One Adjustment Is Powering Yankees’ Offensive Revival – Grinding Out ABs Pays Dividends

It seems the Bronx Bombers have just witnessed a rebirth. In stark contrast to last season when their bats couldn’t touch the ball, the New York Yankees of today are hitting for fun. While one can chalk that up to Juan Soto’s arrival, he alone isn’t responsible for this greatness. After all, there are nine hitters on the field and all of them have improved one way or the other. That has made it difficult to understand just what has transformed the Yankees until one looks at their at-bats. 

In what has been an eerie similarity to their 90s dynasty years, the Bronx Bombers are currently grinding out at-bats. Game after game, the hitters refused to get struck out. That was the secret sauce that led to the opposite pitchers losing their control over the long term. But somewhere along the way, the Pinstripes forgot to do that. The team failed to remember how important contact was in their bid for constant homers. 

But then, that failure led the team to a historically low 82-80 win season in 2023. With their self-respect at stake, the Yankees have now returned to the proven ways. As YES’s Conor Foley posted in his X account, the Yankees hitters are facing an extraordinary number of pitches in their every at-bat. 

Anthony Volpe has faced 70 pitches in 14 plate appearances. So basically, 5 pitches per PA. Similarly, Gleyber Torres has faced 4.4 pitches per PA, and Oswaldo Cabrera’s number is 4.5 per PA. In short, nearly every Yankees slugger has faced over 40 pitches in 2024. That’s a tremendous number and the results are for all to see.

The Bronx Bombers are currently 3-0 in the league. But more importantly, the team is leading across the board in almost every hitting stat till now.

Is the New York Yankees’ strong start an indication of times to come?

While one cannot base any predictions based on just 3 games, it is great to see the Yankees have found their footing. This is despite Aaron Judge failing to make a big impact till now. According to Baseball Reference, the Pinstripes currently lead the AL with 5 homers.  They’re 3rd in hits, 3rd in runs, 1st in walks, and 12th in Strikeouts. That last number is important because last season, strikeouts were the Yankees’ Achilles heels.

But then again, this is just the beginning of the season. The team still has to play 159 more games. Anything can happen between now and then. As a result, it has become important for the Bombers to continue on the great path. There have been countless false dawns at The Bronx lately, hopefully, this isn’t one of them.

Read more: Juan Soto’s Historic Hitting Stabilizes Yankees’ Offense, as Long-Term Rotation Concerns Continue To Arise