Perspectives: Batting Orders Spots (and More)
- Paul Semendinger
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Paul Semendinger
August 8, 2026
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Here is a collection of some of my recent thoughts and perspectives:
Well, George Lombard, Jr. had an excellent start. He made a very good defensive play and hit a homer in his first game. The reaction was as expected: "He is for real!" Time will tell. People were writing the same things about Jasson Dominguez and Anthony Volpe and so many others as they started. A great game or week is not a season or a career. We all hope Lombard is for real. I also think we need to temper expectations.
George Lombard's career batting average in the minor leagues was .248. That doesn't scream, "I am for real as a hitter." Lombard never even hit as high as .270 across any minor league level.
My bigger worry with George Lombard, Jr. isn't the fans - it's the manager. If Aaron Boone starts to believe that a week or a few games is a career, he will start moving Lombard, Jr. into higher pressure spots in the order. I hope the Yankees let Lombard bat at the bottom of the lineup and acclimate to the big leagues. They did not do this with Volpe. I wish they would (for once) learn from their mistakes.
I mentioned the above in regard to Lombard after the Yankees posted the lineup for his third game. He was moved up from 8th to 7th. My comment was met with sarcasm (which is what often happens when a person commenting doesn't have a legitimate response). But, actually looking what I was saying would make sense. Lombard was moved up because the Yankees need offense from him. They're already saying, "Hey kid, we need you to help carry the load," rather than, "Hey kid, let's let you get used to the Major Leagues before we expect anything out of you." On the face, one spot in the batting order might not mean much, but when you're that player, it means everything - more responsibility, more pressure. That is not the way to break a kid into the big leagues. It just isn't.
Now, to be fair, moving Lombard for one game isn't the end of the world, but as we saw with Volpe, my fear is that Aaron Boone will start to move Lombard higher and higher and into more and more pressure spots. That would be the absolute wrong approach. Unfortunately, when it comes to young players, the Yankees under Boone, often take the wrong approach. (Remember the last supposedly great Yankees shortstop, one whose entire career was played under Aaron Boone, is now in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.)
In 1995, the Yankees had a highly-regarded shortstop. His name was Derek Jeter. Jeter played in 15 games that year. He batted 9th in 11 of those games. In the other four games, he batted 8th (only because Robert Eenhoorn, another rookie, batted 9th). Derek Jeter batted .309 across his minor league career - which is vastly different than what Lombard, Jr. did.
As I looked through the box scores of Jeter's first games, I noted he played some games against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners also had a shortstop who many felt had a bright future. When that kid, Alex Rodriguez, came up in 1994, he played in 17 games and batted 9th in every one of those games. His next season, in 1995, the most common place in the batting order for Rodriguez to bat was... 9th. A-Rod, by the way was a .319 minor league hitter.
In Derek Jeter's first 35 games in 1996, his second season, he batted 9th 34 times. The other time, he batted 8th. After that, he stared leading off occasionally, but even through June 14 of that year, he was most frequently the number nine hitter. (Remember, also, Jeter started the season with the big club - in April - not in the middle of a pennant race.) Jeter batted ninth 77 times in 1996, by far the most of any other batting order position.
Breaking a kid in slowly to let him acclimate to the Major Leagues makes sense. It is prudent. Rushing a kid, putting too much pressure on him, makes no sense. It forces the kid to press to try to do too much. Students of baseball know that when players try to do too much, they most often fail. It would make sense for the Yankees to simply let George Lombard, Jr. slowly acclimate to the big leagues. Bat him ninth (or 8th if they must) and leave him there.
Maybe the best thing for the Yankees' future success would be for them to miss out on the playoffs. Maybe that would force the necessary changes. But, we know that even if the Yankees fail to make the postseason, changes won't be made - instead the fans will be given a litany of excuses as they have every year since 2009.
One of the excuses the Yankees will use will be the loss of Giancarlo Stanton this year. That's not an excuse. Stanton not playing should be an expectation. The problem wasn't that Stanton didn't play. The problem was that the Yankees expected him to play.
Even if Stanton did play, he's been a 1.2 WAR player for the Yankees across his career. He has had only two whole season, two (think about that), where he has earned even 1.9 WAR or higher. In short, Giancarlo Stanton has not been an overall difference maker for the Yankees across his long tenure with the club.
Baseball historians look back on the beginnings of the Yankees, the Highlander Years and such, as the period of time when the franchise wasn't very good. And, by and large, they are correct. But, of note, in the Yankees first 26 years (1903 to 1928) of existence, they won three World Series. In contrast, over the last 26 seasons, the Yankees have won only one World Series. (Let that sink in for a minute.)
Partially because they weren't winning, the Highlands had four managers in their first nine years (1903-11) as they tried to build a winning franchise. The current Yankees have had one manager in the last nine seasons (2018-26) as they try to build a championship franchise.
There are some that want Yankees fans to be impressed by the fact that under Brian Cashman's tenure, the Yankees have never had a losing season. For the Yankees, that's not an accomplishment. Being .500 is the lowest expectation for the Yankees. The following, since 1903, are the only times the Yankees have been under .500:
1905, 1907, 1908, 1909,
1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1918
1925
(Never in the 1930s, 1940s, or 1950s)
1965, 1966, 1967, 1969
1973
1982, 1989
1990, 1991, 1992
Note the 39 consecutive years winning from 1926 through 1964.
Yankees fans expect championships, not .500 seasons.
