The New York Yankees opted against making significant moves at the trade deadline to help their odds of making the playoffs, instead choosing to let the team try to move up the standings. Instead, they crumbled and now face a less than one percent chance of making the postseason. Wanting to give the fans a reason to watch throughout September, the Yankees called up several of their top prospects to see what they could bring at the major league level and if they could be significant pieces to the 2024 roster. One of those prospects was outfielder Jasson Dominguez.
This past Friday, Dominguez made his major league debut alongside catcher Austin Wells in the Yankees' game against the Houston Astros. In his very first at-bat, Dominguez hit a home run off three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander. From there, he instantly became a Yankees fan favorite.
On Sunday, Dominguez was interviewed by ESPN's Karl Ravech ahead of the Yankees-Astros series finale. Ravech asked Dominguez who his favorite player was growing up. Dominguez initially said he didn't have a favorite player before admitting that he used to like David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, two former players for the Yankees rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
Yankees: Jasson Dominguez admits he liked watching David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez when he was growing up
The hesitancy from Dominguez was pretty funny since admitting to members of the Red Sox would not exactly go over well. But if Dominguez becomes a superstar for the Yankees for the foreseeable future, trust us, the fanbase will forgive him.
Ortiz and Ramirez aren't exactly players that Yankees fans enjoyed watching. After all, they were both part of the 2004 team that overcame a 0-3 deficit in the ALCS to reach the World Series and win for the first time since 1918. Not to mention they both were on the 2007 team that won the World Series again, their second in four years. Oh, and Ortiz was on the 2018 that eliminated the Yankees in the ALDS in four games, to go on to win the 2018 World Series.
Again, it was a funny moment for Dominguez.
After the interview on Sunday, Dominguez showed off his power once again. In the top of the sixth inning, with the game tied 1-1, the rookie centerfielder crushed a two-run home run off Astros pitcher Cristian Javier to give New York a 3-1 lead.
With this, Dominguez is just the fourth player in Yankees history to hit two home runs in his first three games. The other players were Aaron Judge (2016), Joe Lefebvre (1980), and Yogi Berra (1946).
Dominguez completed his first series, in which he and his fellow rookie teammates played significant roles in sweeping the Astros. Now, Dominguez will make his home debut on Tuesday, when the Yankees host the Detroit Tigers.