Yankee Stadium : Home of the Day Games

Ever realize how many day games the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium ? I noticed it once on a Saturday when the Yankees were the only team playing at 1:05pm compared to other teams playing at 7:05pm or later. While most teams hold night games for different reasons, the biggest is to get a larger revenue and have more fans in the stadium. In the south they hold night games, so fans aren't roasting in the sun. But the Yankees don't need to worry about losing revenue from day games, because they know that regardless of the team it will be a sell out.

Since July till the end of the season the Yankees will have played 23 day games at home. During that time the Yanks will have played a total of 44 games at home, so more then 50% of them have been during the day. I am including the FOX 4pm games as day games.

So how can the Yankees hold so many day games ? While I mentioned above that most teams hold Saturday night games because they get more revenue, the Yanks sell so many tickets in advance through season ticket plans, and advance ticket purchases they know that the game will sell out regardless. Ive also noticed that over the years the Yanks, don't play many Sunday night ESPN  games at home. Sure they play a few against the Red Sox or Mets, but most of the time the Yankees are the team on the road. It could just be a coincidence but maybe the organization prefers the day games.

Although some players may complain about day games after night games because of lack of rest. Many enjoy the opportunity to either go out that night or spend time with their family. Day games are also great when the team has a game the next day and need to travel to get there.

Looking at pictures of the new Yankee Stadium during the day it looks very grand and majestic, something that the Yanks would have like to hear. It fits in with the Yankees tradition, also with the long tradition of baseball being played during the day. So while other teams are playing at night to create higher revenues at the park and on TV, the Yanks don't have to worry about that. It seems that the Yankees like day games this year too, since the start of July they are 11-4 at home.