC and also with him, and have always considered him one of my favorite teammates,” Jeter said. “He rose to and exceeded the expectations and pressure, especially during his time with the Yankees, and was a key piece to the 2009 championship team. CC embodies what it means to be a professional athlete and has been an incredible ambassador for Baseball. He has an unwavering commitment to success on the field and an even greater desire to give back through his foundation work off the field.”

When asked about his legacy, Sabathia said he wanted to be remembered as a good teammate more than anything, and I don’t think he has to worry about that. Just about the entire team attended the press conference, even the position players who haven’t reported to Spring Training yet, as did members of coaching staff, front office, and ownership group. Sabathia’s wife and three of their four kids were there as well.

As part of his farewell season Sabathia announced he will honor members of the Boys & Girls Club in each road city the Yankees play throughout the year. He said he wouldn’t be where he is without the Boys & Girls Club and he wants to give back. I’m sure CC will receive some gifts like we’ve seen with other respected veterans in their farewell seasons. He’s making sure he does some giving of his own in his final season as well. That’s just who he is.

Sabathia turns 39 in July and is entering his 19th big league season overall and his 11th with the Yankees. He signed with the team as a free agent in December 2008 and, at the time, his seven-year, $161M contract was the richest pitching contract in baseball history. Sabathia rewarded the Yankees with a World Series championship in the first season of that contract. It was money very well spent.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing, of course. Sabathia struggled with velocity loss from 2013-15 before reinventing himself as a cutter pitcher late in his career. He’s pitched with right knee problems for years and he also left the Yankees to receive treatment for alcohol addiction right before the 2015 postseason. Sabathia has had to overcome a lot, especially late in his career. He’s always been a ferocious competitor who left everything he had on the field.

At the moment Sabathia is four wins away from 250 and 14 strikeouts away from 3,000. He’ll join Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton as the only lefties in the 3,000-strikeout club — Sabathia is already the all-time American League leader in strikeouts by a lefty — and, when the time comes, he’ll have a great case for the Hall of Fame. Sabathia said he hasn’t thought much about that yet though.

Sabathia is currently fourth on the franchise strikeout list (1,593), 11th in wins (129), 12th in starts (284), and 12th in pitching WAR (+29.7). Two more wins moves him into the franchise’s top ten. Also, he has a career 3.45 ERA in 19 postseason games (18 starts) in pinstripes. Sabathia is one of the best pitchers in Yankees history and he should have a place in Monument Park when it’s all said and done. Send him out with another ring, Yankees.

Wednesday Notes: Andujar, Sanchez, 60-day IL, Britton

February 13, 2019 by Mike

Baseball is in the air. Pitchers and catchers reported to Tampa today and Spring Training has begun. Position players are due in camp Monday and the Yankees will play their Grapefruit League opener one week from Saturday. Hooray for that. Anyway, make sure you check out Matt Foley’s piece on Adam Ottavino’s makeshift training facility in Harlem. Here are some other notes to check out.

Marlins wanted Sanchez and Andujar for Realmuto

According to Ken Rosenthal (subs. req’d), the Marlins wanted Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar during J.T. Realmuto trade talks earlier this winter. The deal might’ve been expanded to include utility man Miguel Rojas and possibly another Marlins piece as well. Rosenthal says the Yankees wouldn’t trade Sanchez for Realmuto straight up because he’s younger and under control twice as long. Sanchez and Andujar? Nah.

The Marlins traded Realmuto to the Phillies last week for a three-player package that included top pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez and big league catcher Jorge Alfaro, which is decidedly less than Sanchez and Andujar. Rosenthal indicates the Yankees wanted to acquire Realmuto and flip him to the Mets for Noah Syndergaard, which is something we heard back during the Winter Meetings. Talks never gained traction though. Sounds like the Yankees wanted to do all that while subtracting as little from their MLB roster as possible.

Disabled list is now the injured list

The disabled list has a new name. It will now be known as the “injured list” at the suggestion of advocacy groups for the disabled. MLB never did formally announce the change, but teams are using “injured list” in press releases, and it doesn’t get more official than that. There have been no other changes to the DL IL as of now. The MLBPA is pushing to go back to a 15-day IL to help curb roster manipulation. That could happen soon.

