It’s two more against the arch-rival Boston Red Sox, and then the All-Star break for the New York Yankees. The Yankees lost 5-4 to the BoSox last night in extra innings but they remain in first place, by 12 games over the Tampa Bay Rays, with a record of 62-28. Losers of five of their last six, the Yanks are starting to come down to Earth now, having passed the midway part of the season with an incredible winning percentage that was well in the .700s
It was unrealistic to think that the team would finish out the 2022 campaign having won 3/4 of their games, but New York remains in pole position in the American League.
They are strong favorites to finish the season with the #1 seed in the AL. They are the World Series favorites, by a wide margin, on all the non Gamstop betting sites. Indeed baseball’s most successful club of all-time are also the safest bet in all of sports wagering right now.
76% of the money line bets are backing them tonight, to go along with 57% of the handle in tonight’s nationally televised broadcast on FOX. The money line did not shift at all, with the Yankees starting and finishing at -176, with Boston backed to the tune of +145. It all makes perfect sense, given how dominant the team has been for most the season, largely playing at an all-time record pace.
Elsewhere the New York Yankees, yesterday announced the roster of former Yankees (and Yankees widows) who will be on hand at the 74th every Old-Timers’ Day, which will be the first edition since covid-19 began.
The event, scheduled for July 30th, will be the first Yankees Old-Timers Day since 2019. The list of attendees includes five Monument Park inductees: arguably the greatest closer of all-time Mariano Rivera, 1978 Cy Young Award winner and “Louisiana Lightning” Ron Guidry, 1998 World Series hero Tino Martinez, five-time All-Star Willie Randolph, and Bernie Williams and the first player in Major League history to win a batting title, Gold Glove and World Series in the same season.
2022 Yankees Old-Timers Day Attendees
Jesse Barfield
Ron Blomberg
Aaron Boone
Homer Bush
Rick Cerone
Chris Chambliss
David Cone
Bucky Dent
Brian Doyle
John Flaherty
Joan Ford (wife of Whitey Ford)
Ron Guidry
Charlie Hayes
Jill Martin (wife of Billy Martin)
Tino Martinez
Hensley Meulens
Gene Monahan
Diana Munson (wife of Thurman Munson)
Kay Murcer (wife of Bobby Murcer)
Jeff Nelson
Lou Piniella
Willie Randolph
Mariano Rivera
Mickey Rivers
Luis Sojo
Shane Spencer
Roy White
Bernie Williams
Former Yankees players and current YES Network broadcasters David Cone and John Flaherty, as well as current manager Aaron Boone, will also take part in the Old-Timer’s Day festivities.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.