TAMPA – Sunday marked the first game of the Yankees’ spring training, as well as their first experience playing with the redesigned baseball that the MLB is using this season that many believed would not go as far as it has in recent seasons.
The first results were mixed.
There were some balls hit during batting training, said Aaron Judge, who did not have as much distance as he and his teammates expected.
But in the game, a 6-4 loss in seven to the Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Judge hit a ball in the center that surprised him when he saw how close it was to being a home run.
“It went a little further than I thought, ” he said of the shot in the fourth inning. “I kind of stayed under that. I knew I missed it. But I saw that I was close to the track and thought that maybe someone had brought me an old baseball. “
Overall, however, the Yankees did not see a noticeable change.
“It’s what I expected,” said Judge. “I noticed a small difference in batting. The balls that were connected didn’t come out in the same way, but in the game I didn’t notice any difference. “
The same was true of Gleyber Torres, who said it was difficult to say how the ball reacted during spring training because of differences in stadiums and weather.
“We will see [if] there is a big difference during the regular season, “said Torres.” If you and I throw the ball, you won’t notice much, “said Boone.” But the guys who deal with it for a living will probably have an opinion over the weeks. “
A better test may come on Monday, when the Yankees host the Tigers and Gerrit Cole starts.
Cole has already talked about not knowing if he was using the new balls at the beginning of the camp.
Aaron Boone believes that veteran pitchers will shed more light on the matter.
Mike Tauchman started in the middle of the field and followed Rob Brantly’s home run with one of his own, while the Yankees went back at the end of the fifth.
Boone noted that Tauchman “didn’t shoot last year” as he tried to find a spot in the crowded Yankees field.
“He feels really good at the beginning of the camp, he looks good moving and swinging the baton,” said Boone.
Clint Frazier, already designated the initial left defender, seemed to make a bad leap in a shallow fly in the room, but later in the inning he did well to fight against the sun to make a good reception on the deep left.
“He earned his place here, but you always have to earn it,” said Boone. “In the field [Sunday], I thought he was fine. … I thought he moved well with some balls that he picked up. “
DJ LeMahieu was the Yankees’ first baserunner with a first single for the center at the bottom of the room after the first nine Yankees were retired. … A Bronx native and Fordham Prep product, Andrew Velazquez entered as a substitute runner in fourth place.
Fans were not the only ones allowed to return to the stands on Sunday. Scouts were also present. … The Yankees will continue to wear the No. 16 emblem on their sleeve in honor of Whitey Ford. They also used it during the postseason after the death of the Hall of Fame last October. … A moment of silence was maintained by Hank Steinbrenner, a former general partner and co-president of the Yankees, who died in April after a long illness.