For weekend, Yankees break with tradition
NEW YORK — Batting cleanup and playing right field: All Rise.
Hitting fifth, the shortstop: Sir Didi.
Over at third base: Toddfather.
No, these were not your father’s New York Yankees. Matter of fact, not Joe DiMaggio’s, either.
But there they were, playing ball in the Bronx wearing blue jerseys with gray sleeves and catchy nicknames scrawled across the back. Some players even sported flashy, one-of-a-kind cleats.
As part of Players Weekend all around the majors, the buttoned-up Yankees broke with tradition Friday night and ditched the famous uniforms they had worn exclusively for more than a century.
That interlocking NY logo? Stitched onto a gray cap.
The only pinstripes were on the pants.
“I’m not that crazy about it, man. I’m more of an old-school guy,” veteran outfielder Brett Gardner said before the Yankees hosted Seattle. “It’ll be weird not wearing pinstripes. But I understand the reasoning behind it, the initiative. And I know a lot of young kids and a lot of young fans are excited about it.”
Looking for ways to appeal to new fans, Major League Baseball and the players’ association decided to let big leaguers display their individuality this weekend by wearing unique and colorful gear on the field.
Bats took on a different hue, too, as Tampa Bay’s Steven Souza Jr. swung a blue piece of timber. Colorado star Carlos Gonzalez had a specially painted bat with some purple and his face on the sweet spot.
The jerseys were inspired by youth league uniforms and included a patch on the right sleeve with a blank space for players to write the names of people or organizations essential to their growth and development.
Game-worn jerseys will be auctioned, with proceeds going to help amateur
baseball and softball programs.
Yankees third baseman Todd Frazier, a proud New Jersey native, had special cleats made with Frank Sinatra’s face on them, along with a nod to his Little League World Series championship and an image of Frazier holding the Home Run Derby trophy he won in 2015.
Didi Gregorius, knighted in Curaçao, designed three pairs of Looney Tunes spikes . Aaron Judge? All rise. Fitting, at least. But a few decades late for The Bambino, The Iron Horse, Joltin’ Joe and The Chairman of the Board.