Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge both had excellent seasons for the New York Yankees, but of the eight Yankees qualified, they are the only two on a very home run-reliant team that had an OPS+ above 100, signifying better than league average.
Not ideal, even if the Yankees won 92 games and made it to the AL Wild Card Game, so much so that even manager Aaron Boone had to admit it after the team lost that Wild Card Game.
“That’s obviously been our calling card here for the last several years, but this year it wasn’t the case. We struggled at times and didn’t score runs like we normally would,” Boone said. “Overall it was tough for us to really be the offensive juggernaut we’ve come to expect, and I’m not sure why we didn’t realize our potential there.”
“I feel like top to bottom we all could’ve done more, but I’m not going to pick apart the year,” Stanton added. “We all could’ve done better at certain points in the year, but that’s how it went.”
Stanton also said he wasn’t baffled as to why the offense underperformed because he played through it, and noted it needed to be better.
“It’s a tough spot for all of us, and we need to figure out how we can improve and take the next step and go from there,” Stanton said.
But how?
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The Yankees ended the year with their backup catcher starting a do-or-die game, a completely rearranged infield – including Luke Voit, the 2020 home run leader, relegated to the bench before his fourth IL stint of the year – and an abandoned plan to have Stanton play the outfield to open up the DH spot.
The only free agent in the position player group is Anthony Rizzo (plus Brett Gardner on a player option), and multiple outfielders (plus Voit) returning from injuries, so it seems there’s little wiggle room.
However, two of Boone’s comments about the roster construction after the Wild Card Game may lead you to believe that the roster issues fans have been discussing all year have finally crept into team discussions, too.
“We have to examine a lot of things, like where guys who will be back and where we can help them get better individually. There will always be some personnel shakeups, and hopefully it all works to be a better fit,” Boone said. “I think you’re always working to find a more perfect fit on your roster and improve, and we’re all trying to be that most complete team we can possibly be. That work never ends, but the good thing is we have a lot of great players in that room, and a lot of great leadership, and hopefully we can supplement it properly going forward to put out the best team.”
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That’s something they’re going to need to do for sure if another of Boone’s comments is reality and not just perception.
“I feel like looking back to 2018 and 2019, I feel it was a few teams that were truly capable. Last year was a little different, but this year, I do feel like there are more teams on the come that have closed the gap with us,” Boone said. “It’s not just the Rays, Red Sox, and Astros. These teams are on ground with us.”
But is that because teams have closed the gap, or is it, as fans have lamented, the team has done little to push the team over the top – Gerrit Cole notwithstanding – since the 2017 squad overachieved?
Boone speaks often of “peaks and valleys,” and in doing so Tuesday night, he praised his team making the postseason for the fifth straight year.
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“It’s been a challenging year because we have had the peaks and valleys. You strive for consistency, which is hard to achieve. That said, we took a lot of lumps this year and still managed to give ourselves a chance in the postseason,” Boone said. “This year was such a grind, so I always try and reflect and not be so emotional about it in the days ahead.”
With the championship window closing more and more every year though, Boone also needs this quote to be closer to reality than perception in 2022.
“While I do feel like more teams have closed that gap, I also feel like we are really close to being the best team. We haven’t gotten over the hump, and that’s what we need to keep working at.”
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