By Dana Schulz, Wed, May 5, 2021 Photo by Matt Boulton via Wikimedia Commons
Are you a baseball fan who’s still not vaccinated? Starting May 19, you can attend a game, get a free ticket, AND receive the Covid vaccine. In a press conference today, Governor Cuomo was joined by Yankees President Randy Levine and Mets President Sandy Alderson to announce the new initiative. He also announced that starting May 19, both New York City baseball stadiums will be able to increase capacity to 100 percent for vaccinated people and 33 percent with six-foot distancing for unvaccinated people. There will be two separate seating sections, both of which will require fans to wear masks.
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By Dana Schulz, Thu, March 18, 2021 Photo by Matt Boulton via Wikimedia Commons
In a press conference this morning, with guest appearances by former Mets and Yankees pitchers Al Leiter and CC Sabathia, Governor Cuomo announced that as of April 1, professional sports leagues that play in large outdoor stadiums can reopen at 20-percent capacity. What does this mean for baseball season? When Yankee Stadium has its home opener on April 1st, it’ll be able to accommodate 10,850 fans; on April 8th, Citi Field will have 8,384 fans.
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By Devin Gannon, Fri, February 5, 2021 Photo by Daniel Vargas on Unsplash
As of today, the mass coronavirus vaccination site is open at Yankee Stadium. Appointments are reserved for Bronx residents only who meet phase 1a and 1b eligibility requirements, and the site will operate every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Gov. Mayor Bill de Blasio, wearing a Yankees cap (he’s a vocal Red Sox fan), was at the stadium and spoke with Yankees president Randy Levine, manager Aaron Boone, and legendary player Mariano Rivera, all of whom encouraged people to sign up for vaccines. As of today, 13,000 of the 15,000 available appointments through next week had been filled.
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By Devin Gannon, Wed, June 24, 2020 Photo of Citi Field by Tomas Eidsvold on Unsplash
Baseball is back. After the coronavirus pandemic put the sport on hold for over three months, Major League Baseball on Tuesday announced a plan to return, with “spring” training to resume on July 1 and opening day games scheduled for July 23 and 24, with no fans. The training will take place at the home stadiums for teams, meaning the Yankees and Mets will return to the Bronx and Flushing starting this week.
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By Devin Gannon, Fri, October 4, 2019 Photos by Marc Hermann, Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum
New York Yankee fans headed to the Bronx this weekend can get to the stadium on trains that were in service during Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth’s tenure with the team. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will run an express vintage 1917 Lo-V train on Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5 from Grand Central to 161st Street, kicking off the Yankees’ postseason run in historic fashion.
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By Devin Gannon, Fri, March 29, 2019 Babe Ruth shakes the hand of actor Gary Cooper (playing Lou Gehrig) during the filming of the movie “Pride of the Yankees” in 1942. The scene is a recreation of “Gehrig Appreciation Day” on July 4, 1939 when Gehrig retired due to his diagnosis with ALS; Via NYC Municipal Archives
To celebrate the start of the baseball season this week, the city’s Department of Records & Information Services released a series of artifacts and historic photos for sale. From architectural drawings of Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field to photos of Babe Ruth at the 1936 World Series, the images provide a look back at our national pastime’s origin in New York City.
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By Devin Gannon, Wed, March 27, 2019 Photo courtesy of the New York Transit Museum
Baseball fans headed to the New York Yankees home opener this week can arrive in the Bronx via a transportation method almost as old as the team itself. On Thursday, the New York Transit Museum is rolling out its 1917 IRT Lo-V train to run from Grand Central to 161st-Street Yankee Stadium, allowing Bronx-bound passengers to travel back in time before officially kicking off the 2019 baseball season.
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By Devin Gannon, Tue, October 9, 2018 Via Brian Boyd on Flickr
Considered one of the most recognizable logos in sports, how did the interlocking NY logo of the Yankees develop? The logo is actually older than the baseball team itself, as Untapped Cities learned. At the start of their franchise in 1903, the Yankees, then known as the Highlanders, wore uniforms with the letters N and Y sitting separately on each breast section of the jersey. In 1905, the team adopted a new interlocking version, but later tossed this logo out and returned to their old emblem.
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By Devin Gannon, Thu, June 7, 2018 Photo via Clean Sweep Auctions
On September 30, 1973, during the last home game at Yankee Stadium before the historic arena underwent two years of renovations, diehard baseball fans came wielding screwdrivers and hammers. Not to fight fans from the opposing team of that night’s game, the Detroit Tigers, but to dismantle any memorabilia from “The House That Ruth Built.” One fan somehow got his hands on a right field sign wall that designates the 296-foot distance from home plate (h/t Forbes). A family member of the brazen fan put up the sign for auction last month and on Wednesday, after 18 bids, the 1960s era sign sold for a final sale price of $55,344.
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By Devin Gannon, Thu, March 29, 2018 The Highlanders play a game at Hilltop Park in 1912, photo via NYPL
Not unlike their current power-house lineup, the most dominant team in American sports got off to quite a rocky start. Not only did the New York Highlanders, now known as the Yankees, have a losing record for many years, but the team’s first home field was also a mess: it was located near a swamp, the outfield had no grass, and the ballpark sat mostly unfinished. In just six weeks, 500 men hastily built the stadium on Broadway and 168th Street in Washington Heights, known as Hilltop Park, in time for the Highlanders’ first home game on April 30, 1903. Due to the unsavory, rock-filled conditions, the last big league game at Hilltop Park was played in October of 1912. Following its closure, the Highlanders changed their name to the Yankees in 1913, moved to the Bronx, and went on to become one of the most successful sports teams in the world.
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