The Astros are lucky they got into the Bronx before the gates really opened up. Wednesday, Governor Cuomo announced that both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field will open up 100 percent if everyone in the stadium is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
With unvaccinated people, the capacity will be 33 percent in their own sections to comply with CDC social distancing rules. Vaccinated people will have a separate seating section where they will no longer have to remain socially distant, but everyone will continue to wear masks.
“I mean, I can’t wait for more fans to be in the stands. I definitely am so grateful for at least just the 20 percent to be allowed in versus zero last year,” Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka said. “So the sooner we can get back to normal, that’s going to be unbelievable for us.”
There will be no more requirement that any fans show a negative COVID-19 test before entry.
Both ballparks have served as community vaccination sites and will continue to do so, but will also offer an incentive for fans coming to the game. In a few weeks, fans will be able to get a Johnson & Johnson single-dose shot at both ballparks, plus get a free ticket to the game.
“We’re all in on this. We’re excited to be part of this. We’re excited to have more fans in the building because our players love it,” Yankees president Randy Levine said at a press conference with the governor and Met president Sandy Alderson.
Tuesday night, the crowd of 10,850 at Yankee Stadium was a shock to the system. After a 2020 season with no fans and a dreadful white noise of recorded crowd sounds, the crowds so far this season had brought some life to the games.
But nothing like Tuesday night.
Having had to wait a year to express their anger and frustration to the Astros, who had been found to have cheated by stealing signs electronically and relaying them in real time in the 2017 season. The Yankees lost to the Astros in the 2017 and 2019 American League Championship Series, and the players were very vocal that they felt cheated in spring 2020 after the commissioners’ report came out. While MLB’s investigations said the Astros’ cheating was limited to the 2017 regular season, very few people in baseball believe that. Including the Yankees.
While they tried to keep it professional in their 7-3 win over the Astros Tuesday night, the certainly appreciated how the fans felt.
“It was pretty intense. It felt like a playoff game. Obviously, the fans are still pretty upset about what happened, rightly so,” Higashioka said. “I was very crazy. It’s actually pretty fun to be part of.”
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Maybe not for the Astros, but the crowd certainly felt almost, well, normal.
Yankees fans brought signs and T-shirts. They chanted at Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa and they rode Jose Altuve all night. The fans stood up for most of the game, cheering every Astros swing-and-miss and every Yankees hit.
Several Yankees said the atmosphere was “playoff like,” and it was just a quarter of what it would have been in the pre-pandemic world.
It was also a step back towards normal and the news Wednesday will be another big step.
“It’s exciting. It really is. I’m sure everyone who is listening on this call and everyone in this room and our clubhouse and in this world, I mean, you’re dying to get back to our normal way of life, I guess, so to speak,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously, the next homestand we know will be another step in that direction. We’ve obviously seen it here early in the year with a number of fans being allowed back in and just how that changes the atmosphere and the feeling and everything. So I’m excited about it. And, it brings a smile on my face knowing we continue to move that needle.”