“The principal concern is that using the term ‘disabled’ for players who are injured supports the misconception that people with disabilities are injured and therefore are not able to participate or compete in sports. As a result, Major League Baseball has agreed to change the name ‘Disabled List’ to be the ‘Injured List’ at both the major and minor league levels,” said MLB’s senior director of league economics and operations Jeff Pfeifer to the Associated Press. An overdue change, this is.

60-day IL is now open

Quick procedural note: Teams can now place players on the 60-day injured list to open up a 40-man roster spot. I know this because earlier today the Diamondbacks put Taijuan Walker (Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day IL to make room for free agent signing Caleb Joseph, and the Athletics put Sean Manaea (shoulder surgery) on the 60-day IL to make room for free agent signing Brett Anderson.

The Yankees have two 60-day IL candidates in Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery) and Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery), and potentially two more in Jacoby Ellsbury (hip surgery) and Ben Heller (Tommy John surgery). Next time they need a 40-man spot, I imagine Montgomery will be first to go on the 60-day IL. I should note that, if you put a player on the 60-day IL in Spring Training, the clock on the 60 days does not start until Opening Day. You can’t put a guy on the 60-day IL now and get credit for 40-something days during Spring Training.

Zach Britton is now Zack Britton

Here’s another name change: Zack Britton is now going by Zack with a K instead of Zach with an H. The Yankees announced it last week. “I was born Zack, with a ‘ck,’ but I didn’t know until I went to get a passport it was really with a ‘ck.’ My parents had told me it was with a ‘ch.’ I am blaming my parents,” Britton joked to Kristie Ackert. “The Orioles always just put the ‘ck’ on any legal documents and I went by ‘ch,’ with everything else.”

Ackert says the Yankees and Britton had to rewrite their contract this offseason to change Zach to Zack. Sounds like all his paperwork with the Orioles over the years was correct, but everyone around the league thought it was Zach, and it wasn’t until he signed with a new team that it came to light. Anyway, Britton says going by Zach never bothered him. So far DL/IL has tripped me up more than Zach/Zack, but dude, if you’re going to change your name, don’t change one letter. Go full Giancarlo.

Teams will wear MLB 150 jersey patches this year

Earlier this week MLB announced all 30 teams will wear an “MLB 150” patch on their sleeve this season to celebrate the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first ever professional baseball team. They were the first team with an entire roster of salaried players. Teams will also wear the patch on the side of their caps on Opening Day. The patches are pretty snazzy. Here’s a look:

(@MLB)

“We’re excited to recognize the 150th anniversary of professional baseball by honoring our history while celebrating the game and the great players of today. The MLB 150 patch will be a continuous reminder on the field of the link everyone involved in the game today has with the storied history of professional baseball and MLB,” said commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement. Celebrating the first salaried team while clubs simultaneously work to suppress player salaries is something else.

Wednesday Notes: Top 110 Prospects, Cessa, German, Loaisiga

January 30, 2019 by Mike

In two weeks pitchers and catchers will report to Tampa and Spring Training will begin. Will Manny Machado or Bryce Harper sign before then? I’m starting to think no. Would be pretty embarrassing for baseball if two 26-year-old superstars are unemployed when Spring Training opens, I think. Anyway, here are some notes and links to check out.

Three Yankees among Law’s top 110 prospects

Over the last few days Keith Law released his top 110 prospects list for the 2019 season: Nos. 1-50, Nos. 51-100, and Nos. 101-110. Everything is behind the paywall, though I will tell you Padres SS Fernando Tatis Jr. ranks as Law’s top prospect, not Blue Jays 3B Vlad Guerrero Jr. (Vlad Jr. is second.) Three Yankees make the top 110:

61. RHP Deivi Garcia
101. OF Everson Pereira
106. OF Estevan Florial

Law says Garcia “at least looks like he is built from the same mold as guys such as (Marcus) Stroman and Roy Oswalt,” meaning a short righty who can stick as a starter. He adds Pereira might’ve made the top 100 had he not missed time with injury last year. “(The) raw tools and the fact that he still hit .263/.322/.389 despite his youth mark him as a potential top-50 guy for next year,” says the write-up.

Like Baseball America, Law kept Florial out of his top 100 for pitch recognition issues. (Florial wasn’t in Law’s top 100 last year either.) And, given his injury history, I’m not surprised RHP Jonathan Loaisiga didn’t make the top 110 or even the honorable mentions. Loaisiga has top 100 stuff and control, but not top 100 health. The only former Yankees prospect to crack Law’s top 110 list is Mariners LHP Justus Sheffield, who ranked 34th. He went to Seattle in the James Paxton trade.

