Fake prop bets for the 2019 Yankees season

The Super Bowl has become such a big event over the years, that it’s about way more than just football now. There are the commercials, halftime shows, and parties all for people to keep themselves entertained beyond the 60 minutes of football. There’s also betting. Lots of betting.

Millions of people will bet on the outcome the game, but it goes well beyond that. Every year right about now, you will see stories of the various prop bets available for people to place wagers on. Those prop bets can be game-related, such as who will win MVP or what team will win the coin toss. Others are about everything surrounding the football, like how long the national anthem will last, or what color the halftime performers will wear.

With those prop bets in mind, and spring training and eventually the regular season to kick off relatively soon, let’s make up some Yankees-themed ones. Whether they be serious or fun, here are some Yankees’ prop bets for the 2019 season.

Troy Tulowitzki game played: Over/Under 60

Tulowitzki’s time in New York could end up being productive, but there are several factors that could cause it to be unproductive and/or short.

First, he gets injured a lot. Tulowitzki last played in 2017. He’s only played more than 130 games in season once since 2011. Plus, he could quite possibly be bad and just not worth keeping around. Since his excellent but injured 2014, he’s been a slightly above average to below average hitter.

Also, Didi Gregorius will probably be back at some point this season. Even if Tulowitzki does play well, the Yankees aren’t just going to jettison Didi for a 34-year old on a one-year deal.

The Yankees have had some success in getting older, former stars to give them good at-bats. They’ve also had Kevin Youkilis. Which one will they get?

Manny Machado home runs as a Yankee: Over/Under 0.5

If Machado plays for the Yankees, he’s obviously going to hit more than one home run, unless something goes horribly wrong. He also probably won’t play for the Yankees. Yet, would that number be low enough to take a flier on?

What emoji will Didi Gregorius use for DJ LeMahieu in his victory tweets?

CD: -300

Generic man emoji: +200

Other: +100

As you may know, Gregorius sends out a tweet after every win and uses emojis representing the various players to acknowledge the game’s top performers. With a new season and new players entering the fold, what might he uses for the newest Yankees?

For the obvious choices, Didi has used the obvious emoji. (Greg Bird is a bird, Sonny Gray was the sun.) However, plenty are also references that we probably don’t get not being in the clubhouse and knowing the player’s personalities. Using a CD to play off the “DJ” part of LeMahieu’s name seems like the best option. However, it could also ending up being a top hat for inexplicable reasons that only Didi knows.

As for the others, fellow PSA writer Joshua Diemert suggested the number 2 and down arrow emojis for Tulowitzki. That might be too abstract for Didi, but we’ll put the odds for that one at +150.

How many of John Sterling’s home run calls for new Yankees feature singing?: Over/Under 0.5

Right now there looks to be only two new position players likely to make the Opening Day roster. Between any possible injuries, mid-season acquisitions, and September call-ups, there will probably be others at some point along the way.

As we know, John Sterling likes to give each Yankee a personalized home run call. He also likes to sing for some of them. And not like well known songs either; a lot seem to be obscure Broadway musical references.

I’m not going to guess what the home run calls will be, as I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten close to what Sterling’s gone with. I do know there’s a non-zero chance one of them will be him singing something. Will the Yankees’ radio voice dig back into that well and sing for someone?

How many times will YES air the highlight of John Flaherty’s walk-off hit against the Red Sox?: Over/Under 3.5

This could very well be confirmation bias, but it seems like Flaherty’s big hit against Boston in 2004 gets played way more than any other highlight from any other YES commentator. This could be because (no offense to him, but he has a career 74 OPS+) that’s his only really good highlight as a Yankee. Even then, I swear that gets more air play than any of Paul O’Neill’s big moments do when he’s in the booth.

I don’t know the exactly numbers, but I would guess Flaherty is in the YES booth for somewhere between 40 and 60 games per season. Will they show that walk-off hit at least four times? You have to figure he’ll get at least one Red Sox series, so it’ll probably be shown at least once.

If you have any serious or fun idea for 2019 Yankees’ prop bets, let us know!