Around the Empire: Yankees news - 9/23/18

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: The New York Yankees are headed to the playoffs. Whether it’s in the Bronx, in Oakland, or even potentially in Houston, the Yankees will have the chance to earn a spot in the October dance. The last remaining week will be spent ironing out the roster, as well as competing for that Elimination game home field advantage. The Athletics defeated the Twins last night, so they still remain 1.5 behind us. It’s gonna be close, folks.

Newsday | Laura Albanese: While we’re not quite sure yet who will be starting the Wild Card game, Aaron Boone has stated who will be behind the plate. Barring injury, Gary Sanchez will be the catcher for baseball’s equivalent of Thunderdome. Aaron Boone is pretty much echoing what Brian Cashman stated earlier this week about having confidence in The Kraken. We’ll see how well it pays off.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: I like dingers. You like dingers. Well, some of you anyway. In any case, the Yankees definitely like hitting dingers and they have hit a lot of them this year. Aaron Hicks hit a solo shot yesterday that was the 250th homer of the season. The Yankees are only the 6th team in major league history to hit that many in one season. They need only 14 more to tie the Mariners for the all time season record. Still a week left for that.

ESPN.com | Coley Harvey: Speaking of Aaron Hicks, the Yankees CF has had a very interesting year. Hicks, who likes to hit baseball to the sticks, was praised by his manager as one of the more underrated players in today’s game. He could be right. Either way, Hicks has been hot these last few games. Here’s hoping he carries that into the playoffs.

Didi Victory Tweet

So modest. So wonderful.