Yankees received calls on Cessa, German, Loaisiga

According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees have received trade calls this offseason on depth starters Luis Cessa, Domingo German, and Jonathan Loaisiga. Obviously the Yankees haven’t received an offer to their liking given the fact all three righties remain in the organization. Loaisiga’s trade value may never be higher than it is right now. Given his injury history, I wouldn’t be against cashing him as a trade chip.

The Yankees (finally) traded Sonny Gray two weeks ago and they’ve yet to sign a swingman type to replace him, not unless you count Drew Hutchison or David Hale. Cessa, German, Loaisiga, and Chance Adams are the Nos. 6-9 starters in whatever order. Cessa is out of options, so trading him would be preferable to potentially losing him on waivers for nothing, but I’m not sure the Yankees would get much in return. Cessa is probably more valuable to the Yankees as a depth piece than anything he could fetch in a trade. Same with German.

Nike, not Under Armour, will be MLB’s next uniform supplier

Earlier this month MLB announced a new ten-year agreement that makes Nike the league’s new uniform supplier beginning in 2020. Nike will replace Majestic. A few years ago Under Armour was in talks to take over as the league’s uniform supplier, but that deal fell apart, and Nike swooped in. The Under Armour logo would’ve appeared on the jersey chest, like so:

The Associated Press reports the Nike swoosh logo “likely will move to a more prominent position on jersey fronts,” though no details were announced. Currently the Majestic logo appears only on uniform sleeves, and the Yankees have an exemption. There’s no Majestic logo on their jerseys. I would be surprised if they get a similar exemption in the Nike deal. Much like the New Era logo on the side of caps, it probably won’t be long before you stop noticing the Nike logo on jersey fronts.

Yankees hire first ever Environment Science Advisor

The Yankees have hired Dr. Allen Hershkowitz as their new Environmental Science Advisor, the team announced. It’s the first position of its kind in pro sports. “The Yankees have always been devoted to supporting the best interests of our community, our fans and our players, and we believe effective eco-friendly initiatives are a key element of our interactions,” said Hal Steinbrenner in a statement.

Teams around the league have taken up green initiatives but never before has a sports club hired someone for the express purpose of helping them become more environmentally friendly. The Yankees say Hershkowitz will have a “primary focus on the areas of energy use, waste management, water conservation, and food services.” I imagine it’s only a matter of time until this catches on around the league and other teams invest in environmental advisors.

Friday Links: Gregorius, Rivera, Potential Rule Changes, Leiter

January 25, 2019 by Mike

Pitchers and catchers report in less than three weeks and the first Grapefruit League game is four weeks from tomorrow. One month until glorious, glorious baseball. Here are some miscellaneous links and notes to check out in the meantime.

Gregorius begins baseball activities

Didi Gregorius has started limited baseball activities as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery. He is taking one-handed swings and fielding grounders without throwing. It’s not much, I know, but he has to start somewhere. Gregorius is progressing well enough that he’s getting his swing in order and having batted balls hit at him. That’s not nothing. Soon he’ll get his rebuilt elbow involved.

Sir Didi had his Tommy John surgery on October 17th. Position players typically have a shorter recovery time than pitchers and everyone involved says Gregorius will play this season. We just don’t know when, exactly. Brian Cashman has indicated the Yankees will let Gregorius complete his rehab before bringing him back. They’re not going to cut corners and let him DH a la Shohei Ohtani. Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu give the Yankees some insurance here, but the sooner Didi returns, the better.

Rivera to take on expanded role with Yankees?

During a recent radio interview, new Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera revealed he will be “teaching pitching” with the Yankees in some capacity. “I’m going to start working with the New York Yankees and teaching pitching. So many guys throw hard but don’t have command. We need to teach these boys to pitch. Pitchers are getting away from pitching and are focused on throwing hard,” Rivera said.

For what it’s worth, the Yankees have not formally announced a role for Rivera, and Andy Martino says the two sides have not yet discussed an expanded role in the organization. Mariano serves as a guest instructor in Spring Training each year and that’s pretty much it, as far as we know. I’m certain the Yankees will happily bring Rivera aboard in an expanded role, and it sounds like Rivera is ready to do it. Right now, there is no formal arrangement in place. I’m guessing there will be one soon.

