There were no tickets available for Sunday’s power vs. power showdown of Aaron Judge against Gerrit Cole, because none were sold. With the Yankees stars under long-term contracts and expected to play the rest of their careers in pinstripes,

Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Cody Bellinger and other Yankees stars have hit the ground running for the 2025 spring training in Florida.

After the Yankees reversed their longtime beard ban, facial-hair experts, including ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, weighed in.

Two stalwarts of the Yankees were up against each on opposite sides of the plate. Before the Yankees' spring training game on Sunday, former Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole faced some of the best hitters, including Aaron Judge, in a live batting session.

Judge took Cole deep for one of his patented left-field home runs, according to Hoch. The Yankees play the Boston Red Sox on Monday afternoon but neither veteran will be in the lineup. Cole is not expected to pitch until the next turn in the rotation. And Judge won't play until March 1.

"I've been waiting to see him get out there on the mound for a while,'' Aaron Judge said, ''and excited he's feeling good and doing his thing.''

How we process losses can define our sports experience. Whether we are a young athlete, a sports parent or Aaron Judge, we can always overcome them.

With his first Grapefruit League at-bats of the year under his belt, Aaron Judge said he believes a heavier spring workload could ward off another slow start to his regular season. Judge went 1-for-2

And, as he did on Friday during his bullpen session, Cole had one of his childhood heroes watching from behind the mound, Roger Clemens, who is in camp as a guest instructor. “It was awesome,” Cole said Sunday. “It’s really great. Álex [Rodríguez] was in the house the other day, too. It’s good vibes.