Fans are buying into the hype surrounding the New York Yankees - literally.

As of Thursday, the team has sold 550,000 more tickets than it had at this point last year, per Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News, according to USA Today Sports.

Much of the excitement has to do with the franchise having brought reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton into the fold. The slugger joins an already exciting core of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Didi Gregorius, to name a few. Now paired with Judge, Stanton gives the Yankees one of the best one-two punches in all of baseball.

Led by general manager Brian Cashman, the Yankees will attempt to build off an impressive 91-win season that saw the young team come one win shy of a World Series appearance. Stanton's presence alone should be enough to warrant an increase in attendance numbers, though the Yankees haven't struggled in that area for years. Following last year's postseason run, the Yankees ended 2017 with the fourth-highest attendance numbers at home, averaging 39,835 fans per game - exactly 2,016 more than the 2016 average.