Hoch Newsletter: Looking at Judge's future in pinstripes

The opening homestand of the regular season is nearly in the books, with the Yankees having played host to the Red Sox and the Blue Jays, beginning their winning ways early with Josh Donaldson’s walk-off single in an extra-inning, comeback victory on Opening Day. They’ll look to even up the four-game series against Toronto on Thursday night.

As Donaldson recapped Opening Day’s exploits, the veteran spoke of the “resiliency” that the Yankees showed, hoping that it would set the tone for the season ahead. That grit-and-grind mentality has served them well through a week of action; they’re at their best when they work at-bats and play strong defense. 

And now it’s time to pack our bags again, as the Yanks prepare to embark upon their first road trip of the year, paying visits to the Orioles and Tigers. Enjoy the newsletter, and visit MLB.com and Yankees.com for the latest updates! 

HERE COMES THE JUDGE

It has been about a week since Aaron Judge turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension from the Yankees, figures provided by general manager Brian Cashman about 90 minutes before the team took the field on Opening Day. This seems like an excellent opportunity to take a deep breath, step back and evaluate the landscape as best we can, so let’s do that.

Judge said that he was “disappointed” that he and the team were unable to agree on an extension, and they also remain headed to an arbitration hearing over a $4 million difference on a 2022 salary ($17 million vs. $21 million) — something that normally would have been settled in the spring, but the lockout sent arbitration cases spilling into the regular season.

So … what does this mean for Judge’s future? One thing that both the team and player agree upon is that they are better together than apart. Judge has repeatedly said that he hopes to play his entire career in a Yankees uniform, and Cashman is on record as saying that he wants to keep Judge in the Bronx. (No surprise there — he’s the face of the franchise and arguably their best offensive player.)

“I’ve been vocal about wanting to be a Yankee for life,” Judge said. “I want to bring a championship back to New York. I want to do it for the fans here. They’re family. This is home for me, and not getting that done right now, it stinks. But I’ve got a job to do on the field. I’ve got to shift my focus to that and go play some ball.”

The Yankees would have made Judge the team’s highest-paid position player in terms of average annual value at $30.5 million. About 72 hours before Judge’s self-imposed Opening Day deadline, Cashman said he informed agent Page Odle that the Yankees planned to announce their offer to the public.

Asked about that, Judge said: “There’s nothing to be upset about. It’s business.”

Judge’s decision to potentially test free agency is his right, a bold bet that shows how strongly he believes in his talents. Make no mistake: it’s a gamble, considering that Judge played in 242 of a possible 384 regular-season games from 2018-20 due to various injuries. But if Judge has the monster year he expects, then the Yankees (and other clubs) will gladly line up to make their offers.

“He’s been a great Yankee, he’s an impactful player and he’s one of the game’s great players,” Cashman said. “Our hope is that at some point we’ll find that common ground that we both feel comfortable with. We’re happy he’s in pinstripes and we look forward to him leading this team this season.”

DIGGING IN

“Take me out to the ballgame, take me out with the crowd. Buy me a Sumo Dog with wasabi relish and a burrata burger with cabernet sauvignon balsamic reduction …” The new age of ballpark fare may not seamlessly wedge into the old Tin Pan Alley song, but boy, does it taste good.

The Yankees and Legends Hospitality provided a sneak peek of their food and beverage slate this week in Yankee Stadium’s Audi Club, the assignment that I was born to cover. I’d be a terrible food critic, because I enjoyed everything! Let me tell you this — when you come to a game this season, you’d better come hungry.

“You’re still going to have hot dogs, beers and Cracker Jack at the stadium,” said Matt Gibson, Yankee Stadium’s executive chef. “There’s also a lot of people that come to the Stadium and want to mosey around and try new foods. You’ve got all these foodies and influencers in the world, and we want to make sure that we have diverse offerings for everyone.”

Here are some of the new food items I recommend you try this season:

• The Hot Bird Sandwich (Streetbird, Section 112): Boneless thigh, spicy chica shake, slaw and house-made pickles
• Big Fly Chicken & Waffle (Streetbird, Section 112): Hot honey, cornbread waffle, housemade pickles
• Beef Gyro Sandwich (Halal Guys, Great Hall): Warm pita bread filled with beef gyro, lettuce and tomatoes
• Sumo Dog (Bleachers Section 201): Wasabi relish, pickled peppers, spicy mayo, teriyaki sauce, wasabi furikake, minced onion, kizami nori
• Bacon Crunchburger (Bobby’s Burgers, Section 132): Bacon, American cheese, a thin layer of potato chips and Bobby’s Sauce
• Korean Bulgogi Slider (King’s Hawaiian, Section 115): Toasted King’s Hawaiian slider bun, Bulgogi beef, kimchi, Gochujang mayo

Marcus Samuelsson, the acclaimed chef behind Streetbird and several other restaurants, said that great food and Yankee Stadium are a perfect match.

