With the baseball season in flux, nobody knows when (or if) the New York Yankees’ season will officially begin. So how do we watch baseball until then? We have some ideas.
New York Yankees baseball has not been played for 148 days. That is 148 days of pure silence. No bat making contact with the baseball on its trek out of the ballpark. No pop of the glove as it meets the baseball on a laser throw to first. No smooth slides into home. No diving catches, stellar double plays or thrilling walk-off celebrations.
Baseball isn’t the only thing missing. Practically all sports are on hiatus and the rest of the world is shut down due to fears over COVID-19. It has become a worldwide pandemic and every industry has been affected.
With that being said, quarantines are in place as well as social distancing to encourage people to stay in and stay away from each other to prevent the spread of the virus. That is all well and good, but what is there to watch when baseball is not on?
In a little over a week, MLB was scheduled to start their season. Now, who knows when it will actually begin? Instead of waiting and worrying, why not watch a few full-length games from YouTube?
Not sure which ones to watch? No worries, we have the ultimate list of some great New York Yankees games from the last decade to watch. Don’t worry, the Yankees win them all. How they do, however, is worth another watch.
2011: “History! With an exclamation point!”
Let’s venture ALL the way back to 2011 where history was made. Derek Jeter entered the afternoon of July 9, 2011 two hits shy of 3,000 and ended the game with a 5-for-5 performance that put him in the history books.
Besides the grand appeal of Derek Jeter smacking his 3,000th hit, the game itself was a tight-knit competition. Better yet, David Price was the one who surrendered the home run to Jeter.
But when it all comes down to it, this is a wonderful throwback game to turn on. Watching history being made while also seeing the crowd go absolutely berserk whenever Jeter comes to the plate is worth the price of admission.
Watch the full game on the MLB channel on YouTube.
2012: The Boston Massacre
Take us back to April 21, 2012 when the rivalry was still thick with tension and the balls were flying out of the ballpark. This is the day the New York Yankees made history at Fenway Park and silenced the Fenway Faithful with a nine-run comeback.
This is the stuff you don’t see nowadays. Down 9-0 very early on, the Yankees began their massive comeback with a Mark Teixeira home run in the top of the sixth.
The rest, you’ll just have to see for yourself. The four-hour bloodbath is worth every minute…if you can stomach the first five innings. But you want offense? This is your opportunity to watch the ball fly out of the ballpark during this silent time in sports history.
Watch it on MLB’s YouTube channel.
2014: Oh, What A Night!
2014 quickly became known as the year of Derek Jeter, with his Farewell Tour taking hold of every single series. Besides, it’s not like the Yankees were making the playoffs by any means.
So instead, the focus lay on Derek Jeter and his goodbye to the sport. Sept. 25, 2014 marked the last time Jeter would play a game on Yankee Stadium dirt and, boy, did he deliver.
We all know how it ends, with a storybook walk-off. But watching the game in its entirety is far more beautiful the second time around. The atmosphere was electric, with fans aware of the implications surrounding the game itself.
A playoff-bound team? Not in the least. But at least Jeter gave the Yankees and their fans something to ultimately cheer about as the season drew to a close.
Watch the full game on the MLB channel on YouTube.
2015: Bye bye, Blue Jays!
The Toronto Blue Jays once had an 11-game winning streak. No…they really did. Back in 2015, the New York Yankees led the AL East until the Toronto Blue Jays decided to take it back by going on a hot streak.
Then, the top two teams in the East collided in Toronto and gave us a midsummer afternoon’s dream in the form of a baseball game. In comeback fashion, the New York Yankees overcame an early deficit and definitely made things interesting up north.
What starts as a regular baseball game turns into a thrilling contest for first place. Without giving anything away, watch the bottom half of the ninth inning for the best matchup you’ll ever see between Andrew Miller and short-term Yankee Troy Tulowitzki.
Watch the full game on the MLB channel on YouTube.
2016: The Dawn of a New Era
After a disappointing 2015 season, the 2016 season was the start of something great. Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin made sure of that.
When both made their debuts on Aug. 13, 2016, nobody expected much from these two. In fact, people were still hungover from the farewell ceremony less than a day earlier for Alex Rodriguez.
But Judge and Austin both launched home runs, putting them in the history books in their very first game. This type of history is definitely worth a second watch. After all, this marked the beginning of the legend of Aaron Judge. How can you miss that?
Watch the full game on the MLB channel on YouTube.
2017: Wild, Wild Card
Early on in the season, it became clear that this New York Yankees team was something special. As they rolled into the postseason, it became far more obvious.
No game was more reminiscent of the entire season than the 2017 Wild Card game at Yankee Stadium. There were so many options from 2017 but this by far had some of the best energy…and Game 4 of the ALCS is being saved for another piece.
Down early? No worries when you have Didi Gregorius in the lineup. Just an all-around, feel-good game that will have you clamoring for more postseason baseball.
Watch the complete game on the MLB channel on YouTube.
2018: Gleyber Day!
The defending World Series champion (*) Houston Astros took the field in the Bronx that day and the New York Yankees had no intention of repeating last year’s ALCS.
In a Charlie Morton vs. CC Sabathia matchup, the Yankees had to mount their own comeback that came all the way down to the absolute last minute. Brett Gardner had a few clutch hits and Gleyber Torres was around to naturally save the day.
Forget what happened to end the 2018 season…instead, focus on the Yankees beating the Houston Astros in the middle of the year and treating it like a playoff victory.
Watch the entire game for free on the MLB channel on YouTube.
2019: Aaron Hicks Saves The Day
There is no doubt about the game of 2019 for the Yankees. Facing off against future postseason rival, the Bombers mounted a comeback and then went back and forth with the Twins until the improbable diving snag by Aaron Hicks.
Just…wow. Words cannot describe just what a stellar game this all was. The implications were enormous and the competition fierce.
While right now the full game is not available on YouTube, a lengthy highlight video covers the entire game. That video can be viewed on the MLB channel on YouTube.
Hopefully, this list will tide fans over until the regular season officially begins. If not, the next list coming out will be all about the postseason. Buckle up, we’re in for a long ride.
So why not watch some baseball to help make the wait shorter?
