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New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay grew up in the Bronx, so he knows all about Bronx Bombers tradition.
Well, it looks like the Yankees are about to make their biggest move away from it after it was revealed on Wednesday that the Yankees have an official alternate jersey for the first time in their team’s 120-plus year history.
The news came amid reports Wednesday that players had discussed the possibility of a third jersey to wear on the road with team higher-ups. MLB.com reported that the third jersey had been in the works “for quite some time.”
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Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger of the New York Yankees wait for the start of a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona on March 24, 2026. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Kay said he “couldn’t care less” if the Yankees deviated from their tradition, but his “problem with this” is that “it can’t be a one-way street.”
Kay said that if he were owner Hal Steinbrenner, who “gives[s] You guys everything,” he told them to “win me a championship and I’ll give you stuff like this.”
“Everything I’ve seen these years, ‘Let’s make things great for the players. Let’s give the players everything they want.’ And they deserve to have big things. It’s not an easy job, but they’re well compensated for it. But you pay top dollar, you have a state-of-the-art clubhouse, you travel in style, you stay in the best hotels. OK, great, that should be it,” Kay continued.
“But the extra little things, ‘Let’s grow our hair longer. Can we wear beards?’ So win me a championship. Because if I’m going to walk away from the Yankees and what the Yankees stand for, I’m going to have something back from you.”
“The players are probably saying, ‘We want to have fun just like all the other teams. They all have these crazy uniforms.” Win me a championship. Maybe that’s the deal. Win me a championship. I don’t think it’s a big ask.”
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a spring training game at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona on March 23, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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The Yankees’ navy batting practice tops, similar to their spring training uniforms, were the ones approved to be worn in games.
The Yankees have previously worn various jerseys, including Players’ Weekend from 2017 to 2019, a nod to the 1912 team while playing in Boston on the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park’s opening, and jerseys commemorating the 1996 Black Yankees, who also wore The Yankees1 from their 1996 uniforms for the first Field of Dreams game in 2021. None of these jerseys, however, were ever officially put into the rotation.
The Yankees are also the only team to have no last names on the back of their jerseys, home or away. They are also only one of two teams, including Athletics, without a City Connect shirt. The Athletics, currently in Sacramento after their lease in Oakland expired after the 2024 season, are set to begin play in Las Vegas in 2028.
Ben Rice of the New York Yankees runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning of a spring training game at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona on March 24, 2026. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
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Steinbrenner has been prone to change in recent years. The Yankees added a promotional patch to their jerseys in 2023, and as of last year, “well-groomed” facial hair under the lip was reintroduced after a 50-year ban by Steinbrenner’s father, George.
