Isaac Gramse ’26
EE Staff Writer
It is not a controversial statement in saying that the 2023 Yankees weren’t anything but mediocre. Finishing 4th in the AL East, just barely reaching a winning season with a final record of 82-80, and missing out on the playoffs. However, a year later the Yankees have completely turned around as they just won the AL East for the 21st time in franchise history. So how did they manage to turn it around?
The first thing they made clear was that they were going to go after some lefty hitters. The 2023 Yankees only had one consistent lefty batter in the lineup in Anthony Rizzo and he wasn’t all that great (to be fair he was playing with a concussion all season). The Yankees acquired big lefty bats in Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham, and most importantly Juan Soto in the offseason, and even at the deadline acquiring Jazz Chisolm Jr from the Marlins. Allowing the Yankees to take better advantage of their short porch in right field.
Another problem with last years Yankees was that they never held any players accountable. Players could underperform, have the lowest batting average in the league, and still be consistent starters in the lineup (Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks come to mind). However this year, players have had to earn their spots in the field. Gleyber Torres was benched for not hustling to first base on a ground ball, Clay Holmes had the closer role taken away from him for not being able to consistently get saves, and players negatively affecting the team would be traded or DFA’d.
And finally the most important thing of all, the players have been showing up. Last year the only people who seemed to care for the game were Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, as everyone else just let themselves think that the game was over as soon as they gave up one run. Yet that is not the case this year. We’ve seen players no one would have expected to show up in clutch moments (Austin Wells, Oswaldo Cabrera, Luke Weaver and even Trent Grisham occasionally). This actually looks like a team that genuinely cares about baseball and winning, even when they had their skids they always found a way to fight back.
While this year has been great for the Bronx Bombers, their work is still not done. They still need to reach their end goal of winning their 28th title. But this is the first time in years where I fully believe that this team is able to accomplish their mission. My World Series prediction, Yankees over Brewers.
Photo: Getty Images
You sure about that buddy?