“It’s the most iconic stadium in the world, the most iconic team in the world,” Samuelsson said. “I came to this country with $300 and took the bus from Kennedy Airport, and one of the first things you see is Yankee Stadium. For me 20 years later to have a tiny part of that, it’s amazing, aspirational and inspirational. For me, it’s a dream come true to be in this famous stadium and serve New Yorkers.” 

TRIVIA

Who was the last Yankees player to hit for the cycle?

1. Brett Gardner

2. DJ LeMahieu

3. Melky Cabrera

4. Johnny Damon

IT’S FUN TO BE A FAN

Each week, we invite newsletter readers to share a treasured Yankees-related story or anecdote. This week, we feature a note from Dan Blank, who was at Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series (better known as the Jeffrey Maier game):

That game was the first postseason game I ever got to attend. It was rained out the night before and rescheduled for the next afternoon. My dad (a teacher) pulled me out of school early so we could go. Our seats were down the right-field line a little past first base, way up in the second-to-last row. The overhang created blind spots on the field, including where Derek Jeter hit the infamous home run.

When it happened live, (Orioles outfielder) Tony Tarasco and the ball disappeared into the blind spot, so we had to wait for the rest of the crowd to react. Because this was well before smartphones, it was another couple innings before we had any inkling of what had happened — and that was only because someone in our section had heard bits and pieces of the radio broadcast.

Sometime between Jeter’s homer and the 11th inning, we moved down several rows. The guy sitting behind us tapped us on the shoulder and said, “Three pitches and we all go home.” Bernie Williams took a ball, and then fouled off a pitch. We look back at him, and he says with just as much confidence, “Ball, strike, ballgame.” Next pitch, Bernie cued up Sinatra and sent us home happy. Most remarkable home run prediction I’ve ever witnessed. 

A DEBUT TO REMEMBER

Ron Marinaccio had pictured himself in pinstripes hundreds of times, the Toms River, N.J., native making the long jog across the Yankee Stadium outfield when the bullpen gates swung open, then doing his best Mariano Rivera impression on a mound he waited his whole life to ascend.  

Reality was even better than the fantasy for the 26-year-old, who made his Major League debut with a scoreless fourth inning in a 4-2 Yankees victory over the Red Sox on April 9. Marinaccio threw his first five pitches out of the strike zone, then had his nerves calmed by a chat with first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

“It was surreal,” Marinaccio said. “Only in movies does it get more perfect than that. Yankees-Red Sox is as cool as it gets to begin with, and being in Yankee Stadium for an exciting game — it’s a fun vibe right now.”

Pitching in relief of starter Luis Severino, Marinaccio walked Trevor Story and tossed the first pitch up and in to Bobby Dalbec. That brought Rizzo to the mound, with the veteran later saying that he advised Marinaccio to “take a deep breath, reset, all the cliches. You’re here for a reason, so test your stuff.”

It worked. Catcher Kyle Higashioka instructed Marinaccio to throw a slider, which he did, bending it past Dalbec and drawing applause for the first strike of his Major League career. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Marinaccio got Dalbec to wave at an 83.6 mph changeup for strike three; Higashioka rolled the ball to the Yankees dugout as a souvenir destined to reside on Marinaccio’s trophy case.

THEY SAY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY

April 14: RHP Kyle Farnsworth (1976), RHP Cory Gearrin (1986), OF David Justice (1966), RHP Chris Leroux (1984), IF Kal Segrist (1931)

April 15: LHP Billy Brewer (1968), RHP King Cole (1886), SS Adeiny Hechavarria (1989), LHP Aaron Laffey (1985)

April 16: 2B/3B Bernie Allen (1939), LHP Richard Bleier (1987), C/OF Frank Fernandez (1943), OF Charlie Meara (1891), C Bruce Robinson (1954), OF Paul Waner (1903), LHP Curt Young (1960)

April 18: RHP Rich Bordi (1959), 1B/OF Billy Butler (1986), SS Alberto Gonzalez (1983), OF Duffy Lewis (1888), SS/OF Tommy McMillan (1888), LHP Steve Kraly (1929), LHP Dennis Rasmussen (1959)

April 19: RHP Scott Kamieniecki (1964), IF Jack Martin (1887), RHP Bryan Mitchell (1991), SS Spike Owen (1961), RHP John Wyatt (1935)

April 20: OF Charlie Hemphill (1876), C Kyle Higashioka (1990), RHP Jimmy Jones (1964), 1B Don Mattingly (1961), C Mike O’Berry (1954)

TRIVIA ANSWER

C. Melky Cabrera

“The Melk-Man” delivered on Aug. 2, 2009, becoming the first Yankee to hit for the cycle since Tony Fernandez in 1995.

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