Around the Empire: Yankees news - 6/29/23

All the latest Yankees news! (Aside from the perfect game last night anyway.)

Sports Illustrated | Dan Gartland: I’m calling it now. If Anthony Volpe gets hot and plays his way into Rookie of the Year contention this season, and greater things in the years to come, The Great Chicken Parmesan Dinner of 2023 is going to become an outsized piece of mythos and lore in the story of his career. Here, Sports Illustrated details the dinner, and the conversation between Volpe and former (and future?) teammate Austin Wells regarding the former’s swing.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: Nestor Cortes continues to approach a major league return. He’s coming up on a rehab milestone, as he is slated to throw a bullpen session on Friday or Saturday in St. Louis. Cortes says he’s feeling great and that is excellent news for the Yankees, although no matter how well he pitches, he can’t do anything about the offense. But it will be good to have him back. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

KSL.com | Bridger Beal-Cvetko: Another day, another legislator who has their eyes on professional sports. This time, it’s Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah who, along with some fellow Republicans, is taking aim at MLB’s century-old antitrust exemption. Last year, it was Bernie Sanders looking askance at MLB. Given the ubiquitous presence of the legislative filibuster in the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body, however, MLB likely has nothing to worry about.

USA Today | Scooby Axson: Fascinating. For a sport that is embracing modernity on the field, what’s old could become new logistically. Commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned that there have been recent discussions about reducing the 162-game schedule back to 154. MLB moved to the 162-game schedule over 60 years ago. But as MLB embraces playing games overseas, reducing the total number of contests opens up flexibility. Will owners agree to fewer home gates? We shall see.