The New York Yankees have hit rock bottom. They are currently 60-61, the latest in a season they have been under .500 since September 1995.
Fans have called for the firing of general manager Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone for several years now, given the championship-or-bust mentality most of them have.
In recent years, the front office has developed a heavily analytic approach, but with a last-place season thus far and failing to win at least three games in an ALCS since Joe Girardi was the manager in 2017, many are getting sick of it.
It’s not to say analytics don’t work (take a look at the Houston Astros), but one former prospect says the team is way too reliant on them.
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The national anthem during Old Timers Day prior to a game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 2014, in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Orioles defeated the Yankees 8-0. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Ben Ruta played for the organization from 2016 to 2021, so he knows the ins and outs of what goes on, and he didn’t like what he saw in the later years of his tenure there.
During an episode of “Foul Territory,” Ruta commented on the Yankees’ approach in the show’s chat log.
“Here’s all you need to know,” host Scott Braun read on the air. “In 2020, before COVID hit spring training we played a game called ‘pitchers vs hitters,’ the only way to score a point was to walk or hit a ball 95 mph-plus. There’s no baseball being taught there anymore. No baserunning, moving runners, fundamentals, etc.”
The Yankees have been reliant on the home run in recent years (as have other successful teams), but they have failed year after year to hit with runners in scoring position in the postseason. Their mistakes on the basepaths have also been glaring.
The stadium before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, September 22, 2022, in New York, New York. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
YANKEES HIT ROCK BOTTOM AS THEY GO UNDER .500 IN AUGUST FOR FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 30 YEARS
With the team likely to miss the postseason for the first time since 2016, Ruta expects big changes.
“Fully expect them to clear house in the minor leagues, all the coaches were brought in by [former hitting coach] Dillon Lawson and the analytics guys,” Braun read from Ruta. “They will change developmental culture back to old Yankees days. Keep in mind, I played in the Yanks’ org before analytics (2016-2018) and then after (2018-2020). Stark difference in developments.”
Ruta noted that he understands analytics are a part of the game, and should be, but “it needs to be a healthy mix,” and “the strategy of running an org like this is just dumb,” says Ruta.
Yankee Stadium inside during a game between Columbus Crew and New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on June 17, 2023, in Bronx, New York. (Daniela Porcelli/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
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However, according to New Jersey Advance Media, letting go of Cashman “isn’t even on the table” for owner Hal Steinbrenner and is “not up for discussion.”
Boone’s future is somewhat in doubt, though. Boone took the reins from Girardi following the team’s surprising 2017 season, when they went to Game 7 of the ALCS against a cheating Astros team in what most thought to be a rebuilding season.
