TAMPA, Fla. — Saturday’s Grapefruit League home opener at George M. Steinbrenner Field gave Yankees fans everything they could have wanted on the diamond. Aaron Judge mashed two home runs. Spencer Jones launched a moonshot toward Dale Mabry Highway. The lineup pounded out 18 hits and hung a 20-spot on the Detroit Tigers.
What nobody wanted was the smell.
Two sewer lines ruptured outside the stadium’s main entrance just before first pitch, flooding portions of the concourse, seeping into the Yankees clubhouse and forcing fans to tiptoe around pools of what a security guard reportedly called “the poo-poo water.” The Yankees had to close the lower floor of their team store. Workers were tearing up the ground near the entrance to access pipes. And postgame interviews were conducted in a hallway because the clubhouse never opened to reporters.
Even on a day when the bats spoke loudly, the plumbing spoke louder.
Jones gets the party started with a blast beyond the seats
The fireworks began before Judge even stepped to the plate. In the second inning, Spencer Jones turned on a 94.8 mph four-seam fastball from Tigers starter Keider Montero and launched it over the right-field seating area. The ball sailed toward Dale Mabry Highway. It was the first Grapefruit League homer of the spring for the Yankees.
Jones, the 6-foot-7 slugger who hit 35 home runs across the minors in 2025, has been under intense scrutiny this spring because of his strikeout issues and a crowded outfield depth chart. But the raw power was undeniable on Saturday.
“He’s the captain for a reason,” Jones said of Judge. “He’s looking out for everybody, and he’s definitely helped me, especially so far this camp. It’s just little things here and there. You just ask him questions and he’s always open for a conversation.”
Judge hammers two homers to signal WBC readiness
Then the captain took over.
In the third inning, Judge turned on a cutter at the bottom of the zone from Tigers reliever Burch Smith and sent it 420 feet to the center-field batter’s eye. Statcast measured the exit velocity at 104.5 mph. The Yankees led 5-2.
One inning later, Judge attacked an up-and-in fastball from Ricky Vanasco and pulled it just inside the left-field foul pole. That one traveled 395 feet at 106.1 mph. He finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored before being pulled in the fifth.
“It’s all about getting ready, but then if I don’t have results, I get asked questions about what happened to the power,” Judge said. “At this point in my career, I’ve got things I need to work on and things I need to do that are going to help us put the best team out there.”
The three-time AL MVP is preparing to captain Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, which begins pool play March 5. He will join a loaded roster that includes Bryce Harper, Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr., Cal Raleigh and Kyle Schwarber. The championship game is set for March 17 in Miami.
“We’ve got the WBC coming up, which I’m excited about, and an exciting Yankees season,” Judge said. “We’ve got a lot of unfinished business from last season, especially the way it ended for us. I’m just trying to put myself in the best position to help this team win a lot of ballgames.”
Judge won his second straight AL MVP in 2025 after hitting .331 with 53 homers, 114 RBIs and a .457 on-base percentage. From 2022 through 2025, the 33-year-old has averaged more than 52 home runs per season with a 1.117 OPS.
Yankees pile on with 18 hits and a nine-run eighth inning
The final score told the full story of Tigers pitching woes. Detroit used nine pitchers in the game. None of them escaped unscathed.
Paul Goldschmidt collected two hits and two RBIs. Roderick Arias crushed a grand slam in the eighth inning and finished 2-for-3. Jackson Castillo added a three-run homer in the same frame as the Yankees put up nine runs in the eighth to blow the game wide open. The Yankees drew 11 walks on the day.
Carlos Lagrange, the Yankees’ other top pitching prospect, started the game on the mound and faced a strong test. Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle, the consensus No. 2 prospect in baseball, slapped an opposite-field single off Lagrange’s 100.5 mph fastball in the first inning. Corey Julks hit a solo homer in the third for Detroit’s only real offensive bright spot.
Sewage leak turns Steinbrenner Field into a messy scene
While the bats boomed, the plumbing crumbled. Two sewer lines broke just outside Steinbrenner Field’s main entrance shortly before first pitch. The problem only got worse as the game progressed.
Sewage water seeped from the clubhouse bathrooms into the carpeted area that houses the players’ lockers. The stench was palpable throughout the lower level of the stadium. Maintenance workers scrambled to contain the spills while fans were ushered around the pools of dirty water. Tampa’s Department of Public Works was alerted to the problem.
“It’s spring training for the toilets, too,” a Yankees spokesperson said, making light of the situation.
Judge, Jones and Lagrange all had to conduct their postgame interviews in the hallway. Other players exited through a side door because the main clubhouse entrance was flooded.
“It’s not great. It’s all over the place,” Boone said. “So hopefully we get it cleaned up here overnight and back in business tomorrow.”
Saturday was not the first time Steinbrenner Field has experienced plumbing trouble. But with the Yankees hosting the Mets on Sunday, a quick turnaround was essential. On a day that featured 83-degree sunshine, monster home runs and a glimpse of what this lineup can do when fully healthy, the only thing that stunk at Steinbrenner Field was literally underfoot.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
