A home opener six games into the season is still 'cool'
The red, white and blue bunting will be on display, as well as MLB’s “Opening Week” logo painted on the field.
After opening the 2026 season on the road with six games on the West Coast, the Yankees host the Marlins Friday afternoon in their home opener at the Stadium. It is, more or less, a second Opening Day for the Yankees and, in some ways, a third Opening Day. After last Wednesday’s Opening Night game in San Francisco – entirely a production of Netflix and Major League Baseball – the Giants on Friday went ahead with their own Opening Day festivities, doing them the way they wanted to and not at the mercy of the league and a streaming service.
Meanwhile, is there a difference for the players in having Opening Day at home vs. on the road and then having their own home opener a week or so later? Call it a distinction without a difference, for the players and, one assumes, for the fans.
“Obviously, the extracurricular stuff outside of the game is going to go on and it’s going to be exciting for everybody and the fans are going to be really into it,” said Will Warren, who will start Friday’s home opener. “Cam [Schlittler] even made the joke, he was like, ‘It’s going to be sick, dude. They’re going to be announcing everybody and they’re going to say, ‘starting pitcher, No. 29, and the fans are going to go crazy.’ I didn’t think about that. That’ll be cool.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 28: Baseball, Softball and Plays of the Week! On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we check in with Matt Lindsay at Mount Sinai and their new baseball coach Eric Strovink, Chris Matias is with the Floral Park softball team and their star pitcher Chloe Zielinski and Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
