by Paul Semendinger
June 15, 2022
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This has been an absolutely fantastic season thus far for the Yankees. The Yanks right now have a record of 45-16. That is truly remarkable. The 1984 Tigers, who set the standard for early season (and late season) greatness were... 46-16. That's right, the 2022 Yankees have caught up to the 1984 Tigers.
Offensively, except for Aaron Judge, this Yankees team has truly been a collection of excellent players all coming together to be greater than the sum of the individual parts. When one looks at the team, there aren't as many standout performances as one might think for a team doing this well. For example, there are only two Yankees starters hitting over .280. Of the Yankees who have appeared in at least 40 games, here are the top five hitters:
Aaron Judge - .313
Jose Trevino - .300
Giancarlo Stanton - .273
Isiah Kiner-Falefa - .272
D.J. LeMahieu - .262
This doesn't discourage me, at all, because it's actually fun to see the team comprised of a collection of players who are each contributing in their own way.
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The Yankees do have a four players who are on pace to hit over 30 homers this year:
Aaron Judge - 24
Anthony Rizzo - 15
Giancarlo Stanton - 13
Gleyber Torres - 12
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Aaron Judge has been outstanding. He is standing out as a giant this year with amazing stats. Currently Aaron Judge leads the American League in the following categories:
Slugging Percentage - .674
OPS - 1.059
Runs - 52
Home Runs - 24
Judge is also in the Top 10 in the following categories:
WAR (position players) - 2nd (3.3)
Batting Average - 8th (.313)
Hits - 4th (71)
Total Bases - 2nd (153)
RBI - 2nd (48)
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It, of course has been the pitching that has also carried the Yankees thus far. Here are the starters' ERA's:
Gerrit Cole - 3.33
Luis Severino - 2.80
Nestor Cortes - 1.96
Jameson Taillon - 2.93
Jordan Montgomery - 2.70
And, in 28 games, Clay Holmes has an ERA of 0.30
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I wonder what the Yankees will do to try to improve this team. This is where being a GM is often a lose-lose proposition.
One can make the argument that the team is rolling and that it's best to leave well-enough alone. I understand that.
But then one can also argue that the team can improve by getting more production out of some outfield spots (for example).
This is what makes baseball fun. It's great to speculate and predict and to hope and wonder.
For now, I'm just enjoying as much of this as I can. Seasons like this do not come around very often.
Let's Go Yankees!
