The Best Yankees Game I Attended in 2026...

By Paul Semendinger

October 18, 2026

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The best game I attended in 2026 was...

Well, I didn't attend any games in 2026. Not once did I set foot in Yankees Stadium.

I used to be a (partial) Season Ticket holder. I gave up my package in 2012 when Hal Steinbrenner starting talking about how he needs to watch the dollars he spends. I figured if he needs to start watching his money, so do I. Since that time, Steinbrenner has never gone "all-in" to build a championship team. That's his prerogative. The Yankees are a business. His job is to maximize profits. I understand. I actually have no problem with that.

But, if I am going to spend my money on a sporting event, I am going to spend it on a product that clearly wishes to be the best. And that's not the Yankees right now - and it hasn't been them for quite some time. That is my prerogative.

Because of the Yankees desire to be just a little better than pretty good, I find them less compelling to watch - especially if that means driving into New York, paying expensive tolls, parking in lots that are super expensive, and the like. I have also found the stadium experience itself to be less and less enjoyable. I wrote about that last year. As a result,

I have gone to fewer and fewer games over the years.

I also do not pay for any of the television or streaming services. If the Yankees and Major League Baseball wish to take their product away from fans like me, they can. What they can't expect is for me to purchase a host of services I do not want or need just to watch their games. That I won't do. This residual effect of this, though, is that I often miss the games that are free because I have found other better and more important things to do when they are on TV.

As I have started on many occasions, the whole quality of the product is just not great any longer. The manager's press conferences are filled with meaningless statements. The players play a poor brand of baseball. The energy around the team is lacking. The players and the management seem quite content being milquetoast.

Until the Yankees demonstrate a willingness to be a great team again, I have no desire to give them any financial support. I don't buy Yankees jerseys, hats, or any of that. I haven't for years. I still care about them. I follow them closely. I run a Yankees site for goodness sake, but the truth is I care less about the team that I have in the past because it is clear that the Yankees care less about winning than they used to as well.

The Yankees speak platitudes about wanting to win, but their actions speak much louder than words.

The Yankees of today are very content being pretty good. I became a fan because the Yankees used to be a team that desired to be great.

I am happy to invest in greatness. I have no desire to contribute to mediocrity.