Digging Deep: Life in the Minors Apr 17, 2012 | More

Wearing the nickname of the “Empire State” Yankees, the team will be based in Rochester, N.Y. Along with living in Rochester, the Yankees will play 37 games at Rochester’s Frontier Field. The rest of the Yankees’ Empire State journey will include six games at Buffalo’s Coca-Cola Field, 10 games at Syracuse’s Alliance Bank Stadium and seven games at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia. The Yankees will also play four games at Pawtucket’s McCoy Stadium and another eight at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pa., home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Ironically enough, being based out of Rochester is a plus of sorts as it has the Yankees more centrally located in the International League, which means they actually have shorter road trips than they would if they were still playing at PNC Field. In fact, the biggest challenge the players and coaching staff may end up dealing with will be questions about how are they are handling the travel. 

“Everybody has been really accommodating, helping us out. It’s just one of those things we just have to play through it,” Yankees manager Dave Miley said. “We put on the white (home) pants for the first time since spring training when we had our ‘home’ opener (April 14) in Syracuse … We’ll figure it out.”

On another note, Eric Pettis just released a book titled “Just a Minor Perspective: Through The Eyes of a Minor League Rookie.” Pettis, a 23-year-old rookie, chronicles his 2010 journey in the Philadelphia Phillies’ system as a member of the Class-A short season Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League Ironically, just days after the book was released, the Phillies let Pettis go. The book gives a detailed, up-close inside look at life in the low minors.