For the first time since an acrimonious departure, the Yankees publicly welcomed Alex Rodriguez back to the Bronx as part of yesterday's Old-Timers' Day celebration. The focus of the day was the 15th anniversary of the 2009 championship team, a title the Yankees likely don't win if A-Rod didn't shake his 'choker' label that October. The relationship between the Yankees and one of their greatest players can't entirely be mended by one day, but hopefully we see Alex around the Stadium a little more going forward.
A-Rod may be an all-time great Yankee, and Derek Jeter is on a list of the very best to ever wear pinstripes, but both Yankee legends gushed over the season Aaron Judge has had. Seemingly every attendee at the festivities yesterday reiterated what a special year the Yankee captain is in the midst of, with former hitters remarking they wish they could be so good, and former pitchers befuddled at how they'd approach him.
Alex Verdugo discovered a couple weeks ago that he was allergic to his own batting gloves, dealing with near-constant discomfort over the past few years as his skin reacted to the cobalt and chromate in Franklin's signature line. Saturday was his first game with a new pair made without the metallic elements, and while we can't exactly chalk up his first home run since July 6th entirely to the gloves, they certainly didn't hurt. Cobalt mining is one of the most devastating industries on the planet in terms of both human rights and environmental abuses.
[
Collection
]
[
|
...
]