/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53120767/631510454.0.jpg)
Over the last two seasons, the Yankees have rolled out some highly entertaining commercials in an attempt to embrace the image of a younger, funner team. We’ve seen them recreate a scene from “The Sandlot,” there was Brett Gardner’s day day, Andrew Miller’s and Dellin Betances’ 1-2 punch, and other memorable moments. If they decide to do these again—and they should—here are some suggestions, if they happen to be reading.
More Supporting Players
Yes, I know the purpose of these videos are to showcase the team’s most famous players. That means the starting players and the big-name pitchers are always going to be given the most attention. That doesn’t mean we can’t see some of the other guys hanging around and making an impact.
In Gardner’s bat commercial, Adam Warren also got a chance to get in on the action. He should have won a best supporting actor award because his line delivery and comedic timing were extremely on point. He was painfully awkward in the 15 seconds of screen time he had, and you finished the video thinking THIS IS SO ADAM WARREN, even though you know nothing about Adam Warren as a human being.
I think if they were to get Tommy Layne, Austin Romine, or Luis Cessa in there this year, it would go a long way toward humanizing them and maybe allowing fans to like them.
Focus on the Young Guys
The Yankees didn’t have many young exciting players to feature in the last few years. That changes in 2017 with Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, Aaron Judge, and Tyler Austin all ready to do big things. I’m going to need something focusing on the amazingness of Gary and the good looks of Greg Bird. Give me another video where everyone marvels at the new kid, like they kinda sorta did with Judge in the Hideki Matsui video.
They shouldn’t be afraid to focus on the prospects either. The Yankees did that great baby bombers video last year with Sanchez, Judge, and Luis Severino. We know that Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, and James Kaprielian won’t be around this season, but it’s good to get the fans familiar with them before the hype train speeds up. Put them front and center, and show us how important they are going to be.
Another Weird Job
Every year we seem to get another Yankee with a new, weird job. Whether it’s Gardner’s work around the stadium, Andrew Miller’s role as the clubhouse bouncer, or Brian McCann’s H2Bro role, it can be fun to see these players take on a new personality—one that likely has absolutely nothing to do with who they are as a real person.
Maybe this is a good place to give Jacoby Ellsbury something fun to do so we can all stop hating him for five minutes.
A Scene Recreation
Last year, Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro teamed up to recreate scenes from the movie “Stepbrothers,” and everyone loved it. I think it would be a great idea to recreate a scene from a different movie this time around.
What I’ve decided I really want to see is a recreation of the movie “Twins.” I’ve never actually seen the movie, but who cares. Aaron Judge and Ronald Torreyes next to each other—where Torreyes actually needs a boost to high five him—is hilarious, and makes this something that needs to happen.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7942533/pasted_image_at_2017_02_06_09_24_pm.png)
Our graphics department (Kunj Shah) already mocked it up for them. Take a look, Yankees, this one’s a freebee.