The latest Yankees documentary is unlike anything ever announced

The New York Yankees have been the subject of at least two high-profile documentaries over the last two years.

ESPN's eight-part series on the history of the franchise announced in 2023, and Apple TV+'s three-part dive into the World Series filmed last October, promised national audiences more close-up looks at baseball's most storied franchise than most teams ever get. (Don't hold your breath on Marlins Will Soar coming to Netflix.)

Finally shedding some light on this long-overlooked franchise. https://t.co/cSgwtg5txj
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) February 15, 2023

Monday, when YES Network announced a new "behind-the-scenes docuseries" on the Yankees titled "The Stadium," it was entirely fair for Yankee haters to roll their eyes. Yet based on the teaser announced Monday by YES, this series could hold more universal appeal than most single-team documentaries, especially one produced and distributed by an RSN.

The first episode focuses on the preparations that went into getting Yankee Stadium ready for Opening Day.

“When you step back and think about what we do at Yankee Stadium, the population of a small city shows up to a single building in the most famous city in the world, and in a three-hour time frame, they have to enter and exit smoothly, shop for merchandise, be served hundreds of different items of food, and be entertained with music, continuously updated graphics and a performance from the best athletes in the world — all while their collective safety and security is vigilantly maintained,” Yankees Senior Vice President of Stadium Operations Doug Behar said in a press announcement.

“We also have to meticulously maintain an outdoor field through all types of weather and accommodate the wide array of outside people who come to work at Yankee Stadium, including staff from multiple broadcast networks, reporters from around the country, Yankees players and coaches, and the traveling party of the visiting team," Behar continued. "The logistics are incredibly complex, but we pull it off because we love what we do, and we know how much it means to each and every person who steps foot inside our building.”

Frankly, this sounds like how every major league venue works. The Venn diagram of preparing an MLB venue for game day, compared to its counterpart stadiums in the NFL, NHL and NBA, contains a lot of overlap. If you've ever wanted to nerd out on the behind-the-scenes aspects of that experience, "The Stadium" sounds like it has you covered — at least in Episode 1.

YES' press release states that a new half-hour show will be released every month, and each episode "will showcase a different aspect of what goes into making the building come to life."

Episode 1 drops on the YES Network on April 14 following the postgame show. The episode, and all future episodes, will also be available for streaming on YES within The Gotham Sports App.

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The latest Yankees documentary is (really!) unlike anything ever announced

By J.P. Hoornstra | Apr 7, 2025