MLB looking to change disabled list, option time

According to Ron Blum, MLB has proposed changes to the disabled list and optional assignments that would make it more difficult for teams to manipulate their roster. Specifically, the league wants to go back to a 15-day DL, and they want players to spend at least 15 days in the minors before they are eligible to be recalled. Right now they have to wait ten days (unless there’s an injury). The MLBPA has not yet agreed to the proposal and it’s unclear if they will.

Disabled list trips have increased more than 30% since the league switched from a 15-day DL to a 10-day DL. Some of that is due to legitimate injuries and some of it is due to teams manipulating their roster. Specifically, clubs will put a starter on the 10-day DL to essentially skip a start for extra rest without playing shorthanded. Also, having to wait 15 days to recall a player rather than ten will throw a wrench into bullpen shuttles and the opener strategy to some degree, since many multi-inning relievers are send down immediately after being used. Adding the extra five days to the disabled list and optional assignments could have a big impact.

Leiter leaving YES Network

Al Leiter will not return to the YES Network broadcast booth this season, reports Andrew Marchand. He’s leaving to spend more time with his family. “I’m grateful for my 12 years. It was a family. I know it sounds like BS, but it is true. It is hard to leave. It is more about being able to see (my son and three daughters) doing their things,” Leiter said. Marchand says YES will not hire a new analyst to replace Leiter. They’ll give his games to others already on staff.

Leiter’s son Jack is a high school senior and a top 2019 draft prospect. MLB.com currently ranks him as the 20th best prospect in the draft class and says he has a “solid four-pitch mix and knows what to do with all of his offerings.” I imagine Al wants to be around for what will be a very important year for Jack. Marchand says the decision was a surprise — Leiter was scheduled to increase his YES workload this year — but it’s understandable. I enjoy Leiter in the booth. I’ll miss him.

Mariano Rivera becomes first unanimous Hall of Famer

January 22, 2019 by Mike

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has four new members. Earlier tonight the Hall of Fame and the Baseball Writers Association of America announced Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Edgar Martinez, and the late Roy Halladay have been voted into the Hall of Fame. They’ll be joined by Harold Baines and Lee Smith during induction weekend. Baines and Smith were voted in by the Today’s Game committee.

“Mariano was a fierce competitor and a humble champion, which has made him such a beloved baseball legend,” said Hal Steinbrenner in a statement. “Success and stardom never changed Mariano, and his respect for the game, the Pinstripes and for his teammates and opponents alike makes this day such a celebration of his legacy. There will be many more great and talented relief pitchers, but there will never be another like him. This is another incredible achievement for Mariano, and a day like today brings me great pride knowing he wore the Pinstripes for each and every game of his remarkable career.”

Here’s the video of Rivera and his family getting the phone call with the news:

Rivera appeared on all 425 ballots and is the first unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame. I can’t believe it. Never thought it would happen. It is stunning. Rivera is also the first player originally signed or drafted by the Yankees to be voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA since Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford were voted in back in 1974. (Phil Rizzuto and Joe Gordon were Veterans Committee selections.) Here are the seven highest voting percentages in history:

Mariano Rivera: 100.00%
Ken Griffey Jr.: 99.32%
Tom Seaver: 98.84%
Nolan Ryan: 98.79%
Cal Ripken Jr.: 98.53%
Ty Cobb: 98.23%
George Brett: 98.19%

No other player received at least 98% of the vote. Not Hank Aaron (97.83%), Babe Ruth (95.13%), Willie Mays (94.68%), or Ted Williams (93.38%). Rivera is of course deserving of a perfect voting percentage. He is the greatest reliever in baseball history and it’s not all that close. Especially not once you include his postseason numbers. Consider the all-time postseason win probability added leaderboard:

Mariano Rivera: +11.7
Curt Schilling: +4.1
John Smoltz: +3.6
Andy Pettitte: +3.5
Jon Lester & David Ortiz: +3.2 (tie)

“It’s humbling to think of the incredible journey that Mariano has had over the course of his life — his unassuming beginnings in a Panamanian fishing village to pitching for the Yankees under the brightest lights with the world watching,” Brian Cashman said in a statement. “I speak for every Yankees fan when I say how fortunate we were to have had him on our side for so long. Clearly his World Series rings and longtime statistical dominance testify to his standing among the greats to ever play our sport. But no matter how big a star he became, he never failed to carry himself with unerring professionalism and class. Mo was always someone who I could point to and say, ‘That’s what a Yankee should be like.’”

