Baseball has become a numbers game the past few years, and the New York Yankees are no exception to that. Finding statistical advantages can be the difference between winning and losing, and the Yanks are utilizing this time to test different looks in the infield. Just think, “money ball!”
Their newfound alignment was based on Zack Britton’s high ground-ball rate. His fantastic sinker generates more ground balls than almost anybody in the league. Utilizing five infielders and two outfielders, this was a special system to increase the efficiency for Britton and prioritize his strengths.
In 2019, Britton posted a 77.2% ground ball rate. The next up was White Sox’s Aaron Bummer at 72.1%.
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After Saturday night’s intrasquad matchup, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone stated:
“It’s a Britton thing,†Boone said. “It’s something that we’ve been very close to using, actually we almost used it in a game last year. Our Zack Britton package, if we have the right personnel out there, and with Wade in the outfield today. If it’s the right matchup, we probably wouldn’t hesitate to go with that five-man in the right situation. We’d be willing to do it with Aaron Hicks†when he’s in the game.
#Yankees trying out the five-man infield here with Zack Britton on the bump.
Left to right it’s Gio Urshela, Gleyber Torres, Tyler Wade, Kyle Holder and Mike Ford. pic.twitter.com/ZEds0fjrtr
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) July 11, 2020