Inside a Yankees ritual that has endured generations — at 45 feet or $500K | Klapisch
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK — Only 45 feet separated Andy Pettitte from Aaron Judge — standard distance during batting practice — but that didn’t stop the two Yankees legends from playing a make-believe game of one-on-one.
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“I want you to spin it,” Judge told Pettitte one day last summer.
Twenty years ago, that request from a right-handed hitter would’ve been like signing his death warrant. Pettitte threw a predatory cut fastball that would tunnel into a right-hander’s hands. He used that cutter to become a 256-game winner — in addition to winning an MLB-record 19 games in the postseason.
These days, the 52-year-old Pettitte, who retired in 2013, throws occasional batting practice to the Yankees. He admitted, “My arm’s not really in shape anymore,” but every once in a while, when egged on by a present-day Yankee, Pettitte can bring the old weapons out of storage.
“From that distance, I can still make (the ball) do whatever,” Pettitte said with a smile.
Including when facing off against a three-time MVP.
Judge recalled the encounter.
“I knew Andy was trying to get me out,” Judge said.
The result?
Call it a friendly draw. Pettitte failed to generate any swings and misses, but Judge wasn’t able to take him deep, either. Both men agreed it was a constructive batting practice session.
Yankees legend Andy Pettitte said there's "no ego" left in him when he throws batting practice.APMost importantly, Judge walked away better prepared for that night’s game.
As the Yankees prepare for a showdown against the Rays this week — and the Wild Card Series against Boston starting on Sept. 29 — manager Aaron Boone will run a final check on every facet of the team’s operation
Even batting practice.
In an age dominated by technology and advanced analytics, the century-old low-tech ritual of taking swings before a game endures. From Babe Ruth to Joe DiMaggio to Mickey Mantle to Derek Jeter and now Judge, “BP,” as it’s affectionately called, is still remarkably simple.
Broken into groups of three or four, hitters take five swings apiece for five rounds.
Pitches are delivered between 60-75 mph, though they seem faster than their actual velocity because of the shortened distance. From 45 feet, a 65-mph fastball is perceived to be approximately 87 mph by the hitters.
The goal is rhythm, timing and confidence. The setting is perfect — between 4-5 p.m., when Yankee Stadium is still empty and players are surrounded by a sea of unoccupied blue seats.
This is the last quiet moment a hitter gets to make baseball feel simple.
Once the game begins, there are 40,000-plus people, scouting reports, iPads, pitch clocks, ABS, matchups, bullpen decisions and instant replay.
During BP?
Ball. Bat. Pitcher.
Boone allows the Yankees to police their own sessions. No one has to hit if they’d rather conserve energy. Any player can instead work in the cages beneath the ballpark.
“I mix and match,” said Cody Bellinger. “I hit outside based on the weather, if I want to see ball flight, or if it’s the first time you’ve been to a certain ballpark this year and you want to check out the batter’s eye. I almost always hit inside for day games, just because it’s early and there’s never enough time to hit outside.”
Other Yankees, like José Caballero, prefer the wide-open atmosphere of a ballpark.
“I like knowing how the ball is traveling that day,” he said. “When I take BP outside, I find out if the ball is carrying. The last thing I want is to step in the batter’s box during a game, and that’s the first time I’ve been in the box all day.”
Yankees utility player José Caballero likes to take big hacks in batting practice.APCaballero paused before admitting to a guilty pleasure.
“The last couple of swings, I like to see the ball fly out,” Caballero said. “I’m not going to lie; I go for the home runs.”
Caballero is not alone. The temptation to swing for the planets is almost irresistible. Darryl Strawberry, for example, used BP as a muscle-flexing display. His only goal was to hit as many balls into the seats as possible — preferably into the upper deck.
The former Met and Yankee had no interest in working on hitting mechanics. Feeling invincible mattered more.
“I can only imagine what a Darryl show looked like,” said Judge, who hit 62 home runs in 2022 to break Roger Maris’ American League single-season record but takes a different approach to BP.
“It’s batting practice, not home run practice,” said Judge, who’s currently on the injured list with a calf strain. “To me, it’s about accuracy. It’s about how much power I can have without losing my accuracy.
“If I go up there and swing, swing, swing for as many home runs as I can, there’s no point in that if I’m not accurate with my barrel. If I can have 100% power with 100% accuracy, then we’re good to go.”
