Believe it or not, the New York Yankees, leaders of the AL East division and owners of one of the best records in baseball, dropped a series against the Washington Nationals. It’s amazing how a team can have a top-three offense in the league statistically and yet be so frustrating and unproductive at times.
But those are your 2024 Yankees: a bonafide contender capable of making the most puzzling roster and lineup decisions, committing the most bone-headed baserunning or fielding mistakes, and taking the most frustrating at-bats.
On Wednesday, they left eight men on base and went 1-for-13 with men in scoring position.
Situational hitting has been a problem for the Yankees at times during the 2024 campaign, but they definitely hit rock bottom in their three-game set against the Nationals. The numbers, as always, tell the whole story.
Missed opportunities doomed the Yankees vs. the Nationals
According to New York Yankees Stats, the team went 1-for-26 (.038) this series with runners in scoring position (RISP). That would be their second-lowest average with RISP in a single series (min. 25 AB) since 1974, with the lowest being between April 15-17, 2016 against the Seattle Mariners, when they were 1-for-35 (.029).
Sure, there is no accurate or 100% effective recipe to hit better with runners in scoring position, but it’s important to point out the missed opportunities the Yankees had in the series, especially considering that all the games were close.
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Putting the right players in the right lineup slots would be a fantastic start and could be part of the solution to this particular problem. The Yankees, however, seem committed to playing certain players when they clearly don’t deserve many plate appearances.
In a tight division race with the Baltimore Orioles, every win and loss matters. These things can be the difference between enjoying a first-round postseason bye or playing a Wild Card series.
