Yankees Will Open Stadium Gates Early So Fans Can Watch Judge and Stanton Mash in BP
Yankees fans will be allowed into the stadium early on certain nights to see their sluggers put on a show, the team announced Thursday.
Two stadium gates will open three hours before the scheduled start of Friday night and Saturday late afternoon/night games. Gates typically open 1 1/2 hours before the game.
The policy change will allow fans to see the home team take batting practice, which will be even more of a spectacle now that Aaron Judge is paired with Giancarlo Stanton. Last season, Judge hit a ball during BP that destroyed a television screen way out in a centerfield concession area.
It’s standard procedure around the league for the visitors to take batting practice second, by the time the stadium opens up, which limits their time in the spartan visitors’ clubhouse. But the league and the union began discussing last February to flip it so the home team would hit second, hoping it would draw fans to the park earlier and allow them to spend more money at the concession stands, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported.
The Yankees are hoping fans will show up even earlier to watch the home team and the visitors take their BP hacks. But if there’s any group of sluggers worth showing up three hours earlier to see, it’s New York’s. Just park yourself in the top row and you’ll probably catch a ball.
