TAMPA, Fla. – The Yankees found it “definitely a little bit odd” to occupy the visitors’ side of their spring facility on Thursday evening, as manager Aaron Boone put it, describing his team’s first experiences underneath the third-base grandstands of George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Four weeks after they handed over the keys to the hurricane-displaced Rays, the Yankees were back on familiar turf, albeit without access to posh renovations that have garnered universal praise from players and coaches. Powered by Ben Rice’s first career four-hit game, the Bombers bested Tampa Bay, 6-3, for their fourth consecutive victory.
“It was a little weird being on the visiting side today, but I’m glad we were able to come out with the win,” Rice said. “Honestly, the game itself is the same thing. You’re just going out there and playing. At the end of the day, it’s just another away game, and we did our thing.”
Rice called Steinbrenner Field home in 2021 and ’22, when he played here with the Yankees’ Single-A affiliate; he’s showing a knack for hitting elsewhere, too. Carrying his loud spring into the regular season, Rice singled in the first and third innings, raked a double in the fifth and added a two-run single in the sixth.
“He’s torching the baseball all over the field,” said Will Warren, who recorded just five outs before being lifted due to pitch count concerns. “It’s huge.”
Oswaldo Cabrera hit a fifth-inning homer, the first regular-season blast by a Yankee at Steinbrenner Field. Aaron Judge made a strong throw from right field for a first-inning assist, Junior Caminero hit a two-run homer for Tampa Bay and Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes.
From start to finish, it felt like a Spring Training time warp, except this game counted.
“All of it was really weird, honestly,” Boone said. “But then we’re in the fire right away, and now it becomes this stressful game where a lot of things have to start happening. So we’re just playing now.”
An energetic crowd of 10,046 cheered the action, with a noticeable pro-Yankees contingent in the seats. Boone noted that he wasn’t thrilled with his obstructed view from the dugout; he half-jokingly wondered aloud if he could bring his folding chair and netting onto the field, as the Yankees do during exhibition games.
After bussing from their hotel to Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees got their first in-person looks at a facility that underwent a rapid facelift in late March to accommodate the Rays, who were displaced from nearby St. Petersburg, Fla., when Tropicana Field sustained major damage from Hurricane Milton in October.
There was much to do, considering Steinbrenner Field has served as the Yanks’ spring home since 1996, when it was named Legends Field.
The large “YANKEES” signage down each baseline has been replaced with “RAYS,” with new electronic scoreboards installed, and numerous interlocking “NY” logos were converted to “TB,” including those inside the home clubhouse.
“They did a good job covering up a bunch of the Yankee symbols and making it as ‘Rays’ as possible in here,” said Tampa Bay infielder Brandon Lowe. “It’s not The Trop, it’s still a Spring Training complex. You see all the practice fields and there’s not an upper deck, so it is different and strange. But it’s our home for the year.”
A statue of Steinbrenner and a display of Yankees retired numbers outside the home-plate entrance of the ballpark remained unaltered, as part of the Rays’ rental agreement with their hosts, reportedly valued at more than $15 million.
“We are grateful and thankful to [the Yankees], which is a funny thing to say, for allowing us to use the facility,” said Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen. “But also, as far as this regular season goes, this is our home, not theirs. It’s got Steinbrenner written on the stadium itself, but they have given us the permission to call this home, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash revealed that Boone had left a good-luck note in the desk within the home manager’s office, the contents of which Boone described as, “Hey, take care of the place.”
Boone had intended to include a bottle of tequila, but forgot; the Yanks manager followed through on delivering that housewarming gift Thursday. Asked if he planned to consume the drinks pregame or postgame, Cash quipped: “Maybe during?”
“I think this was good for baseball, for the good of the Rays,” Boone said. “I know their organization [and] our organization worked very well together in making it viable. It’s just the right thing to do on all fronts. They’re one of our main rivals, but to do the right thing always feels good.”