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By Ben Watanabe
Contributing Sports Writer
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If you have the opportunity to see Dellin Betances and Todd Frazier back on the field at Yankee Stadium, you pretty much have to go.
Apparently, lots of New York Yankees fans don't have their priorities in order, because this year's edition of the annual Old-Timers' Day event saw plenty of empty seats dotting the House That Derek Jeter Built. With such luminaries as Adam Ottavino and David Weathers donning pinstripes one more time, what was once a must-have ticket was met with little fanfare.
Longtime Yankees media personality Michael Kay, for one, noticed.
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The independent-minded Kay addressed the decreased buzz for Old-Timers' Day during "The Michael Kay Show" on WEPN-FM on Monday. Rather than scold the fans, though, Kay acknowledged that he understood why they might not be clamoring to see their heroes of yesteryear as in seasons past.
"It's different than when I had that script in front of me in the mid-(1990s) and I'm introducing Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford," Kay said in a video posted to YouTube. "These are all-time greats. The names and the games, they echo in the halls of Cooperstown."
This year's festivities weren't totally devoid of star power. Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson and Mariano Rivera attended, as did core championship contributors such as Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams. It wasn't all Homer Bush and Jose Molina.
Kay definitely struck the heart of the matter by noting the names weren't quite as awe-inspiring as those that fans became used to for decades. The absence of Derek Jeter looms large, as he's one of the few Yankees alums who can inspire the same sort of nostalgia Mantle and DiMaggio once could. But as usual, Jeter did not attend, citing a conflict.
Yankees fans would probably prefer to get some current stars on the field anyway. No disrespect to Rivera and company, but Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton would be a lot more fun to watch in 2026 than any of the team's past luminaries.
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