The 2019 New York Yankees are a special group, and not just in the sense of their incredibly stacked roster. How stacked? They suffered through 30 Injured List stints that amounted to 2,638 cumulative days on the IL—573 more IL days than any other team—and won their division by seven games. They’re so stacked that they don’t even have their first half MVP, Luke Voit, on the ALCS roster.
That’s not the only reason they’re special, though. The 2019 Yankees are especially LIKABLE. I know this because multiple friends who are RED SOX FANS have confessed that, this year, they are “CLOSET YANKEE FANS.” Yes, you heard that right. The Yanks’ sworn enemy from Boston can still get down with this group.
Its easy to see why, too. Exhibit A: DJ LeMahieu.
DJ LeMahieu
The guy is a total throwback. He keeps his mouth shut, gets the uni dirty, is an absolute KILLER in the clutch (led MLB with a .389 BA with runners in scoring position), and plays wherever the Skipper needs him. Here he is with his Rawlings Pro Preferred PROSFM20XL first base mitt, available as a custom via Rawlings.com for $460.
LeMahieu is swinging a Marucci AR13 Maple bat lately, which is a C271 cut, in a gorgeous natural flame-treated look.
The 271 is the classic balanced cut, and its the same bat that Troy Tulowitzki swung back when LeMahieu was his double play partner.
With the medium barrel diameter of the 271, DJ is able to use DENSER (harder) wood than a bigger-barreled bat without adding weight, and this gives LeMahieu more control and a harder hitting surface. While the AR13 is unavailable, Baseball Express offers the RIZZ44 for $150, which I can say from experience is a tremendously well-balanced bat and similar to LeMahieu’s AR13.
LeMahieu’s Franklin Pro Classics are just that, classics, and are available at FranklinSports.com for $40-$45.
Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge can’t be called a “throwback” like LeMahieu, because nothing like him has ever existed. Judge’s combination of size, athleticism and baseball IQ has no equal.
Add the fact that he’s one of the most humble, classiest guys in baseball, and Judge has turned a lot of Yankee haters into Yankee appreciators.
The humble giant Judge swings a Chandler AJ99.2 Maple tree trunk (35 inch, 33 ounce). He wears adidas AdiZero 4.0 batting gloves ($37 at Baseball Express).
This is another bat that I have personally held and swung… trust me, Aaron Judge’s bat is not for normal humans. It is for Aaron Judge. This bat will swing YOU.
Judge is adidas’ poster boy, and gets his own exclusive colorways of the Icon V Bounce (available for $70-$90). Judge wears the Evoshield PRO-SRZ leg guard ($70 at Evoshield.com) and unlike most guys, he takes the foot guard off.
Maybe he doesn’t like it in his way while he’s jogging around the bases.
Gleyber Torres
Speaking of humble, classy, likable. Oh, and a WPW guy.
Gleyber Torres’ swag is off the charts.
Torres’ Kobe-inspired Nike Alpha Huarache Elite 2 PE cleats might be the best of the year.
Nike actually took materials from a throwback Kobe shoe, the Kobe 9 Elite EXT, and dyed it to match Yankee colors while maintaining that “snakeskin” look.
The results are flawless.
The Huarache BG’s match perfectly. Also notice the ProHitter hitting aid ($11, Baseball Express).
Gley wears the Evoshield Gel-to-Shell Hand Guard ($30, Evoshield.com) to protect the lead hand. If I was an MLB owner dealing out millions to hitters, I’d make this type of protection mandatory for my players. Not wearing it vs. 99 MPH is like not wearing sunscreen to the beach. You’re eventually gonna get burned.
Edwin Encarnación
What’s not to like about bombs?
What’s not to like about parrots? Encarnacion has walked his imaginary parrot 414 times in his career, good for 3rd among active players behind Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera.
As a man who will never hit a ball as hard as Encarnación, it is incredibly satisfying to watch Edwin effortlessly yank a baseball 40 rows deep to left. You watch it and you think, that doesn’t seem that hard, right?
