TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees are guests of their spring coaching house for the primary time.
New York was again at Steinbrenner Subject for a four-game collection towards the displaced Tampa Bay Rays, who’re utilizing their AL East rival’s ballpark for his or her house video games this season.
“I ran into (Rays supervisor) Kevin Money strolling in, I ran into some Rays gamers,” Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone mentioned earlier than Thursday’s sport. “I don’t know if surreal is the fitting phrase nevertheless it’s positively slightly bit odd and I’m certain as soon as the sport begins and looking out across the stadium and all that, it’s actual. It’s an actual sport, however we’re able to go.”
The Rays wanted a rental stadium after Hurricane Milton tore off the roof panels at Tropicana Subject in St. Petersburg on Oct 9. The ballpark couldn’t be repaired rapidly and the Rays made a take care of the Yankees to make use of their open-air 11,026-capacity spring coaching facility throughout the bay in Tampa.
“I believe this was for the nice of baseball, for the nice of the Rays,” Boone mentioned. “I do know their group, our group labored very effectively collectively in making it viable and it’s simply the fitting factor to do on all fronts. When one thing like that storm occurs, it’s larger than clearly we compete laborious towards one another, they’re one in every of our important rivals however to do the fitting factor at all times feels good.”
The Yankees’ generosity meant Aaron Choose, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the remainder of New York’s roster should spend 4 days in a cramped clubhouse whereas the Rays take pleasure in palatial environment. The visiting staff eating space is often the media cafe throughout spring coaching.
New York final winter accomplished a main renovation of the clubhouse, doubling participant and workers area to 50,000 sq. ft. There’s a two-story weight room with floor-to-ceiling home windows and storage door, indoor and outside stretching areas, a Ping-Pong desk, a barbershop, eight beds in a trainers space, therapeutic massage rooms and a SwimEx together with cold and hot tubs with TVs at water degree, a sauna red-light remedy and 4 batting cages. Every participant locker has a secure together with USB and USB-C ports. There’s a 70-seat assembly room, six personal workplaces and 12 desks for added workers.
“To start with, it’s wonderful to have that as our spring coaching house, now could be actually superior, and guys actually took benefit of it this yr,” Boone mentioned. “However your thoughts switches to as soon as you permit, like we all know we’re within the season, we all know it was anticipated, so I don’t even actually let myself go there.”
Boone had left a notice for Money earlier than the Yankees went up north in March. He meant to depart a bottle of tequila with the notice however forgot so he despatched it over earlier than the sport.
“Simply type of my housewarming present,” Boone mentioned.
“The good things,” Boone mentioned with a smile.
