Yankees Social Media Spotlight: Tampa Time

Spring training is in full swing, as the final few players reported to Tampa to begin ramping up for the 2023 season. But although batting practice, throwing regimes, and drills are the focus of the day, it’s not all work and no play for the Bronx Bombers. Check out this week’s social media roundup to get a glimpse into life at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Daily Check-Ins

If you’ve been following the official Yankees social media accounts like I do, you’ll know that each day, the social media team asks players a question as they have arrived at the team facilities. So far, we’ve seen, “Who’s your go-to in Mario Kart?”

“What breed of dog would you be?”

(Yes, Aaron Judge’s and Anthony Rizzo’s answers were exactly what you would expect.)

“What is the best cereal?”

“What is your favorite TV show?”

Lots of classics on this last one, by the way. Judge took quite awhile to settle on Looney Tunes, which is a great show of course, but a kind of boring answer after that much deliberation. Oswaldo Cabrera’s answer of Drake and Josh, a show popular in my childhood, continues raising his stock in the “Who is John’s favorite Yankee?” competition. (Also, who’d have pegged Kyle Higashioka as the resident Seinfeld enjoyer?)

These videos are a great insight into the many personalities on this team, and something that I hope the social media team continues throughout 2023. But there is one question that remains: Is there any question that DJ LeMahieu will answer?

TikTok: @Yankees

Photo Day Highlights

Tommy Kahnle’s favorite day of the year, Photo Day, occurred earlier this week. Many players turned to social media to showcased the pictures that highlighted their good side...

...or made them look a little ridiculous.

Yea, I’d say that entering his 13th season helps encourage a guy to poke some fun at himself.

Presenting: Trevi Talks!

The social media team loves to mic up a player on photo day, and this year was no exception. This year, catcher Jose Trevino had the mic, and just like he did during last year’s All-Star Game, he seemed like a natural. When Trevino hangs up his platinum glove, media work could be in his future.

Nestor Cortes, Nasty on the mound and on the green

With their first spring training game the next day, the Yankees opted to spend Friday afternoon having a “friendly” mini-golf competition. I put “friendly” in quotes here because, let’s be honest, these guys are competitors — they definitely took their round of mini-golf incredibly, incredibly seriously. Just ask Nestor Cortes, who took home the title and took to Twitter to celebrate.

I just have one question. According to Bryan Hoch, Major Leaguers were paired with prospects/rookies — so who was Nestor’s teammate?