BOSTON — Yankees players want to buck tradition for selected games. They’ve seen most every other club wear alternative jerseys and want in on the fun.
They don’t want to stop wearing pinstripes for every home game, but they’d like to break out their navy blue batting practice jerseys once in a while during road trips. The jerseys, which are used for games during spring training, spell out New York in gray across the chest and include a Nike logo.
“What are they made for?” designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton asked. “To see if a hanger works? They’re here.”
Stanton spent five minutes before Wednesday night’s Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park campaigning.
“We’ve talked about it for a few years,” Stanton said. “They’re always in our locker, but we don’t wear them (during games). So why not?
“There’s a lot of tradition here. It’s the most iconic jersey there is in sports, but that doesn’t mean every once in a while you can’t change something up, especially on the road.”
After initially saying “if it happens, it happens” and “I’m got nothing else for you,” Judge had a powerful response to NJ.com asking if taking a stance is a tough call for him because of the Yankees’ tradition.
“Yeah, I’m all about tradition, but we’ve got a patch on our sleeves,” Judge said. “So if you want to talk about tradition, I don’t think the Yankees used to have that.”
Since July 21, 2023, Yankees’ home and away game jerseys have included a Starr Insurance logo patch on the left sleeve. Starr Insurance reportedly will pay the Yankees $25 million to have its logo on game jerseys through the 2031 season.
According to Stanton, a lot of his teammates are onboard with wearing BP jerseys for certain games.
“A lot of people would be OK with it,” he said. “Each and every person I’ve talked to, they would be good with it.
“We have the uniforms. If not like we sat in a room and designed it ourselves. It’s here. It’s always been here.”
Stanton, who says he doesn’t know if anyone took this issue to managing partner Hal Steinbrenner, wouldn’t mind seeing the Yankees introduce City Connect alternate jerseys, as well.
Twenty-eight of 30 MLB clubs are using City Connect jerseys for selected games this season, everyone but the Yankees and the Athletics.
After leaving Oakland following the 2024 season, the A’s are playing in a Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento, Calif., until their new ballpark in Las Vegas opens in 2028.
“That one’s touchy because I don’t like a lot of city connects,” Stanton said.
Whatever happens, Judge predicted the Yankees won’t mess with their attire for games at Yankee Stadium.
“’I think we’ll always wear the pinstripes at home,” he said. “I don’t think that’ll change, but we changed our road jersey other years, So I guess if we wear the blue, we’ll wear the blue on the road.”
The Yankees also have navy blue BP jerseys for home games that have “NY” on the front instead of “NEW YORK.”
The Yankees slightly altered their road jersey in 2024 by dropping the white outline around New York and removing trim from the sleeves. The change brought back a style the Yankees wore prior to 1973.