NEW YORK — Ticket buyers at Yankee Stadium may have noticed that afternoon games are starting 30 minutes later than last season, which hardly seems life-altering.
But it’s a big deal to the Yankees who requested the change. They say it’s made a difference in their preparation.
Several veterans, including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, asked club officials to consider delaying the first pitch from 1:05 p.m. to 1:35 p.m. The request was quickly approved, as it didn’t require clearance from MLB.
“We have the right to start games at whatever hour we choose,” said general manager Brian Cashman. “It could be 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm, it’s up to us. The players asked, and we said yes. There was no issue with it.”
Among the reasons cited were the extra half-hour of rest following night games, as well as additional time in the batting cages, in the trainer’s room, or studying video.
The change has made a difference, according to the Yankees.
“It’s a 100 percent improvement,” said Stanton. “For some guys, the extra sleep in their prep. For other guys, they use time here getting treatment. I like it. The extra half hour feels like an hour.”
Judge agreed, citing the effect of the ABS system on the length of games. The frequent challenges have increased the average game time this season to 2:42, up from 2:38 in 2025 and 2:36 in 2024.
“It just feels like the games are getting longer. We’ve had a couple already that’ve been close to three hours or over,” Judge said. “So any time you can get more rest after a night game, I was one of the (players) in favor of that.”
However, the Yankees largely rejected the idea of playing on Saturday nights or even compromising by starting at 4:10 p.m., as the Mets do.
“I loved all the day games when I was with the Cubs (in 2023-24),” said Cody Bellinger. “We’d play Friday, Saturday and Sunday at (1:20 p.m.) o’clock, which was great. You do get used to it.”
“Most guys will tell you 1 o’clock or 1:35 games will give your life some normalcy,” said Stanton. “This way you get a chance to go out to dinner on a Saturday night, which is nice to be able to do.”
This isn’t the first time the Yankees have tweaked the starting times to align with industry norms. The first pitch for night games used to be 8:30 p.m. in the 1950s, before changing to 8 p.m. later in the decade and eventually to 7:10 p.m. in more recent times.
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