What the hell happens in the Yankees’ hitters’ meetings, and why are umbrella hats required?

Earlier this season, Casey Dykes walked into the Yankees’ pregame hitters’ gathering wearing a bluish umbrella hat.

Why, the Daily News wondered, would the adjunct hitting manager request specified headwear for a gathering astir the opposition’s pitching staff?

“I don’t wanna reply that,” said Oswaldo Cabrera, typically bubbly and unfastened with reporters.

“I don’t person an reply for that one,” insisted pb hitting manager James Rowson, who cracked up astatine the question. “I’m not telling you your eyes deceived you.”

When confronted, Dykes declined to remark connected his rain-shielding cap. He took the aforesaid attack to wide inquiries regarding the Yankees’ hitters’ meetings.

“Confidential,” Dykes said with a smile. “I’m not gonna spell into item connected that.”

Other Yankees, seemingly bound by secrecy, offered akin answers erstwhile asked astir the meetings passim the season.

“That’s for the hitters to know, baby,” Alex Verdugo said.

“We conscionable hole for the pitchers that night,” Jon Berti claimed. “I don’t cognize if I tin spell into much item than that.”

“I can’t archer you everything that we bash successful there,” Juan Soto added, “but we’re going done the different squad and trying to find a mode to bushed them.”

Juan Soto, seen present talking with Yankees hitting manager James Rowson, stays tight-lipped connected what happens successful the hitters’ meetings.

The Yankees’ hitters person a raucous mode of doing that, though it remains unclear precisely what the process entails due to the fact that their meetings instrumentality spot successful a warfare country adjacent to the clubhouse erstwhile the squad plays astatine Yankee Stadium.

Two closed doors with clouded panes marque it intolerable to cognize precisely what happens down them. But flashing, colorful lights tin beryllium seen done the solid connected a near-daily basis, arsenic the Yankees’ meetings overlap with the 50 minutes of clubhouse entree reporters are fixed earlier games.

The doors besides can’t artifact retired the boisterous screams oregon ear-splitting songs, similar Ava Max’s “My Head & My Heart,” Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” and Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” — to sanction a fewer examples — that person loudly soundtracked the meetings. It’s not uncommon for the tunes to beryllium played via euphony videos that diagnostic bikini-clad women.

“It’s conscionable mean hitters’ gathering stuff!” Jahmai Jones swore erstwhile told the gatherings dependable much similar parties, though helium failed to convey a superior code arsenic helium kept repeating himself.

The Yankees often tried to recreate this club-like situation connected the road, though smaller facilities and dependable systems didn’t ever let for specified energized assemblies.

“To support it simple, we’re conscionable getting these guys acceptable for the game,” Rowson said, adding that players organically created the vibe of these meetings. “That’s benignant of the gist. But you cognize what? In bid to bash it, you gotta person immoderate fun, right? So we’re creating the ambiance to get successful determination and get acceptable to triumph games. It’s a batch of fun. The guys bask it.”

That they do.

While lone Austin Wells shared details astir 1 peculiar gathering aft it included a viral video of him dancing, the Yankees surely dependable fond of the powwows.

“It’s a good hitters’ meeting,” Verdugo emphasized.

Berti and Cabrera added that the lively summits person created a beardown enslaved wrong the group.

“We effort to bask everybody truthful that it feels similar a family,” Cabrera said.

Whatever the Yankees bash successful their meetings, it worked during the regular season.

While not ever accordant and sometimes over-reliant connected Soto and Aaron Judge, who combined for 99 location runs and 253 RBI, the playoff-bound Bombers had 1 of baseball’s apical offenses this season. With the American League Division Series connected deck, they ranked archetypal successful location runs (237), BB% (10.8), Barrel% (10.5), exit velocity (90.1 mph) and pitches seen (24,962) portion placing 2nd successful wRC+ (117) and Hard-Hit% (42.3).

The Yankees besides finished 3rd successful fWAR (33.7), RBI (782), runs scored (815), on-base percent (.333), OPS (.761) and sheet appearances (6,245); 4th successful slugging (.429); and ninth successful mean (.248) and K% (21.2).

With numbers similar that, it’s a wonderment wherefore each of the Yankees’ meetings aren’t held successful a akin style.

“We’re a small much business-oriented than those guys are,” said pitching manager Matt Blake. “I don’t cognize if we get to the level of amusive that they do.”

Blake noted that the Yankees’ pitchers typically lone conscionable earlier the commencement of each series. The hitters, however, conscionable each day.

With the play being truthful long, spicing things up avoids monotony.

“When you bash it 162 times, you gotta find a mode to marque it interesting,” Soto said.

Some could surely observe the hitters’ meetings from extracurricular the warfare country doors and inquire if the Yankees are having excessively overmuch fun. But Rowson, in his archetypal twelvemonth arsenic the team’s hitting coach, doesn’t spot it that way.

As acold arsenic he’s concerned, mentation and having a bully clip spell “hand successful hand.”

“It doesn’t person to beryllium dull and boring and conscionable going done things,” said Rowson, a erstwhile Yankees insignificant leaguer. “So we’re having a batch of fun, but don’t mistake having amusive for not being prepared. Because our guys are ultra-prepared and ultra-ready to spell each night.”

With a bully happening going, don’t expect immoderate tweaks for the playoffs. As the season’s astir important games statesman Saturday, the hitters’ meetings volition stay rowdy down closed doors.

“Guys are inactive excited to beryllium successful there, and we’re inactive getting a batch of bully things done,” Rowson, spotted with his ain unexplained umbrella hat, said during the last week of the season. “The cardinal is to proceed to bash precisely what we’ve been doing each the mode done and not marque precise galore changes.”