It’s a cool April evening in Bridgewater, N.J., and Reading’s Caleb Ricketts is where no batter wants to be -- in an 0-2 hole. But for Somerset Patriots right-hander Brendan Beck, this is his comfort zone, and after three years of battling injuries, there are few spots he could enjoy

Cody Bellinger got his first taste of Major League Baseball in the Bronx. But unlike most of his Yankees teammates, his introduction to the big leagues came decades before he actually played the sport for a living. The outfielder’s first memories of being at the old Yankee Stadium bring him

The Great Bambino, Babe Ruth, hit 15 World Series homers in his career, but not one of them came with the bases loaded. Lou Gehrig, who held the Major League record for grand slams for nearly eight decades, never hit one in the Fall Classic (although he did have an

Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. It’s more than the makings of a frighteningly powerful lineup. It’s also a quartet of former MVPs who will help manager Aaron Boone pilot the Yankees’ ship toward a return to the World Series and beyond, with a parade in lower

Long before Aaron Judge started collecting American League MVP Awards and Anthony Volpe became the first Yankees rookie to win a Gold Glove, each player got his start on the road to Major League stardom in the organization’s farm system. But even back then, before reaching the bright lights of

Yankees fans have been talking about Anthony Volpe for a long time now, ever since he was selected in the first round of the 2019 Draft. It can be easy to forget that, for as long as he has been part of the conversation, the third-year shortstop is still just

An hour has passed since the final out, and the home clubhouse at Yankee Stadium is nearly empty other than the gaggle of reporters gathered around Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in the center of the room. While the modest team captain bashfully answers questions about his three-home run, eight-RBI tour-de-force,

As a second hurricane in two weeks took aim at the Tampa Bay region last October, the Yankees did what they always do: They pitched in, turning George M. Steinbrenner Field -- their Spring Training ballpark and the regular home of the Single-A Tampa Tarpons -- into a shelter for

As a pitcher, closing out ballgames is not an easy way to make a living. You never know when your next opportunity will come, and when it does, it’s up to you alone to protect the lead that your teammates have worked so hard to build. It’s a stressful gig

When Cody Bellinger showed up at Yankees camp, he was one of four former MVPs in the room. It was easy to be awed by the sheer level of talent around him. But Bellinger also was amazed by the player whose locker was next to his, a guy with just

Dave Sims has been a fixture on sports radio dating back to the 1980s, doing about every job imaginable in that time. He has hosted call-in shows, handled pre- and postgame duties and has provided play-by-play for thousands of individual games, whether basketball, football or baseball. Having seen so much

In the thick of one of the most impactful free-agent frenzies in years, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, along with several other members of the team’s brain trust, began a Zoom meeting with one of the game’s most dominant pitchers in early December.

The Yankees came so close, they could almost taste it. They fought through injuries and adversity to win 94 games in 2024 -- tops in the American League -- and recapture the AL East crown. They made quick work of Kansas City and Cleveland to reach the World Series, but

On a warm August morning at Yankee Stadium last season, some of the most legendary players in Yankees history were back in the Bronx. The home dugout was teeming with all-time greats, many of whom helped carry the Yankees to their 27th championship in 2009. A few already have plaques

Luis Gil sat surrounded by members of his family, his bearded face and long locks screaming “Yankee in Winter.” It was mid-November, a few weeks after the Yankees had lost the World Series to the Dodgers in five games, and while fans were still dressing the emotional wounds of a

In the weeks immediately after the 2024 World Series, it seemed as though the pilot light was out on baseball’s Hot Stove. For things to start cooking, one supersized domino needed to fall first. The Yankees made a strong play to retain Juan Soto, but once the All-Star outfielder decided

Paul O'Neill was already a winner when he was traded to New York in the fall of 1992, having celebrated a world title with the 1990 Cincinnati Reds. But that was just a preview of what was to come for George Steinbrenner’s beloved Warrior. One of the emotional rocks of

Jimmie Reese’s fungo bat ought to have had a U.S. patent. Among the many ways he is remembered from a full and rich baseball life, Reese was known as one of the game’s great virtuosos with a fungo bat. Handcrafted in his Southern California home woodshop, his bats, with the

Gerrit Cole stood at his locker looking off into the distance. Instead of any kind of answer, all that cracked through his lip was a not altogether friendly, almost sneer-like smirk. Despite the pitcher’s stern demeanor on the mound, the real Gerrit Cole usually has a perfectly affable disposition. This

A grind. A marathon. A slog. There are many ways to describe the rigors of baseball’s physically punishing and mentally exhausting 162-game schedule. The games themselves might not be as brutal as football, and the players display a different type of athleticism from what is required on a basketball court

It was a few hours before the night’s first pitch would be thrown at Yankee Stadium, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. seemed surprised to receive a package at his locker in the home clubhouse. The newest Yankees infielder looked quizzically at the large brown box, waiting a few seconds before tearing

After hitting .326 in 19 Grapefruit League games, Pedro González stood near home plate at Fort Lauderdale Stadium and humbly accepted the praise of his manager, Ralph Houk. Jerry Coleman, beginning his first full season as a Yankees broadcaster, helped present the 1963 James P. Dawson Award -- bestowed annually

For most people, the love of baseball is instilled over years, passed down from generation to generation. But for some, that love of the game seems almost innate, something they must have naturally inherited. Hudson Valley Renegades shortstop George Lombard Jr. is among the latter, born into the world of

The Yankees hadn’t even emerged from the gray sky above Williamsport Regional Airport, but the excitement on the runway was palpable. Among the people gathered at the small airport in rural Pennsylvania were two Little League teams, one from Venezuela and the other from Henderson, Nevada. The players would be

When you look back at the Yankees’ dynasty from the end of the last century, it’s easy to consider it as a single entity. But few people know better than Joe Girardi -- who played on three of those championship teams before managing the 2009 Yankees to the top of