BRADENTON, Fla. — Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and right fielder Carlos Beltran will use the exhibition season to familiarize each other with their routes to the ball. Ellsbury will do the same with Brett Gardner and Alfonso Soriano.
For catcher Brian McCann, he has a lot more work to do acclimating himself to the pitchers and gaining their trust.
“That takes time. I’ve got to show them kind of what I’m about. All of it takes time,’’ McCann said after catching four innings of the Yankees’ 6-5 exhibition loss to the Pirates on Wednesday at McKechnie Field in which he went 1-for-2 and drove in a run. “This is Day 1 of a long spring training, which is really good for me and [the] pitchers to work.’’
Wednesday was the first time the high-priced trio of McCann, Ellsbury and Beltran played together after signing for a combined $283 million this offseason.
“You learn about their personality. I had a pretty good idea what they do,’’ manager Joe Girardi said. “I have seen Jacoby enough.’’
Ellsbury went 1-for-1, scored two runs and walked twice.
“It was exciting, the first game of spring training is nice to see game speed and live pitching,’’ the center fielder and leadoff hitter said. “I like to see as many pitches as I can but stay aggressive in the zone.’’
Beltran, who was hitless in three at-bats, looked at the game as a chance to get to know Ellsbury in the outfield and involve the lower body at the plate.
“It was good to play with Ellsbury in the outfield,’’ the right fielder said. “I want to feel solid at the plate; get the lower body working. You try to get results, but not focus on that.’’
McCann spent eight-plus seasons in Atlanta so there is an element of change, beyond learning the pitching staff.
“It’s been great. Obviously, being in one place for so long and coming to a new place, there are things I’ve got to get used to. I’m doing that right now,’’ McCann said. “[First game] it was awesome. I was a little nervous, felt good. Any time you put on another uniform and go out for the first time, you get those butterflies. To get that out of the way, to get that first hit, was nice.’’