Even at limited capacity, Yankees excited to see fans back in the stands as spring games begin
TAMPA — It has been almost a year since they heard that buzz. The low-hum of fans settling into their seats, talking among themselves and the collective reactions to the game on the field. Sunday, for the first time since March 12, when spring training was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, the Yankees and most of the players across baseball will play in front of live people.
“The adrenaline just wasn’t there as much as a player. You come out for stretch before the game and kind of get the juices flowing usually,” DJ LeMahieu said of playing in empty ballparks in 2020. “When there’s no one out there, really have to dig deep for your teammates and do it. But just having the fans, you know, at least some I think it’s gonna be good for the game [and] for the country for sure.”
Fans will be allowed in the ballparks this spring at a limited capacity as the Yankees begin their Grapefruit League play Sunday afternoon, hosting the Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Fans were allowed in limited amounts at the 2020 World Series in Texas, but obviously the Yankees fell short of getting there. The closest they have come to having fans was the group of family that was allowed in the playoff bubbles and the ballparks during last year’s American League wild card and division series rounds.
Last March, as the Yankees were completing an overnight trip to the East Coast of Florida, MLB shut down spring training as the coronavirus pandemic took over the country.
Before that, the Yankees played to a packed house at Steinbrenner Field every home game and even their workouts were packed. Last year, when newly acquired ace Gerrit Cole threw his first live batting practice, he was taken aback by the fact he got a standing ovation.
It was quite a contrast to the season that the Yankees played. The ballpark in the Bronx, when empty, echoed the sounds of backfiring cars and sirens — the noise of the city life outside the walls — as the television broadcasts tried to put on a show with as much normalcy as possible. The crowd noise piped in, the walk-up music, the in-game entertainment was distracting enough to occasionally forget they were playing in the middle of a national crisis.
But there were big moments where it was a gut punch.
“It was the Red Sox, the first time we played the Red Sox, is when I really noticed it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of not having fans. “Honestly, I noticed it less than in other situations ... like for me it was very easy to get kind of locked in at seven [p.m.3/8. It’s game time ...”
“The Red Sox series really stands out to me, and a little bit with the Mets as well, where there’s just that normal extra buzz and angst and intensity in a regular season setting,” Boone added.
While baseball is welcoming fans back this spring and the Yankees expect to be able to have a small crowd when they open the season April 1 in the Bronx, it’s not like everything is returning to normal.
Spring training has always been about getting to see the players up close and for many fans its about autographs and pictures. With the COVID-19 protocols that players and staff are following, there is no close contact with fans. Just before spring training began, Aaron Judge walked out and told Yankee fan Adam Gillespie, who has been coming to the complex for years to get autographs and see the players, that could not happen this season.
LeMahieu, however, is optimistic that Sunday is the first step to getting back to some of that.
“I definitely miss that, but I feel like people in general are still in the COVID mindset, with kind of asking for autographs and pictures and stuff,” LeMahieu said. “So, you know it’s not always my favorite thing to do (signing autographs) but I know how much it means and it’s something I look forward to hopefully that kind of interaction returns.”
