The New York Yankees live and die on the homer-run, that was the system they used in 2018 and will likely continue to use until it doesn’t earn them 100 overall wins on the year. With Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez all offering a big bat in the lineup, another high home run total is likely on the horizon.
In 2018, the trio combined for an astounding 83 homers, and when you factor in Judge’s missed time that number grows. Additionally, Sanchez had a porous year, hitting .186. A lingering hamstring injury and the after-shock of shoulder surgery surely didn’t help his overall statistics.
What should the New York Yankees steal from Boston?
One of the more intriguing aspects of the Boston offense is their ability to run the bases. Smart base-running can be the difference between having a runner in scoring position, or not. Now, the risk of running the bases can often result in negative plays, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora knows exactly what he’s doing with this methodology. Keeping your base-runners aggressive forces pitchers to pay more attention to the bases and not on accuracy.
This simple distraction can throw off a pitchers rhythm and put them in a position of vulnerability.
In 2018, Boston stole 125 bases and was caught stealing 31 times. The Yankees only stole 63 bases and were caught 21 times. That number is sickening, and guess who won the big game…
What can the Yankees do?
Head coach Aaron Boone needs to utilize his players on base more effectively moving forward. Cora exploited a weakness in the Yankees’ defense during the postseason. Good base-running and aggressiveness while at their home-field stifled a young Bombers squad and left them scratching their heads in the dirt as their rivals walked on towards the World Series.
So, while I would never stoop low enough to damage my pride by stealing from the Red Sox, this category is an exception and is essential to winning games, especially in the elimination rounds. The biggest concern is the size of the Yankees’ players and finding a way to move them into scoring position when on base.
Stanton stands at 6-foot-6 and Judge 6-foot-7, so asking them to run the bases like Mookie Betts or Andrew Benintendi is unrealistic. But, utilizing aggressive base-running to set up Judge and Stanton seems to be the more efficient method of scoring more runs per-game.