As Aaron Judge, Juan Soto Misfire, Aaron Boone Reassures Yankees Fans “We’re Going to Hit Homers”

The one thing that has always remained consistent with the New York Yankees has been their power. Even when the team is struggling (like it did in 2023), the Bronx Bombers never cease to score home runs. With some of the most powerful hitters in baseball on their roster, the Yankees remain near the top of the home run stat. At least, they did before 2024 – a year that is turning out to be a bizarre one for the Pinstripes.

The Yankees have been defying expectations since the beginning of this season. When Gerrit Cole got injured, most fans predicted that the pitching staff would prove to be the team’s Achilles heel. However, since the season began the exact opposite has happened. The pitchers have excelled but the hitters other than Juan Soto have merely been average. That has led to some surprising numbers but Aaron Boone doesn’t look worried.

“We’re going to hit homers,” Aaron Boone said during his postgame conference. “Once we get a couple guys get rolling here.” Boone, of course, referred to superstars like Aaron Judge who’ve not been at their best yet. It certainly is a strange situation for the Yankees – their heavy hitters aren’t giving them big hits. “Those (home runs) tend to come in bunches,” Boone explained. 

The Yankees skipper reassured fans that homers are “streaky” and that the team’s failure to hit them isn’t an alarming development. Rather, Boone focused more on quality at-bats and creating opportunities. “The biggest thing we got to put ourselves in position to have those opportunities and focus on at-bats. Then hopefully with our personnel, that’ll over time turn into hitting the ball out of the ballpark,” the skipper said. 

So how much has the Bronx Bombers’ home run number dropped this season? If one looks at the data, there is a cause to be a little alarm for the fans.

How the New York Yankees of 2024 compare to previous years 

With 26 games gone the Yankees currently sit with 27 home runs in 2024 (via Baseball Reference). While that isn’t a low number by any means (they rank 5th in AL), it’s the lowest the New York Yankees have had since 2021. That season the Bronx Bombers had hit 36 homers in their initial 26 games. Similarly, in 2023 that number stood at 34.  In fact, the team hit 37 homers in 2021!

One can see that the Yankees have been progressively getting slower with each passing year at least when it comes to home runs. While Aaron Boone has reassured the fans, the numbers do tell a different story. That’s one of the reasons why the fans are slowly losing their patience – despite the Yankees still having a great 17-9 record. 

The Yankee Nation knows that the team still isn’t performing at its best. They’ve seen this story play out before, as a result, they’re a little apprehensive. Will Boone’s words bring some relief? Only time will tell.