“If I have only 70% of my power, but 100% of my accuracy, then I’m going to help us win a ballgame. I like that more than anything.”
It takes two people, however, to make traditional BP work. A hitter needs middle-of-the-plate meatballs delivered by someone who knows how to keep the ball from moving.
The Yankees rely on first base coach Dan Fiorito and bench coach Brad Ausmus to handle most of the pitching chores, although a spot is always open for Pettitte when he makes his periodic trips to New York.
Yankees general manager (left) watches batting practice in spring training with other players and staff.APThe playful showdown with Judge aside, Pettitte said about letting hitters launch rockets off him, “There’s no ego in me anymore whatsoever.” That’s quite a step down for a Hall of Fame candidate who used to destroy opponents’ timing for a living.
“When I retired, I immediately went into coach mode,” Pettitte said. “I’m coaching high school baseball, my kids were all playing, and I’m working here (with the Yankees). My goal was to become a good batting practice pitcher.
“So, yeah, now I get so excited when guys are mashing line drives off me. I’m trying to get them to feel good about themselves.”
But the ego boost from preying on easy fastballs is only half the prize. Technology handles the rest. The Yankees have two new-age devices that weren’t even available to Jeter, let alone Ruth and DiMaggio.
One is called HitTrax, which helps players break down their swings. It can measure exit velocity, distance and hit type, calculating projectable distance and classifying hits as line drives, fly balls, or ground balls.
HitTrax can also map exactly where in the strike zone the bat made contact with the ball. It’s accurate within inches.
Innovation No. 2 is Trajekt, which projects a real-life simulation of any pitcher.
The Yankees can step into the cage, select that night’s opponent and practice against that hurler’s exact repertoire.
The simulation is close to flawless: Trajekt recreates not just velocity but the trajectory and movement of sliders, curveballs and change-ups that will be used against the Yankees once the game begins.
More and more players are gravitating toward science for their pre-game prep.
“This generation, they’re more technology-driven like the rest of the world,” said third base coach Luis Rojas. “There are fewer guys coming outside (for batting practice). We used to have three full groups, but that number is going down.
“The younger guys want to save their energy to time themselves against pitchers they’re going to see in a game than just going outside to flex.”
Ben Rice is part of the new wave Rojas is referring to. In his second full season in the majors, Rice leads the Yankees with 39 home runs.
He’s all in with both tools but cites Trajekt in particular for his success.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Rice. “It’s not perfect, but it does help.”
Rookie Spencer Jones agrees.
“I use (Trajekt) a lot as part of my routine,” he said. “Especially if I know I’m going to pinch hit against a reliever, and I need to see his arm angle.
“The movement and release point are two major factors that it helps me with when I’m in the box. I know what to look for. It helps get my eyes up to speed.”
A Trajekt machine costs approximately $500,000, although the Yankees don’t actually own one. The company that manufactures it — Trajekt Sports — makes the machine available on a lease-only basis for $20,000 a month, with a mandatory three-year commitment.
Half a million dollars is just ashtray money for the Yankees, even for batting practice. And the payoff beats the analog choices of the past.
Case in point was the 1978 World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers.
Los Angeles manager Tommy Lasorda was deeply concerned about Ron Guidry, who was coming off a 25-3 season. The only way to prep for Guidry, Lasorda reasoned, was to enlist the help of another legendary lefty.
Sandy Koufax.
Even though 12 years had passed since Koufax was forced to retire because of an arthritic elbow, he was still only 42 and in shape. The old injury didn’t stop Koufax from agreeing to Lasorda’s request to throw batting practice to the Dodgers.
Little did Lasorda know he had stumbled on a concept from the future.
Koufax represented a prehistoric Trajekt. And it turned out to be a mistake, but not for Koufax.
He still had that monstrous curveball that struck out 15 Yankees in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series. It was happening again. Koufax overwhelmed the feared middle of Los Angeles’ lineup — Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Dusty Baker.
None of them could touch Koufax. Swing and miss. Swing and miss. Swing and miss. Lasorda reportedly threw up his hands and shouted, “Batting practice is over. This isn’t helping!”
Lasorda was right. Guidry pitched a complete-game, 5-1 victory in Game 3. The Yankees rolled over the Dodgers for their second straight world championship.
Lasorda was inconsolable about losing to the Yankees. He shouldn’t have been. Baseball, after all, still belongs to humans.
Not even a real Trajekt could’ve made a difference.
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