Here are the Daily News’ best Yankees stories of 2023

The 2023 campaign was a disappointing one for the Yankees, whose 82-80 record was their worst in three decades. But that doesn’t mean the season was short on storylines.

There was plenty to follow as ace Gerrit Cole closed in on his first Cy Young Award, prized prospect Anthony Volpe made his MLB debut and eccentric reliever Tommy Kahnle returned to the Bronx Bombers after two years with the Dodgers.

Here are the Daily News’ best Yankees stories of the year:

With the Yankees off to a 23-18 start, veterans such as Anthony Rizzo, Clay Holmes, DJ LeMahieu, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Willie Calhoun shared what it was like playing for legitimately bad teams earlier in their careers.

“If it’s a bad team, you look around and there’s no reinforcements,” Holmes, formerly of the Pirates, told The News. “We’re not playing good. It’s just like, this is kind of who we are. The phrase ‘it’s a long season’ is not so comforting.”

Deion Sanders’ torrid start as Colorado’s football coach served as the perfect opportunity for former Yankees such as Ron Guidry, Don Mattingly and Dave Righetti to reflect on the two-sport Sanders’ time in pinstripes, and for former Reds teammates Aaron Boone and Sean Casey to weigh in as well.

“The first thing you tell yourself is this son of a gun can run,” Guidry told The News. “He might have been one of the fastest guys I ever saw in a baseball uniform.”

As interest in Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s free agency approached a fever pitch, former teammates and opponents shared why the standout starter appears poised for MLB success.

“Obviously, to be that successful in Japan, it’s not an easy feat,” said Reds pitcher Nick Martinez, who played in Japan and against Yamamoto from 2018-2021. “So that speaks worlds to how he trains and how he prepares.”

Giancarlo Stanton, Calhoun and Ian Hamilton share an unusual experience among MLB players: suffering facial fractures after being hit by baseballs.

“It’s quite simple. It’s like being in the minor leagues. Do you want to get to the big leagues? Or not?” Stanton told The News, comparing his post-injury mindset to that of a prospect. “You have to do exact things to be successful to get there. And the thing to stay in the big leagues and stay successful in this case was to not have it be a factor.”

Before Volpe made his much-anticipated Yankees debut on Opening Day, the scouts who identified the New Jersey native as a promising player and person broke it all down.

“I tell the scouts, ‘We need to get on the other side of the fence,’” Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ director of amateur scouting, told The News. “Most of the time you think of scouts, we’re sitting in the stands and we’re watching. We obviously do that. But the other part of the job is to get on the other side of the fence and get to know the player, what he’s like in the dugout, what his coaches have to say about him, what his teachers have to say about him. And then, obviously, trying to figure out what his parents are like.”

Before Cole was officially named the AL Cy Young Award winner, the Yankees ace and others who shared his journey with him detailed how the 33-year-old right-hander got to that point.

“It’s a little bit of a dream, man,” Cole told The News. “I mean, it’s hard to put it into words. It’s just very humbling because everybody dreams this stuff, but to be able to be blessed to have the opportunity to actually fulfill those is something quite special that I don’t lose sight of.”

Mental health awareness is a crucial subject for Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón and his wife, Ashley, who witnessed tragedy in their small town of Covington, Ind., and endured challenges in their own lives as well.

“It’s just something that people need to be aware of,” Ashley told The News. “Mental health, it’s so real to the people who struggle with it. If you don’t struggle with it, it’s a blessing, but it’s something that when people are crying for help, you have to be aware of how serious it is.”

Everyone has a story about the fan-favorite Kahnle, whose teammates revealed will, among other idiosyncrasies, shave his body after bad outings.

“I first come in, I probably seem a little over the top,” said Kahnle, who turned 34 on Monday. “But I could tell guys, the more they’re around me, the more they start to kind of like it. It keeps guys loose and they have fun.”