The Intangibles: New York Yankees - Perfect Zero's Blog

Perfect Zero's Blog

The Intangibles: New York Yankees

Posted on February 13, 2012 at 11:23 AM.

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Today, I am continuing my look at all thirty teams in Baseball and the things that make them either great for starting a franchise, or lousy for playing one. This is "The Intangibles," a series of games that look at the aesthetic side of Baseball.

I grade my selections on these criteria...

Stadium Playability- This has to do with how well the stadium plays in the game
Stadium Aesthetics- Basically, how pretty the stadium is.
Team Logo- Is it unique or is it just another run of the mill baseball with circular text?
Uniforms- Are they classic, are they eye-poping, or do they induce depression?
Overall- Not an average, but a sumation of the experience that I have with the team.

I will play with thirty teams in their stadiums, and I hope to have this done by the next baseball season. Today I take a look at one of the most storied teams in all of Baseball, the New York Yankees. The Yankees started out as a troubled franchise at first believe it or not. The American League wanted a team in New York, which was dominated by the New York Giants and Brooklyn Base Ball Club. The team was first founded in Baltimore as the Baltimore Orioles before being able to move to New York in 1903. The Yankees have some of the best teams in history under their name, from the Murder's Row of 1927 to the strong teams of the 1950's to the current day Bronx Bombers.

The logo for the team is not what you think of as the primary logo. Many people who aren't necessarily Yankees fans think that the interlocking "NY" is the team's logo, but it is in fact "Yankees" in cursive with a baseball in the back and a bat with an American top hat on it. The weird part is that there is no red in the Yankees uniforms at all, but it's prominently featured in the primary logo. I think that if the Yankees would switch to the interlocking "NY" full time or a roundel version of it, it would be a strong primary mark. As it is right now, it's too disjointed to work.

The uniforms however are different. The team has made very few changes to the uniforms over the years. The last major change to the home jerseys happened in 1936 when they added the interlocking "NY" to the jersey. Before then, it was the addition of numbers to the back of the uniforms. Overall, it's a clean set that is a classic in its own right. The spring training garb is okay for spring training, but this is one of the few uniforms that doesn't need an alternate. If you're looking for options, the Yankees aren't the team for you (but then again, they don't need the options).

I've been to five major league stadiums in my life. In 2008 as part of my high school graduation gift, I was able to catch what turned out to be the last Rangers victory at the house that Ruth built. While I was there, the new stadium was coming out of the Earth, and the facade is simply beautiful. It goes back to the old days of the old stadium, and looks much better than the 70's renovations. Old Yankee Stadium was a dump, and looking at the models between the old and new one in the game it shows. The new stadium does have more electronics and is different in some regards, but it looks beautiful both inside and out.

Playability wise, it's not the old Yankee Stadium. The right field wall feels closer in game, and the outfield just isn't the same as the old stadium. However, foul territory does feel similar, and the play there doesn't feel cramped like it does at other stadiums. Both day and night play fairly okay, but the large videoboard in center is distracting while looking from the catcher's view. Even with that, the ball still can be picked up fairly easily. Some players claim that they can't play at Yankee Stadium because of lag issues, but I haven't found too many of them to effect my game.

Grading the whole thing...

Stadium Playability- (B+)
Stadium Aesthetics- (A)
Team Logo- (C+)
Uniforms- (A)
Overall- (A-)

If you're playing as the Yankees, you're most likely a fan of the team. However the team does have a classic look with a new ballpark that has moved into this century. If you like the history of the game and you want to play with a part of it, the Yankees are probably a team for you.

Comments

# 1 Da_Czar @ Mar 7

Great blog thanks !

# 2 BennyLeo @ Mar 25

Being a Yankees fan, I was very close to writing you a stern piece of hate mail for not giving the Yankees an A++. But, considering some of the more recent logos, I guess giving the Yankees a C+ in that regard is fair. (I still disagree with the stadium playability, however.) Nice series. Keep it rolling