Yankees Announce Rare Jersey Change After Uniform Update

BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 29: The New York Yankees logo on a ball bag during batting practice prior to a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at the Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 29, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

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The New York Yankees have been enjoying a return to form this season, back again at the top spot in the American League thanks to a cast of returning players.

But the team will see a rare change as it celebrates the legacy of long-time broadcaster John Sterling, who died at age 87 on Monday.

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New York Yankees Working On Uniform Change After John Sterling’s Death

In the first game after Sterling’s death, the Yankees honored him with a pregame ceremony and they rushed to have their hats embroidered with his initials before first pitch. After that game, the team confirmed that uniform change will stay into the future.

“The Yankees also wore hats with ‘JS’ initials on the back, which were embroidered by Embroidery Kingz, a Bronx company, shortly after the club learned of Sterling’s death,” Chris Kirschner reported for The Athletic. “A Yankees spokesman said the club will wear the hats for the foreseeable future…”

Additionally, the team indicated that it plans to make a change to its jerseys to honor Sterling as well.

“At some point, they expect an addition to the Yankees’ jerseys,” Gary Phillips wrote for the New York Daily News.

Shortly afterward, the team announced it would add a Sterling memorial patch to uniforms beginning on May 18.

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New York Yankees Considering Alternate Road Jersey

Uniform changes are rare for the Yankees, who have one of the oldest and most iconic jersey designs in all of professional sports. However, the team has previously added a patch to their jerseys to honor late figures who were important to the club, such as former team co-chairperson Henry Steinbrenner, who died in 2020.

The potential for larger changes to the Yankees’ look has drawn controversy recently, as news surfaced that players were pushing for alternate jerseys during select road games. Major League Baseball approved the team to wear its navy blue batting practice tops as an alternate jersey, though the players have yet to do so.

In addition to the changes being made to honor Sterling, the Yankees have been increasingly willing to make changes to some traditional aspects of the player garb and fan experience.

“Last spring, the club adjusted its decades-old grooming policy, which forbade players from wearing beards,” Bryan Hoch reported for MLB.com. “There have also been recent overhauls of the in-game entertainment at Yankee Stadium, including music and sound effects that accompany nearly every pitch.”

Some of those changes have been unpopular with long-standing fans and if the Yankees do adopt an alternative road jersey, that would surely generate additional frustration from a portion of the fanbase.

But few are likely to push against the tribute to Sterling, who served as a key voice for the team for more than three decades.

“I walked in at some point today in my office and saw the ‘JS’ on the back of the hat, and I thought it was awesome,” manager Aaron Boone said of the initial uniform tribute on Monday, per Phillips.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com