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

Throughout the decades, there have been plenty of times when spending July Fourth at Yankee Stadium was well worth the price of admission. From Lou Gehrig’s famous speech in 1939 to Dave Righetti’s no-hitter in 1983, countless incredible memories have been made in the Bronx on America’s birthday. July 4,

Ben Rice had already hit two home runs against the Boston Red Sox on July 6, and the question that came to mind as the first baseman stepped into the batter’s box in the seventh inning was obvious. Has a rookie ever hit three home runs in one game for

As he sat at a table in the Globe Life Field outfield the day before the 2024 All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, Aaron Judge serenaded a swelled media throng with a recitation of the baseball studs in town for the weekend. Over the course of nearly an hour, he spent

When James Rowson began working with his players upon the official start of Spring Training this past February, the Yankees’ new hitting coach was overwhelmed by the bounty of talent in his charge. In Aaron Judge, he had the American League single-season home run record holder. Juan Soto? Only perhaps

On Saturday afternoon of a picture-perfect Memorial Day Weekend, several thousand baseball fans flocked to the village of Cooperstown, N.Y., to revel in the game’s storied past. They filed into the stands at 103-year-old Doubleday Field, anticipating the 1:05 p.m. ET start of the Hall of Fame East-West Classic --

It’s a nice problem to consider what it would be like if your perfect game hadn’t happened. Certainly better than the alternative. For David Cone, who achieved baseball immortality 25 years ago on a hot July day in the summer of 1999, it’s a fun exercise, harmless and victimless. “You

The grandest, most successful and colorful of all the years I played baseball was 1927. We went into first place after the first game, and we were never out of it the whole season, winning 110 games. In 1969, at the celebration of baseball’s 100th season, the Baseball Writers’ Association

Even though he retired from baseball, Alex Mauricio wasn’t ready to be done with it. Part of that was because he was just 23 years old, and his career had barely started. Part of it was because he knew his arm would mend eventually, and he could continue doing what