Rivera retired with a 2.21 ERA — his 205 ERA+ is far and away the best in history among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched (Clayton Kershaw is second with a 159 ERA+) — and a record 652 saves in 1,283.2 regular season innings. He also posted a 0.70 ERA and 42 saves in 141 postseason innings, and 31 times in those 42 saves he recorded at least four outs. Bonkers. A deserving Hall of Famer through and through.

As for Mussina, he became a star with the Orioles and had more wins (147 to 123), starts (288 to 248), and innings (2,009.2 to 1,553) with Baltimore than he did with the Yankees. He was still a great Yankee, however, pitching to a 3.88 ERA (114 ERA+) in eight seasons in pinstripes. Mussina never won a Cy Young or a World Series, but he is one of the ten best pitchers since the mound was lowered 50 years ago, and now he’ll assume his rightful place in Cooperstown.

“I’m so happy to see Moose recognized for his incredible career. Accomplishing what he did while spending all 18 of his seasons in the ultra-competitive AL East is remarkable,” Cashman added. “Unlike the big arms that dominate today’s pitching landscape, Mike was a quintessential craftsman who played up to his strengths and hunted for the weaknesses in his opposition — before that level of preparation was a commonplace thing to do. More importantly though, he was a gamer, plain and simple. He wanted the ball, and did everything within his power to get himself ready to contribute. I don’t get too invested in players’ individual milestones, but I was thrilled that he won 20 games in his final season. He deserved that validation then just like he deserves the validation he’s going to get this summer in Cooperstown.”

I guess it’s fitting Martinez and Halladay are going into the Hall of Fame the same year as Rivera. Edgar is pretty much the only hitter who solved Mariano. Hit .579/.652/1.053 in 23 plate appearances against him. Good gravy. Halladay had a seven or eight-year stretch as the best pitcher in baseball and, as Tom Verducci wrote in 2013, Rivera helped Halladay refine his cutter. Verducci says the Yankees fined Rivera in kangaroo court for that. I was not sad when Halladay got traded to the National League. Not at all.

Andy Pettitte received 9.9% of the vote and will remain on the ballot another year. I don’t think Pettitte is a Hall of Famer but I also didn’t think he’d receive such a low voting percentage. Five percent is needed to remain on the ballot another year and Pettitte cut it close this year. Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada dropped off the Hall of Fame ballot in their first year of eligibility in recent years. Pettitte gets another chance.

Former Yankee Roger Clemens (59.5%) continued to gain Hall of Fame support in his seventh year on the ballot but again fell short of the 75% threshold needed for induction. So did Barry Bonds (59.1%) in his seventh year on the ballot. Fred McGriff, who the Yankees drafted then traded as a prospect, received 39.8% of the vote in his final year of Hall of Fame eligibility. The BBWAA did not vote him in, but don’t worry, one of the new eras committees surely will. The full Hall of Fame voting results are available on the BBWAA’s site.

Next year Derek Jeter will join the Hall of Fame ballot and, like Rivera, he is lock for first ballot induction. Will he be unanimous? Maybe! Former Yankees Bobby Abreu, Eric Chavez, Kyle Farnsworth, Jason Giambi, Raul Ibanez, Lyle Overbay, Brian Roberts, and Alfonso Soriano are also due to join the ballot next year. Abreu will get some stathead support. I can’t imagine any of those guys coming close to induction though.

Tuesday Notes: Frazier, Potential Rule Changes, Start Times

January 22, 2019 by Mike

Later today the 2019 National Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced. MLB Network will carry the announcement live at 6pm ET. Spoiler: Mariano Rivera is getting in. Will Mike Mussina? We’ll find out soon enough. Here is the public Hall of Fame ballot tracker and here are some notes to check out.

Frazier cleared for Spring Training

As mentioned by Matt over the weekend, Clint Frazier has been cleared for Spring Training following last year’s battle with a concussion and post-concussion migraines, he announced on Twitter. Pretty great news. A few weeks ago Brian Cashman said Frazier was expected to be cleared for on-field work before camp opened and that is exactly what happened. Clint has been hitting off a tee and playing catch for a few weeks now. Now he can take everything a step forward.

