As a Yankees fan who now is rooting for the Rays for the remainder of the playoffs, I decided to take a few minutes by visiting Baseball Savant to run some reports on how many times the Yankees struck out looking and made an out on the first pitch.
To me, these are two outcomes that really irritate me as a fan.
Striking out looking could be from being fooled by the pitcher, but when it happens over 20 times by several of the Yankees, that’s an HR issue. Management needs to speak to these players to get them to swing, or retrain them on what to do with 2 strikes. (see the first chart below for details)
Also, to have several players make an out on a first pitch over 20 times a season, that is a discipline problem that can be worked out by having a managerial or hitting coach decision to limit how many times this happens. (see the second chart below for details)
I hope in 2027 the Yankees address these training issues and make me less irritated as a fan!
