The Yankees' candlelit clubhouse could be their secret weapon

The other day, Aaron Boone's daughter, Bella, brought a friend to the Yankees game. They went to the principal's office, where the friend uttered a phrase that has almost certainly never been uttered within the distance of a locker room: “Mr. Boone,” she ventured, “It smells GOOD here.”

She's right. A room that once carried the distinctive scent of socks has, in recent weeks, offered instead notes of sandalwood, sea breeze and citrus. As the Yankees catch fire on the field — their 46-21 record leads the American League — they catch fire, too. The clubhouse on the corner of East 161st Street and River Avenue literally became Yankee Candle Company.

And the players become connoisseurs. As he tours the room's scentscape, wounded ace Gerrit Cole smells a caramel-colored double-wick candle lit near the door that leads to the shelter. He stops to consider the bouquet. He's rather fleur de sel, but he approves.

“Better toffee than athletes,” he says, waxing poetic.

Besides, he adds, “If you don’t like this one, you can go in there and smell the Florida salt.” We have a lot of options here. In fact, at any given time, you might see half a dozen lit candles. (This seems like the best place to point out that the clubhouse has a robust sprinkler system.)

Deion Sanders, the only athlete to appear in a Super Bowl and a World Series, is often credited with the credo: “Look good, feel good, play good.”.“For decades, baseball players added “smell good.” spray themselves with cologne and perfume before and after matches. But the exploding candles seem new.

Right-hander Marcus Stroman, a freshman in the Bronx, started it all. A few years ago, he started lighting a candle before each departure. He burns them all the time at home, he said, and he wanted to bring that sense of calm to his workplace. He blows out the fuse just before heading towards the shelter. He prefers a strong scent – ​​bamboo, for example, or palo santo – so his teammates caught wind.

The trend spread like wildfire. At first, starting pitchers brought their own candles – with help from their wives – and burned them on their own starting day.

“We started doing them in the lockers and it started to smell good,” said right-hander Clarke Schmidt. “So we're like, 'We do this every day.' »

They started shopping for each other. Right-hander Nestor Cortés recently purchased the entire rotation of Jo Malone candles engraved with their names and numbers. Passion has ignited especially among the starting pitchers, but shortstop Anthony Volpe recently asked for a Christmas candle, so Schmidt found one for him. (At least two Yankees officials express dismay at the 23-year-old's judgment. “It's June,” one pointed out.)

Stroman usually buys her candles on Amazon, but Cole, Schmidt and Volpe ventured to a store in the West Village a few days ago. (Volpe has also made a foray into crystals and stones, including a small leopard stone, which Cole says helps avoid overthinking. Does it work? “I don't know!” says Volpe . “That's why I have it, so I don't think about it!”) But Schmidt's mother provided, well, the common thread.

Renee Schmidt runs a boutique outside of Atlanta, so she has access to dozens of candles in all shapes and scents. She's sent Clarke two boxes so far, and another should arrive this week. The players welcome their arrival with joy and discernment. That day, Stroman reached into the box and took a deep breath.

“This one is pretty sick,” he said, pulling out a fresh-smelling candle from Harmony Farm Candles. “You should put this in the middle of the clubhouse.”

“Take it!” Schmidt says it, and Stroman does it.

The players appreciate Renée's contribution, but they want to point out that they have become aficionados. “It’s just guys,” Schmidt said. “We’re stepping up our game.”

In fact, they are somewhat offended at the idea of ​​their wives doing the shopping. Cole particularly has one burning question: “Why do you underestimate us?”

Well, because I spend a lot of time with them. But I'm impressed. It's really charming in there. The Yankee Stadium clubhouse has become perhaps the most pleasant work environment in sports. And when everything is going well, the field becomes the least pleasant, at least for the other guys: the Yankees light their fuses, then they go wax their opponents.