The New York Yankees have had an eventful spring training thus far, so here are the five best storylines from camp.
After two weeks of spring training games, the New York Yankees have experienced highs and lows. The veterans are getting in shape for the upcoming season, the kids are showcasing their talents for the fans and competitions are underway.While the Yankees still have three weeks to go until the regular season, there have been some interesting storylines emerging from camp.
Sure, there’s the right field competition between Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks. We also can’t forget to mention the competition for the final two spots in the starting rotation.
But the best storylines have nothing to do with the obvious competitions. In fact, some of the best storylines have to do with the impending youth movement.
So without further adieu, here are the five best storylines in spring training:
The arrival of Billy McKinney
Billy McKinney originally wasn’t supposed to be in Major League camp this season. However, his luck changed when an unfortunate incident to Tyler Austin resulted in the Yankees calling him from across the street.
McKinney was originally a throw-in during the Chicago Cubs trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs and Adam Warren to the Yankees. But this Spring, McKinney has been a force to be reckoned with. McKinney is 6-for-11 (.545/.643/1.916) with the Yankees this Spring and doesn’t show signs of slowing down.
While the Yankees were initially trying to replace Austin in camp, McKinney ended up opening eyes. Now, fans are going to remember McKinney’s name for as long as he’s a Yankee.
Clint Frazier‘s hair conundrum
While we can have a conversation about Clint Frazier and his baseball skill set, all people can really talk about is his head of hair. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed with his hair. But the Yankees have a hair policy in place where Frazier has to appear clean shaven and can’t have long hair.
So, Frazier trimmed his hair a bit prior to Spring training games. Unfortunately, the length wasn’t good enough for George Steinbrenner’s daughter Jennifer Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner ended up scolding Frazier about his hair, and as it turns out, she also scolded Ben Gamel for his golden locks last season.
Eventually, Frazier agreed that his hair was a distraction in camp, which resulted in fully cutting his long locks.
Brett Gardner mentoring therr kids
Brett Gardner accomplished something most players who have played for the Yankees can’t say. Gardner is about to spend his tenth season with the Yankees and evolved from being a doe-eyed rookie into a confident veteran.
In fact, Gardner has the coveted veteran locker in the clubhouse and is viewed as one of the top dogs by his teammates.
In a way, you could say Gardner has become the unofficial captain of the Yankees. Especially since Gardner has the young kids flocking to him in droves. Gardner’s made the kids feel welcome at camp by helping them with their mechanics and allowing them to pick his brain.
Recently, Gardner helped right fielder Aaron Judge with his hitting, which helped Judge cut back on the strikeouts. Because of Gardner and Matt Holliday‘s advice, Judge hasn’t struck out as often and hit a few bombs this Spring.
I’m still not sure if his home runs landed yet.
Don’t run on Gary Sanchez
Gary Sanchez became a bonafide superstar for the Yankees last season when he hit 20 homers and drove in 42 runs in 53 games. However, one weapon Sanchez has that ex-Yankee Brian McCann didn’t have was a cannon for an arm.
A recurring theme in Spring Training is players running on Sanchez. However, Sanchez always gets his man behind home plate. There was one instance where Sanchez threw the runner out from his knees.
You would think people would review Sanchez’s scouting report, especially since he threw out 41 percent of those that tried to swipe second.
If Spring should teach the other teams something, it’s this; don’t run on Gary Sanchez. It’s not going to end well for you.
Yankees are fun to watch again!
The New York Yankees have only played two weeks worth of Spring Training games, but they’ve made watching Yankees game fun again. The mix of veteran presence and youthful energy is a wonderful sight, which not only makes fans excited for this season, but also for the future.
It’s worth mentioning this is Spring Training and we don’t know how the Yankees are going to perform this season. But for the next few weeks, we can simply enjoy some baseball.
In April, the games are going to matter, and that’s when watching the Yankees will become a fun yet stressful task.