After averaging a putrid .233 during the 2018 season, New York Yankees current third baseman, Gio Urshela, has seen the light. He’s now hitting .312 on the year over 173 at-bats. What happened to the once forgotten infielder? He put on the pinstripes, a factor that some don’t mention.
The expectation from the Yankees is large, and it often brings the best out in players, in addition to the responsibility they placed in the hands of the unexpected star.
It seems as if the Yankees are never hit with reality. They always seem to escape inadequacy by the skin of their teeth, as they’re neck-and-neck with the Tampa Rays for first place in the division. Having 19 players on the injury list at one point didn’t stop them from going on an eight-game win streak and dominating on the road. Reserve options have stepped up and performed at a level not even the most die-hardiest of fans could have predicted.
The New York Yankees have been blessed by the baseball gods:
The influence of Urshela, though, has been phenomenal. A player that not only has been a positive contribution on the field but in the locker room as well. Imagine one year ago I told you that Miguel Andujar would be out for the season and his replacement was performing at an even higher level, and his name wasn’t Manny Machado. You probably wouldn’t believe me.
Instead of dropping $30 million-per-season on Machado, the Yankees and the wizardry of Brian Cashman added both Luke Voit and Urshela for under $1 million. Talk about stealing, Cashman really put his last name to good use.
The number of times we’ve seen Urshela, let alone Voit, come up clutch and propel the Yanks to victory has been countless. It’s now imperative that the Yankees provide Urshela with everything he needs to continue playing at a high level, as the options behind him will not be able to replicate his extravagant production.