MAKING THE YANKEES LOVABLE AGAIN!

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

I mean, I love the Yankees.  You love the Yankees.  And guess what, Shelton, CT loves the Yankees.  I know what you are saying, "Where is Shelton, CT?"  It is a town in Fairfield County within the state between New York and Boston and guess what Shelton is part of the Yankees Universe and yes, they love us.  Now, I have to say I have heard baseball fans of other teams like Baltimore and Boston say this week to me in person, "The Yankees are lovable.  I hate that they are but they are."  It's true.  From the bagel stand at 30th Station in Philadelphia to JC's Sports Bar & Grill in Shelton, CT, the Yankees are making themselves lovable again.

"You see this line, this is where the Boston fans sit and this is where the Yankees fans sit," said JC Sports Bar barkeep yesterday afternoon as we all watched the Yankees walk off with a win against the Oakland A's in the 11th inning.  The Yankees put together a 7-6 win following a blast by Neil Walker who fans at JC's screamed, "Look the Mets are still helping us!"  Many admitted later that Walker was a better Pirate than Met.  JC's bartender stated that although they cater to both fans, being the state in the middle, the Yankees fans have been clearly vocal and their "section" in the bar is more populated this season.

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

NBC Sports wrote this about the Yankees at the end of the 2017 season and this statement is still relevant today.  "The Yankees are baseball’s most successful franchise by a long shot, they know it, and they don’t need or want my support. I respect their success and there’s something I respect about that “we don’t care what you think” mentality, so I think we’re all OK with this arrangement. It’s an arrangement I think most non-Yankees fans have with that franchise. No one really bandwagons with the Yankees."  True.  No one does.  But they can have a degree of likability with fans and lately even the non-Yankee fans are finding the Yankees lovable.

"It's hard not to like them and I am a Baltimore fan," said Philadelphia-based SchmearIt bagel shop manager this week at 30th Street Station when I picked up my regular bagel.  Admittedly, the Yankees are fun to watch and even the Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, can agree that being a part of the rivalry is lovable.

Source: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images North America

"The three games felt like the (ALCS) last year. It was just loud. They got something good going on there, but we also have something good here. It's going to be fun the rest of the year," reported NJ.com.

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

The Yankees themselves, their culture, their youth, their veterans their grit are making themselves lovable again.  Baseball fans are noticing their showmanship not because they are a legacy ball club but because they some how figure out how to work together to win.  Even the games they lose here and there lately, are close ones.  They never seem to be out of the game completely, ever.  That's lovable. People can hate the Yankees much like I hate certain teams, perhaps out of tradition.  But, this team, this culture, you just can't help but love.  I would love a win on Mother's Day guys, what do you say?

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof