Bomber Bits: Good Things Come In Threes
Nothing better than the old walk off triple play! (AP)
Hello everyone, welcome to the fourth biweekly “thoughts” column about all things Yankee and baseball related! This column will run towards the end of each week and cover a variety of free flowing topics. This week, we look at the beginning of Hot Gary Summer and throw back to catch a slam (or three).
State of the Stripes
Are the Yankees back? It seems like that might be a possibility after the wild week of baseball that we just witnessed. The Yankees went 5-1 against Toronto and Oakland, two very good teams, and suddenly looked like a competitive team again. They halved their division deficit from 9 games to 4.5 games in a week, which is tough to do when you’re not directly playing either of the leading teams. This team now has some fire and grit in a way that they didn’t before, even when they were winning a lot of games in April and May. All 5 of their wins this week were comeback wins, which is a far cry from the team that was basically dead on contact once they were trailing in a game. More than any other week of Yankees baseball this year, this week reminded us all of the team that we know and love, the one that hits home runs and gets hits in clutch moments. Between Clint Frazier’s pinch hit double in Buffalo, Gio Urshela’s go ahead home run against Oakland or EITHER of Gary Sanchez’s (more on him later) game winning hits, the at bats we saw this week were a cut above what we’ve seen in the past. It’s been rough, but the Yankees might have actually turned a corner and it’s been fun to watch.
In the next two weeks, the Yankees will face some tests as they look to continue their ascent up the AL East ladder. The big one will be this Friday in Boston for their first trip to Fenway Park. A showdown with the Mets on the Fourth of July weekend also looms large. The Yankee lineup will get back Luke Voit this week, which will deepen the roster of players starting to round into form. On the pitching side, things aren’t as bright as they were before and the team desperately needs another starter. However, the bullpen has still been nails and the emergence of the bats has lessened the pressure placed on each pitcher every time out. In short, these are starting to look like the Yankees we’ve watched before, which is a very successful team. So what is the state of the stripes as we approach the halfway point of the season? Recovering for sure. Ascending? Possibly. Having fun? For the first time in a while, most definitely.
Highlight Player of the Week - Gary Sanchez
Today is the first day of summer, but we’re already well into Hot Gary Summer. Gary Sanchez has been a revelation for the Yankees in the last month. Once benched in favor of the briefly hot hitting Kyle Higashioka, Sanchez has come back with a vengeance. We’ve shared these numbers before but we’ll share them again - since May 7th, Sanchez has batted .273/.344/.591. This past week, he hit an incredible .389/.450/1.056 with 3 HR and 6 RBI. His season line sits at .237/.340/.480 which is right in line with his career averages, incredible considering where he was at the beginning of last month. Sanchez hasn’t just hit more home runs; he’s paired a better approach at the plate with the power stroke that he’s demonstrated for the last five years. His strikeout rate is down, his walk rate is up, and all of his other underlying stats are in line with his career norms. He’s also had multiple clutch hits in the last few games, including this go ahead home run against Toronto and this go ahead double yesterday against Oakland.
Yes, Gary Sanchez has quite literally saved the Yankees in multiple games recently with his arm and his bat. So why is he still hated among so many Yankees fans? There are a few reasons for this. First of all, his hot start to his career in 2016 raised expectations unreasonably high. Gary Sanchez is not a .300 hitter or a 50 home run slugger. He is a power hitting above average catcher whose ability to hit at this position makes him immensely valuable. Gary is not the league MVP, but there can be only one of those. Expecting him to be something he’s not is a large part of the problem - it’s time to focus on the value he actually provides. Additionally, fans are predisposed to hating players who are slower. Robinson Cano got the same amount of flack from fans for not hustling and he was almost the literal MVP. Gary is not a good runner, but again, focusing on what he’s not is only going to lead to negative feelings. Recognizing the Yankees’ positional advantage at catcher compared to the rest of the league and the many different ways Sanchez can win games for this team is a much healthier exercise.
Now that Gary is back to form, will he get more playing time? Boone will almost certainly have Higashioka catch Cole, as the pairing has worked well and Gary does need some days off, but I propose that it’s time to start DHing Gary on days he doesn’t catch. This would involve Stanton playing some outfield, which seems like it might happen but again, we’ve thought that for a while now. Sitting Gary when he’s hot is lineup malpractice and as the Sanchino continues to mash, it will be harder for Aaron Boone to justify that. On Sunday, Gary moved back up the lineup for the first time all year to the third spot and hit two doubles, which brings optimism that this could be a more permanent arrangement. Whatever the case may be, just appreciate the fact that Gary Sanchez is back and bombing once again.
Lowlight Player of the Week - Gleyber Torres
Gleyber Torres’s career arc has been interesting so far. In his first two seasons, between the ages of 21 and 22, he hit .275/.338/.511 with 62 home runs. In his last two seasons, he has hit .249/.341/.345 with only 6 home runs in 103 games. Gleyber has taken a few steps backwards as a hitter, primarily with his power production. His offensive emergence added a huge bat to the 100 win 2018/2019 teams beyond the main sluggers, but his regression is a large part of why the more recent Yankees teams have struggled to be as successful. Gleyber has shown signs of coming out of his slump at different times this year, and has certainly not been abysmal, especially in the on base percentage category, but it is impossible to deny that something has changed for Torres since 2019.
What is the difference between early career Gleyber and current Gleyber? It’s pretty simple - more ground balls, less fly balls, lower exit velocities and hard hit rates. Gleyber is not driving the ball with the same consistency that he used to. His plate coverage is elite and has led to success with slapping the ball around the field for singles and doubles. Where he suffers compared to past Gleyber seasons is in the hard hit stats. His exit velocity this year is an average of 85.8 MPH, which is in the bottom percentiles of the league. Gleyber’s hard hit percentage has dropped 6% from his career mark and his ground ball rate is up while his fly ball rate is down below his career mark. One of the most telling statistics for power production is pull percentage, as most home runs are pulled. Gleyber’s pull percentage is down 5% from his career mark. An all fields approach is beneficial, but sometimes you just need to sit back and launch the ball to your pull side. Gleyber hasn’t been able to do that this year and his performance has suffered.
Not all is bad in the world of Gleyber Torres. He only picked up one hit last week, but has had some hot streaks to carry the Yankees, such as in the series against Chicago when he won all three games for the Yankees almost single handedly. Gleyber is only 24 years old and although it seems like he’s been around for a while, he still has a long road to travel in his baseball career. It’s a good reminder that the career development of all players isn’t linear. Some players take steps backwards before they take steps forwards and Gleyber might be one of those players. He’s much too talented to write off and can still impact the Yankees with his bat and glove, even if he’s not always hitting homers.
Around the League
A recurring feature of the thoughts column will be “Around the League”, where, in six bullet points, we check in on the happenings around the rest of the MLB.
AL East - The Rays’ recent swoon has allowed the Red Sox to take over first here, with the surging Yankees threatening to make it a three team race. The Blue Jays were mounting a comeback of their own but their sweep at the hands of New York was a setback and leaves them in fourth.
AL Central - The White Sox maintain their large lead over the field even though they were just swept by Houston, as Cleveland is the only team within ten games of their lead. Of all the divisions, this is the closest one to being wrapped up.
AL West - It’s still an Astros-A’s battle here, as the two teams sit tied for first place thanks to the Astros’ recent hot streak. The other three teams are a ways behind these two - Houston or Oakland is the pick here.
NL East - The Mets have gotten some separation in the East, gaining ground on all opponents. Philly is the next closest, followed by a slumping Atlanta Braves team and a Nationals team that is threatening to get back into the race with some strong play recently.
NL Central - The Cardinals have fallen back in the Central race but only sit four games off the lead even while they are tied for third place with the Reds. The Cubs and the Brewers are fighting for first with the Pirates well out of contention in last.
NL West - The MLB best Giants continue to impress, leading the Dodgers by 1.5 games. The Padres have slumped and sit in third, followed by the Rockies and an absolutely plummeting Diamondbacks team (which just set the record for most road losses in a row EVER and has lost 17 straight games).
Time to check in on our WAR leaderboard as well.
DeGrom, Vlad Jr., and Ohtani top the list, which is to be expected. Other names are still surprising, such as Cedric Mullins and Marcus Semien. This is a pretty diverse group of names (and it’s also a sin that Gerrit Cole is now ranked 12th, please change this Fangraphs).
Baseball Fun Fact - Triple Play (s)
The Yankees had quite a week in the field. The team that was known for sloppy miscues and errors earlier in the year just turned their third triple play of the season - and second of the week! On Thursday, they caught the Blue Jays in a bad baserunning bonanza and helped pitcher Michael King escape a major jam. Yesterday, Aroldis Chapman escaped a ninth inning jam as well with a well placed ground ball. Let’s jump into some triple play stats while we try to comprehend how crazy this Yankees season has been.
