TAMPA – The only buzz at Steinbrenner Field on the first day pitchers and catchers worked out came from the whir of drills and electronic saws.
Construction workers in hardhats outnumbered fans in Yankees caps Tuesday as the substantial renovation of the facility continued concurrently with the opening of camp.
If you are looking for overt metaphor, here it was – both team and stadium are undergoing an extensive facelift. Hal Steinbrenner told me the facility overhaul is on schedule and should be completed in nine days, coinciding with the start of the exhibition season.
The roster?
That will continue as a work in progress. And beyond the obvious – forging championship-level talent — part of the Yankees’ reconstruction is about recapturing a fan base’s attention and passion, making them fall in love with a new group of youngsters as they once did Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. The Yankees have assembled one of the best collections of prospects in the game, having recognized a graying, expensive, declining roster was not winning enough on the field or off. The general sense is fans like the transition without fully embracing it yet.
For example, the construction provided an extenuating circumstance to keep people away Tuesday. Still, that the Yankees were beginning their 2017 preparation was no secret. I have been present at every Yankees first day since this building was christened in 1996 and this was, by far, the fewest attendees – perhaps 100 fans, most turned to mute.
In the not-too-distant past, the crowd registered in the thousands, and the excitement as players hit the field could be heard: “Mr. Posada.” “Hey, Andy.” “Can you sign, Mariano?” At 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, players began to trickle out into the sunshine, and the only palpable sounds were “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” on the sound system and the beep-beep of work vehicles backing up.
It might be silly for fans to cheer batting practice, but there was loud appreciation for homers on the main field in the past. At one juncture, Gary Sanchez put together an audacious homer round punctuated with a blast over the black in center and … nothing.
This comes in the aftermath of the Yankees’ TV ratings falling last year and the Mets eclipsing them for the first time since SNY debuted in 2006. YES ratings were hurt by its absence from Comcast, plus attention on the Olympics and presidential race. But also because fans found the team dull.
Most organizations would kill for the Yankees’ attendance problems: In 2016, they drew more than three million fans for the 18th consecutive season. But the 3,063,405 marked a second straight drop and a nearly 10 percent fall from 2014 (3,401,624). Yankee Stadium also is being remodeled less than a decade after its opening.
Perhaps all the reconstruction – of roster and facilities – will recharge the fan base. There certainly has been no love for the prices, acoustics and generally soulless environment of this newest Yankee Stadium. Combine that with the absence of playoff runs and titles, the retirement of legends and a roster that lacked greatness, personality and energy, and a formula for apathy had arisen.
When I asked Steinbrenner about the indifference, he disputed it, saying, “My feedback has been the opposite. What we have seen on social media and heard during Instructional League is that fans are excited about what we are doing. I am not getting that [apathetic] vibe. But it is Day 1. We’ll see.”
Part of the Yankees’ problem is about stars, not usually a problem. But who is the biggest star on these Yankees? Sanchez, who has played two months in the majors? Aroldis Chapman, who plays 70-ish innings a year and was suspended 30 games last year under MLB’s domestic abuse rules?
This is arguably the fewest acknowledged icons/superstars the Yankees have had to open a camp since ’96. The homegrown Jeter, Rivera and Andy Pettitte quickly endeared themselves, largely because they were instantly excellent and the Yankees won.
“No,” Brian Cashman said when I asked if he ever considers TV ratings, attendance and star power in personnel decisions. “My job is to put together the best talent package that accumulates wins. That is what sells. … That [thinking about stars] is how George [Steinbrenner] operated in the ’80s, and it didn’t work. It works in the winter for drawing attention, but not in the summer to win.”
George’s son conceded, “This feels different.” That is because the Yankees have committed to something approaching a youth movement. Rightfully, by the way. We will see if it works on the field and in rekindling the enthusiasm of a fan base. For as even Hal Steinbrenner said, “We’re in a good place right now, but now we have to prove ourselves.”
The reconstruction continues.
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