Frazier, 24, hit .311/.389/.574 (170 wRC+) with ten homers in 48 Triple-A games last season. He went 9-for-34 (.265) with three doubles in four separate MLB stints. My guess is the Yankees will have him start the season back in Triple-A to get regular at-bats for at least a few weeks. There is an open bench spot though, and it wouldn’t take much for Frazier to claim it. If he does, Clint could find himself starting in left field before long. I think the Yankees hope it happens by midseason.

MLB, MLBPA meet over potential rule changes

Last week MLB and the MLBPA met to discuss potential rule changes for the upcoming season, report Ken Rosenthal (subs. req’d) and Tom Verducci. The league is again focusing on pace-of-play matters. Among the items the two sides discussed:

A pitch clock (18 seconds with the bases empty, 20 seconds with men on base)
Reducing the number of available mound visits from six to five
Limiting defensive shifts
An extra-inning tiebreaker rule for Spring Training and the All-Star Game

I can’t imagine being against a runner at second base to begin extra innings in Spring Training and the All-Star Game. Those games are meaningless. Heck, they usually call spring games a tie after nine innings anyway. Just don’t do it in regular season games. Also, I am against limiting defensive shifts. Let teams be creative. Besides, Travis Sawchik found that hitters are starting to adjust to the shift. Give them time to figure it out.

As for the pitch clock, I am all for it. There is too much standing around between pitches. Fix that. At this point many MLB pitchers have used a pitch clock in Double-A and Triple-A, so it wouldn’t require that big of an adjustment. MLB proposed a pitch clock last year, so, even if the MLBPA rejects it again this year, commissioner Rob Manfred can implement it unilaterally. It’s unclear if he’ll do that though. Pace of play is not baseball’s biggest issue. Hardly. It can be improved though, so improve it.

Yankees announce 2019 start times

Earlier this month the Yankees announced individual game start times for the 2019 regular season. You can see them all on the official site. Normally I wouldn’t pass this along, but it’s worth mentioning this year because the Yankees will have more 6:35pm ET starts for midweek home games in 2019. They experimented with the early start times last April and May and apparently they worked well, so we’ll see more of them going forward. A breakdown:

43 home games on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday
18 regular 7:05pm ET starts
16 early 6:35pm ET starts
Five 1pm ET getaway day starts and one 4pm ET getaway day start
Three special occasion 1pm ET starts (Opening Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day)

Those 16 early starts are all in April, May, and September. When the kids are in school, basically. Personally, I love the 6:35pm ET starts. It means less sitting around waiting for the game to start, and getting RAB work (recap, etc.) done earlier. I know I’m in the minority though. Getting to Yankee Stadium after work for a 7pm ET game is tough, especially with the security lines. Instead of missing the first inning, you might miss the first three innings with the early start times. Bummer.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson will join the Yankees in Spring Training again

January 16, 2019 by Mike

One year later, the Yankees still employ the best quarterback in New York. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will again join the Yankees in Spring Training this year, his agent told Jon Morosi. The Yankees haven’t announced a schedule or confirmed anything yet. That’ll happen soon enough.

Last spring the Yankees acquired Wilson’s baseball rights from the Rangers so they could bring him to camp and have him spend time with their young players. Even though he plays a different sport, Wilson is an elite athlete with knowledge to share, and he’s long been regarded as a high-character guy. He has a lot to offer.

Wilson played some baseball in college at North Carolina State. The Rockies drafted him in the fourth round in 2010 and he played two years in their farm system, hitting .229/.366/.342 (105 wRC+) with five homers in 93 Single-A games from 2010-11. He gave up baseball after the Seahawks drafted him in the third round in 2012.

The Rockies retained Wilson’s baseball rights after he started his football career. The Rangers selected him in the minor league phase of the 2013 Rule 5 Draft and brought him to camp one year as a motivational speaker. The Yankees got him for future considerations last spring and here we are.

Wilson, a second baseman back in the day, spent five days with the Yankees last spring, during which he worked out with the team and hung out in the dugout during games. After clearing it with the Seahawks, the Yankees gave Wilson an at-bat in a Grapefruit League game. Remember this?

I imagine Wilson and the Yankees have the same thing in mind this year. Come to camp, hang out with the guys, work out a bit, and maybe get an at-bat. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s a fun way to break up the monotony of spring, and, if the young players learn something from Wilson, even better.

(If you’re wondering about the roster mechanics, Wilson spent last year on the minor league restricted list. He didn’t take up a roster spot or anything like that.)