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TAMPA – Sunday marked the first spring training game for the Yankees, as well as their first game experience with the redesigned baseball the MLB uses this season that many thought didn’t travel as far as it has in recent seasons.
The first results were mixed.
There were hitting balls during batting practice, said Aaron Judge, who didn’t have as much distance on them as he and his teammates expected.
But in the game, a 6-4, seven-innings loss to the Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the judge hit a deep cross which surprised him with how close he was to being a homerun. .
“It went a bit further than I thought it would,” he said of the fourth inning kick. “I’m kind of below. I knew I missed it. But I saw it was near the track and thought maybe someone had squeezed in an old baseball for me.
Overall, however, the Yankees haven’t seen a noticeable change.
“This is what I expected,” the judge said. “I noticed a little difference in batting training. The balls that were lit didn’t play out the same way, but in the game I didn’t notice a difference.
The same goes for Gleyber Torres, who said it was difficult to say how the ball reacts during spring training due to the differences in ball fields and weather conditions.
“Let’s see [if] there is a big difference during the regular season, ”said Torres. If you and I flip the ball you don’t notice much, “Boone said.” But the guys who run it for a living will likely have an opinion over the weeks. “
A better test could come on Monday, when the Yankees host the Tigers and Gerrit Cole takes the start.
Cole has previously said he’s not sure if he’s using the new balls at the start of camp.
Aaron Boone believes veteran pitchers will shed more light on the matter.
Mike Tauchman started in center field and followed a Rob Brantly homerun with one of his own, as the Yankees went back to back in the bottom of the fifth.
Boone noted that Tauchman “didn’t make a homer last year” as he tries to find a spot in the crowded Yankees outfield.
“He feels really good at the start of camp, looks good on the move and looks good on swinging the bat,” said Boone.
Clint Frazier, already designated starting left defender, appeared to get a bad jump on a shallow fly in the fourth but later in the round did well to fight against the sun to make a nice deep left catch.
“He earned his place here, but you still have to earn it,” said Boone. “In the field [Sunday], I thought he was fine. … I thought he was moving well on a few balls he had caught.
DJ LeMahieu was the Yankees’ first baserunner with a first center single down the fourth after the first nine Yankees were called out. … Andrew Velazquez, a native of the Bronx and Fordham Prep product, entered as a pinched runner in the fourth.
Fans weren’t the only ones allowed to return to the stands on Sunday. Scouts were also present. … The Yankees will continue to wear a # 16 crest on their sleeve in honor of Whitey Ford. They also wore it during the playoffs after the Hall of Famer passed away last October. … A moment of silence was reserved for Hank Steinbrenner, former general partner and co-president of the Yankees, who died in April after a long illness.
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