Jimmy Sez

It's early, but the 2026 Yankees are looking like a very solid team. Sure, it was an uneventful offseason with no splashy moves, but let's not forget that they basically kept a 94-win team intact. As has been the case for over a decade now, we should expect another 90-plus wins this year and then hope they catch lightning in a bottle come October. Despite what the owner of the team says publicly, this is the blueprint he steers into. One thing that stands out about this good roster is the lack of very young talent on it. The youngest player on the big league roster right now is  25-year old  starting pitcher Cam Schlittler and the youngest everyday player in the lineup is 26-year old catcher Austin Wells. Otherwise, we're mostly looking at a team filled with grizzled veterans. That will work for this year, and maybe even the next couple, but sooner or later the Yankees will need to start supplementing the roster with cost-effective Baby Bombers. Is their farm system prepare...

I recently attended the Pinstripe Pride autograph show in north Jersey, making it four straight years of meeting guys that I wrote about in The New York Yankees All-Time All-Stars . This year I secured the signatures of two more All-Time All-Stars, one a Hall of Famer, and one a favorite of my youth that had me a little star struck. Of the 17 living All-Time All-Stars in the book, those two bring me to ten signatures and over the halfway mark on this journey I started in 2023. It'll be tough sledding from here to get the remaining seven. In addition to those two I also snagged the signature of one more Honorable Mention that was in attendance this year and had the honor of meeting a fan favorite and playoff hero of the 90's. It was a great experience, as usual, and I just hope that more guys in the book continue to show up at this event. Without further ado, here's the rundown. Goose Gossage I fully expected Goose to be a bit of a curmudgeon given his public persona about...

In our first look at former Yankees on the 2026 BBWAA ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame, we focused on players who spent only a brief portion of their career with the Yankees. This time around, we'll dig into two players who are primarily known as Yankees and would likely be in the Hall of Fame already had steroids not been an issue during their careers. Before we get to those juicy stories, there's one more former Yankee on the ballot who has the best shot at election this year. Albeit with his own bit controversy that likely held him back from enshrinement in Cooperstown last year. Get your popcorn ready, it's high drama Hall of Fame time here at Jimmy Sez! For each player, their JAWS (Jaffe Average WAR Score, developed by Jay Jaffe) value is given along with the average Hall of Famer's JAWS at the player's position. JAWS is a Hall of Fame rating system based on WAR that incorporates both career and peak value. If you're interested in learning more about t...

Al l of the BBWAA votes are in for this year's Hall of Fame ballot but the results won't be announced until January 20th. Until then, there will be a whole lot of speculation as to who will make the cut to be enshrined in Cooperstown this summer. Let's add to the chaos! Of the 27 former players up for election, six of them spent at least a portion of their career as a Yankee. As we do every year, we'll take a close look at the career of each of them and give an honest assessment as to their chances of earning a bronze plaque in the most exclusive room in baseball. First up, we'll take a look at three players who spent a lot of time changing uniforms, especially late in their careers. Each of them was a multiple-time All-Star in their playing days and one might even get the nod from the BBWAA this year thanks to his reputation as one of the greatest fielders who ever lived. For each player, their JAWS (Jaffe Average WAR Score, developed by Jay Jaffe) value is given...

In Cooperstown, there was a recent announcement of the eight former players on the 2026 ballot for the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee to vote on. The ballot is comprised of eight former players who primarily played in the 1980's or later. Of the eight candidates, three of them spent at least a portion of their career with the Yankees. The committee determining the fate of these former stars is made up of 16 prominent baseball figures ranging from current Hall of Famers to major league executives and even a few media members. In order to earn baseball's highest honor, the candidates must get votes from 75% of the committee. Since all former Yankees being voted on spent the maximum allowed time on the standard BBWAA ballot for the Hall of Fame and failed to earn 75% that way, this will be harder than it seems. Still, most of these recent veterans committee elections have resulted in at least one new plaque in Cooperstown. The results of the vote will be announced this Sunda...