With Aaron Judge back and Anthony Volpe here, Yankees ready for Opening Day
With the sun shining, the wind chilling and the first pitch of a new season just hours away, Aaron Boone reflected on his “lowest” point of the offseason on Thursday morning.
Asked about Aaron Judge just before the Yankees’ Opening Day matchup with the Giants, Boone’s mind went back to the outfielder’s free agency, which also attracted San Francisco. For a brief time this past winter, it looked as if Judge had agreed to a deal with his hometown-ish Giants thanks to a hasty report.
What a scene that would have made for in the Bronx on Thursday.
“One of the darkest places I went was picturing him on that third base line in a Giants uniform on Opening Day,” Boone said, adding that he shared that with Judge on Wednesday. “That was not a good thought or picture. So I’m thrilled that he is here where he belongs.”
Indeed, Judge is still a Yankee — and their official captain — after signing a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay put.
He said he tries not to think about how things could have played out differently just a few months back.
“I’m happy with my decision,” Judge said. Thursday served as his first-ever Giants Opening Day, but he’ll spend nearly another decade’s worth with the Yankees.
If all goes according to plan, so will 21-year-old Anthony Volpe.
The Yankees’ rookie shortstop and New Jersey native grew up rooting for the team and Derek Jeter, but Volpe told the Daily News that he had never been to a Yankee Stadium Opening Day before Thursday. He’ll watch his first opener from shortstop, the nine-hole and the dugout while friends and family cheer him on during his debut.
Other Yankees youngsters, like Estevan Florial and Oswaldo Cabrera, appeared more excited than usual prior to the opener, even though they’ve played in the majors before.
“It’s like a dream come true,” Cabrera said of his first MLB Opening Day, comparing it to his MLB debut last season. “I feel so good.”
Cabrera said he’ll blow a kiss to the Bleacher Creatures from his position in left field, a thank you for all the love they showed him last year.
Even Boone, a baseball lifer, took a moment to cherish yet another Opening Day. He encouraged his players and coaches to do the same.
“This is all I know, and it’s always been a holiday experience for me and my family,” said Boone, whose first Opening Day came in 1973, his father, Bob’s, first full year in the majors. “I got to experience, on some level, 18 of those with my dad, and then another probably 12 or so as a player and then as a broadcaster. Now this is my sixth as manager.
“It’s an important day. It’s a day that I feel like everyone involved needs to appreciate.”
()