This is brilliant: the New York Yankees have paneled off 18 seats in Yankee Stadium’s Section 104 and marketing the pop-up promo area as The Judge’s Chambers, in honor of rookie phenom Aaron Judge.
It’s only three rows, but you can’t buy seats to The Judge’s Chambers, as they’re upgrades for fans already in the ballpark. Those lucky enough to be chosen to receive seats between the faux mahogany walls will also received judicial robes with a Yankees logo on the front and #99 on the back.
The new Judge’s Chambers at Yankee Stadium accommodates 18 fans picked at random from… https://t.co/9oHzLpCx9R pic.twitter.com/2hmAFIjEcs
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) May 22, 2017
Aaron Judge, of course, is the rookie phenom who leads the majors with 15 home runs and named Rookie of the Month in April. It’s quite the story: he was far from a lock to even make the team in spring training, but his hard work led first to a roster spot and then a regular spot in right field. His play, sparking the Yankees to an AL East best 26 wins, is certainly worthy of what’s basically a pop-up promo.
But then again, these are not your father’s Yankees. We detailed changes to Yankee Stadium after a visit to the team’s media day, and we detailed changes to Steinbrenner Field at the beginning of spring training. In both cases, the Yankees initiated changes that upgraded social spaces, and in both cases the front office indicated a new approach toward modern baseball fans. A pop-up promo area like this is a sharp move: it’s not expensive, it’s fun, and it resonates with fans.
This is not the first judicial-themed seating area in baseball. Most famously, Braves Field, home of the Boston Braves/Bees, featured a small right-field bleacher seating area called The Jury Box.