Well, we knew this season was going to be unique.
The Yankees defeated the Nationals 4-1, the game was delayed, then ruled a complete game, after a heavy rain in the bottom of the fifth inning. The focus of the night, Gerrit Cole, technically pitched a complete game, one-hitter for his debut. After giving up a solo-homer to Adam Eaton in the first, he settled down and had a solid outing.
Stanton seems to be enjoying the crowd-less atmosphere, as Alex Rodriguez pointed out during the broadcast, he could benefit from the silence in the stadium and focus on crushing ball 450 feet. He hit a two-run home run—the first DH to hit a home run in the regular season hosted in a NL game—that cruised 459 feet in the first inning.
Although Max Scherzer was able to strikeout 11 batter in less than five inning, the Yankees offense picked off where they left off last October. Judge had two hits, including a double.
A positive about this shortened season is that it is more reasonable to make broader statements based on one game or series. If Judge and Stanton healthy, Brian Cashman’s vision after trading for Stanton in 2018 will final come true. They looked like the dynamic duo at the heart of the order that Yankee fans always imagined. It’s just it took a little longer with health and slumps getting in the way.
Last season, Cole was the best pitcher in baseball during the second half of the year. He was fairly shaky (for him) during the first two months of the season. Then, as you see, he pitched sub-human from June to October that he parlayed to the largest contract for a pitcher in league history.
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Generated 7/24/2020.
Cole doesn’t have the time to ramp up to that dominance this season. 60 games during a normal calendar is the end of May or start of June.. Good news for him, and Scott Boras, the pandemic did not hit last year.
Prior to the game, both teams decided to kneel before the national anthem. Then everyone stood while the song played. The national anthem protest, while divisive, was an effective tool to draw awareness to police brutality against racial minorities and systemic racism. Without Colin Kaepernick, the racial reckoning does not happen to the magnitude it has the past two months. He launched a conversation into the sports world that angered a lot of people, but also gave awareness to white people in particular. That particular for of protest is not necessary to get your message across. If a player wants to stand or kneel should not be reflective of who they are or what they really believe. It’s a personal decision how to express how you feel about what is happening in the country right now.
It seemed like there was no push back from Yankee management for the players to protest how they felt neccesary. Both teams choose to do a message in unity.
It was the first regular season game without fans. It was jarring when a home run was hit. The speakers were silent when the road team Yankees scored, but there was crowd noise pumped when the Nationals hit their lone home run. Hopefully the league keeps experimenting to find new ways for the viewers to forget that the game is being played it in an empty stadium. Visually it is not going to be the same, and we’re are going to be reminded that the stadium is empty every time a ball is hit to the stands. The FOX broadcast idea of putting digital fans to fill the seats seems like an idea worth trying.
Yes, this idea is very dystopian. But remember, this is 2020. That’s nothing out of the ordinary.
Header Photo Courtesy of New York Yankees Instagram
The Efficient Shot 