The Yankees Battled Back Into The AL East, But It's Well Deserved
Start writing a post
Baseball

The Yankees Battled Back Into The AL East, But It's Well Deserved

Great, clutch hitting, good pitching and some good luck have made the team difficult to beat.

104
The Yankees Battled Back Into The AL East, But It's Well Deserved

Injuries are a basic and detrimental facet of all sports leagues. They can affect everything, throwing off your momentum and derailing even the strongest team's title aspirations. The Yankees have fallen victim to the injury bug consistently this year, losing Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, and Gary Sanchez for various lengths of time.

That raises the question: how have they managed to be half a game back in the AL East after the slow start to the season? Well, there are many potential reasons.

For one, some superb hitting has been occurring. Gio Urshela has batted over .300 for most of the season, and his OPS is well above the league average. The same applies to DJ LeMahieu, who leads the team at .333 batting average. At the same time, even players that do not hit for average have done very well this season. Luke Voit already has 10 home runs this season, as has Gary Sanchez, even when both have struggled for average. It is a potent formula.

Role players have produced at times they were not expected to. But other factors apply here too.

Secondly, the pitching this season has been good for the most part. The Yankees have a good 3.9 ERA, which is good enough for 11th in the league. However, when it is just sorted by starter, the ERA drops to 3.62, good enough for 6th in the league, even as the bullpen is 19th in the league. The pitching has been great at home and decent away from it, which has helped. There might be other factors to consider, though.

As is the case in many leagues, a lot of other teams in the league got off to slow starts that the Yankees played against. An infamous one is the Red Sox, who started off very poorly, at one point being 6-13 when they lost to the Yankees. The Yankees also took advantage against teams that were on the decline or were just bad, such as the Royals, Giants, Orioles, and Angels, which have helped the team improve. The Yankees just built momentum.

Regardless, it is nice to see a team that has had so many injury concerns respond to that adversity in great style. If that will be sustained, I am unsure. The team could cool down, as can always happen, but they are 7-3 in their last ten games. I'm still glad to see it, and I hope to continue to see them improve across the board.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
We Need More Than Memorials this Memorial Day
Cape Cod Irish

When I was a child, I used to look forward to Memorial Day Weekend from the time I returned to school after Christmas vacation. It was the yearly benchmark announcing the end of the school year and the beginning of summer vacation. It meant I was one step closer to regattas, swim meets and tennis matches.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

5 fun Summer Vacations that won't break your bank

Enjoy the sun, relax the wallet - here are the estimated costs

392
5 fun Summer Vacations that won't break your bank
Endless Ocean
We compiled the costs related to 5 enriching summer vacations for this year in the thrifty sense:
Keep Reading...Show less
sunglasses

I remember how exciting summer was when I was a kid. I would just be eagerly waiting for school to end so that I could fly to some exotic location with my family for the summer. Or hang out with my friends every day. Or just lay around in bed or read, paint, draw, basically do whatever.

Keep Reading...Show less
Remembering the Memorial in Memorial Union

Sometimes it's hard to remember that Memorial Union at the University of Missouri is actually a memorial, not just a place to take a nap on a couch and get Starbucks.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Soccer, Spain and Racism

The whirlwind events of last week reflects the sad state of sports in Europe.

1547
Soccer, Spain and Racism

When we think of events that have transpired in the US over the last few years, a lot of it ends up in spotlighting the division in the country. However, things across the pond seem to be no better - at least when it comes to sports. Last week, Real Madrid - arguably the richest sports franchise in the world, had one of their Brazilian strikers subject to vicious racist attacks in Valencia. The player, Vini Jr posted this example video in his Insta account:

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments