The New York Yankees invited 67 players to spring training this year. While that may sound like a lot, it also looks like a lot.
New York trotted all 67 players out to stand on the first baseline during the national anthem on Saturday afternoon ahead of its game against the Tigers. On top of the 40 rostered players and 27 non-roster invitees, there were also enough coaches to push the number of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder from home plate to the outfield close to triple-digits.
Meanwhile, across the diamond Detroit didn't even reach third. It made for a truly jarring image.
This is how many players the Yankees have in camp. pic.twitter.com/T91wJBrFGs
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) February 21, 2026
Lest you think this generated by AI, the Yankees posted a picture later that day showing a fraction of the people they had in uniform Saturday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Even this picture looks kind of hilarious.
A beautiful sight. pic.twitter.com/juPKe0p0ii
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 22, 2026
The thing is, the Yankees don't even have the most non-roster invites this spring. The Mets invited 29 and the Dodgers invited 32. Last year the Yankees invited 25. It must just be rare for everyone to suit up, what with split squads and rest and whatnot. The most optimistic way to look at this is that it's a sign that the '26 Yankees are going to be ridiculously healthy.
The Yankees did win on Saturday, beating the Tigers 20-3. By the time the game ended the Yankees had sent 18 players to the plate and used seven pitchers, which means less than a third of the people in uniform for the anthem got to take the field. The Tigers actually sent one more guy to the plate than the Yankees and had used two more pitchers.
This will be something to monitor as spring training continues. Especially if you're a fire marshal.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Yankees' Huge Spring Training Roster Makes for Amusing Photo During National Anthem.