This was the first time the Yankees had ever turned multiple triple plays in the same season, and they have turned three! For context, they did not turn one from 1968 to 2010. They are also the first team since the 2016 White Sox to turn three triple plays in the same year and have tied the Major League record with a few other teams. If they can turn one more triple play this year, they will stand alone.
You may have thought Thursday’s triple play was an odd looking triple play and you’d be right. This was the first 1-3-6-2-5-6 triple play in Major League history. This combo is rare due to the crazy sequencing that was involved between baserunners and fielders, but the Blue Jays managed to pull it off.
Sunday’s triple play was the first walk off triple play since 2009, when Eric Bruntlett turned an unassisted triple play to end the game against the Mets. Here’s some video of that gem - LOLMETS.
Michael King also was a part of history in his own way, becoming the first pitcher to throw an immaculate inning (9 pitches, 9 strikes, 3 strikeouts) and be on the mound for a triple play in the same season. Not bad for a pitcher who is 0-3 this season.
Lastly, here is my favorite triple play stat, courtsey of Max Goodman on Twitter.
Remember Some Games - Three Grand Slams
Each week, the “Remember Some Games” column will take a trip in the Wayback Machine to look at a game from ten years prior, in the season of 2011. This was a season right in the middle of the Yankees run of success from 2009-2012 and saw the Yankees win the AL East in a season where the Red Sox were considered by many to be the Greatest Team of All Time. This week’s game flashes back to a historic afternoon in the Bronx, where the Yankees slammed their way to the record books over Oakland.
The Bronx Bombers have historically done one thing well - “bombed”, or more accurately, hit dingers. They have set the team record for home runs multiple times in the last 15 years. In 2009, they hit 243 home runs and in 2012, they hit 245, topping the 2004 team’s record. In 2018, they hit an incredible 267 home runs, which stood as the Major League record for one year, before they and the Twins topped it in 2019 by hitting 305 and 306 home runs respectively. Yes, the home run is a part of all great Yankee teams and moments, and nowhere was this more evident than on one 2011 August afternoon, when the Yankees did something historic. Against the Oakland A’s, they hit not one, not two, but three grand slams, a feat that had never been accomplished and hasn’t been accomplished since. Sometimes the most memorable games are close ones, but this game was a 22-9 laugher that featured this bit of history befitting of the team that lives and dies by the home run.
In the waning days of August 2011, the Yankees were locked in a tight division race with the Red Sox, sitting one game behind them in the American League East. The pending collapse and implosion of Boston was yet to come; at this point, the Yankees were still division underdogs. Given this, when Phil Hughes gave up six runs in 2.2 innings and put the Yankees in a 7-1 hole in the third inning, there was understandable frustration, as every game was so important, especially those against mediocre teams like the Oakland A’s. An 89 minute rain delay to start the game also left many people in an irritable mood and there were those who likely headed for the doors when the Yankees went down by six runs. However, the fun was about to begin.
The slam-tastic fun began in the fifth inning, when Robinson Cano lined a ball into the right field lower deck to bring the Yankees to within one run. It then continued in the sixth courtesy of Russell Martin, who snuck one over the fence in right to give the Yankees a 10-7 lead. Finally, Curtis Granderson sealed the record for the Yankees with a no doubt shot into the right field bullpen that made the score 21-8. Rich Harden, Fautino De Los Santos, and Bruce Billings all found their way into the record books by allowing these historic homers. All told, the offensive outpouring resulted in 21 hits, 13 walks, and 22 runs. Curtis Granderson, in his postgame comments, could barely believe what his team had accomplished. "I'm surprised it hadn't been done before with all the great teams and great individual hitters that have come throughout the course of the game….There are so many players that have played. There's a few times I've been one of a few or the first guy this season or something like that. But the fact that we as a team have done something that all the teams that have ever played this game have never done before, especially all the offenses ... it kind of speaks to what this offense is." Watch and enjoy some videos of some grand slams.
However, the best part of this game and perhaps the most memorable was actually a defensive play! Yes, in the ninth inning, longtime Yankees catcher-turned DH Jorge Posada got to play second base for the first time in his career! Posada played second in the minors, and in his final season, was allowed to reclaim the position that he had abandoned long ago for one inning. In classic baseball fashion, the ball found its way to him and his throw was...something!
As Michael Kay said, it was a perfect end to a perfectly outrageous game and one that we’ll remember for a long time (or until a team hits four grand slams in a game).
Thanks for reading this edition of Bomber Bits - let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for the column, or if there’s a specific 2011 game you’d like me to remember in the future!
