No matter what stage of their career they’re in, baseball players always get extra amped for certain games. Opening Day is their first day of school, where dudes are antsy to flaunt the hot bod they put together over the offseason and show everyone that this, emphatically, will be their year. The postseason obviously turns the lights up to their absolute brightest, and is the time of year when players truly forge their legacy.
But there’s one other part of the baseball calendar that has a way of injecting life into everybody involved. Whether it’s players, coaches, or broadcasters, stopping off at Yankee Stadium is, frankly, a much bigger deal than the trips to Kansas City or Phoenix. The Yankees are the Yankees, winners of 27 World Series and unquestionably the most iconic franchise in North American sports. Getting to the big leagues in the first place is always the first milestone for a player, but taking the field at Yankee Stadium is a huge rite of passage as well.
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Even though it’s not the same exact building that Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio once roamed—that was one demolished and replaced in 2009—it’s still the type of place that gets the juices flowing a little harder. Especially, as was the case this week for the three-game showdown between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, when two American League East rivals are fighting atop the standings.
“This is an awesome place to play,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde.
“You know it’s gonna be packed,” added Hall-of-Fame-pitcher-turned-Baltimore-broadcaster Jim Palmer.
“I mean, it’s the AL East,” said O’s MVP candidate Gunnar Henderson. “It’s gonna be really good intensity.”
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