His EE110 is an M110 with a bigger and longer barrel. The most similar option by Marucci is the AP5, available at Baseball Express for $70-$230.
Giancarlo Stanton
There’s probably some folks out there that can find reasons not to like Giancarlo Stanton. I, for one, like lasers. I also like that he busts his ass down the line every single time—a commitment to max effort that is increasingly rare among Big Leaguers these days.
Stanton hits the ball as hard as any human ever has with his knobless Marucci G27 bat (same as the Ryan Howard RH6 available at MarucciSports.com as a custom for $170). If “G” came up to bat against me, I would fake an arm injury and get the hell out of there.
He’s got some of the sharpest player exclusive gear in the game year after year, including these Nike Huarache batting gloves with the cursive “G” print.
The cleats match the gloves. These are also exclusive.
Brett Gardner
Brett Gardner, the longest tenured Yankee, won the hearts of many this year by banging on the dugout roof like a maniac.
Gardy was unhappy with a number of questionable calls, and decided to take it out on the roof. (It happened the same time as the “Savages in the Box” were born.)
Now, its the Yankees’ rallying cry. Pay attention to the Yankees on big hits and you’ll see them “banging the roof” like Gardy.
Gardy’s got some nice leather to boot. His Mizuno trap has a black with grey stitch look that is easy on the eyes.
Gary Sanchez
Gary Sanchez, of all the Yankees, may be the one guy that opposing fans feel compelled to “boo.” He has faced plenty of criticism, even from home fans, for his defense and perceived lack of effort. With that said, I think Gary is getting a raw deal, so lets outline some reasons to like Gary Sanchez in the only way we know how.
Fresh Nike catcher’s gear. Shop Nike gear on eBay.
Nike PE’s with “The Kraken” on the tongue.
A beautiful Rawlings catcher’s mitt. You can own something similar at Rawlings.com for $360.
Apparently Gary Sanchez was not feeling the champagne #Yankees #NextManUp pic.twitter.com/53wvFVwc2j
— Will Presti (@WillPresti) October 8, 2019
And this video. Gary wasn’t feelin’ the bubbly.
Gio Urshela
The originator of the #NEXTMANUP movement, Gio Urshela was a forgotten player when the Yankees paid the Blue Jays $25,000 for his contract in August of 2018. While everybody knew he could play third with his Rawlings Kris Bryant model ($360 at Rawlings.com), Gio’s career batting average was .225 when Troy Tulowitzki and Miguel Andujar went down for the season. Short on options, the Yankees turned to Gio, calling him up from AAA and giving him a start on April 7.
Urshela never looked back. For extended periods, Gio has been the 2019 Yankees’ most valuable player. With his Victus LS13 Maple bat, Urshela put up a 1.062 OPS in July & August, propelling the Yankees to an insurmountable 10 game lead in the division by the end of that tear.
Gio kept it real with his old teammate Francisco Lindor, too, wearing Lindor’s signature Cypher 12 cleats, available at Baseball Express for $130.
Didi Gregorius
Sir Didi Gregorius, knight, ballplayer, artist, man of the world. Its hard to find reasons to dislike this guy, too.
Didi does it all. He’s got swag for days. In pre-game during the season, we saw Didi in these Nike React Element 5 shoes, available at Nike.com for $97-$140.
Didi’s Mizuno glove is a classic, and a similar one is available at CloseoutBats.com.
In game 1 of the ALCS, Didi did not wear these Nike PE’s which were his standard aways this year. He wore a silver version that seemed to have some shine to them. Definitely look for those in game 2.
His home cleats are also heat, integrating the pinstripes nicely.
Didi’s Louisville Slugger M110 bat always seems to do damage when it matters most. Its a good bat for any hitter and is available via Slugger.com.
Who else should we feature from the Yanks? Let us know in the comments.