For years, the New York Yankees have tried to find the perfect balance between analytics and an old-school, traditional way of thinking.
They have debated whether to prioritize batting average or look at launch angle, exit velocity, wRC+, and xwOBA.
The end product has been lacking: the old-school enthusiasts say the Yankees have gotten too much into analytics; and the analytics defenders say the team is not relying on numbers enough.
Amid comments that the team might be overloaded by analytics concepts, Aaron Judge, the star of the team, had a say.
“Thought this Aaron Judge quote was interesting, especially since he mentioned batting average a couple of times today: ‘I wouldn’t say [we are] overloaded. I think it’s just looking at the right numbers. I think maybe we might be looking at the wrong ones. We need to value some other ones that people might see as having no value,'” Yankees insider Bryan Hoch tweeted, with Judge’s quotes.
Thought this Aaron Judge quote was interesting, especially since he mentioned batting average a couple of times today: “I wouldn’t say [we are] overloaded. I think it’s just looking at the right numbers. I think maybe we might be looking at the wrong ones. We need to value some…
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) October 2, 2023
Per Judge, it’s not that the Yankees have been handling too much information or numbers: the problem, according to the 2022 AL MVP, is knowing what numbers and trends to prioritize and improve.
The only things we know for certain is that the Yankees fired their analytics-driven hitting coach Dillon Lawson mid-season and brought in an experienced, former major leaguer in Sean Casey.
In the meantime, their offensive performance in 2023 was very disappointing.
They finished 25th among 30 teams with 673 runs scored.
There is clearly a lot of room to improve.
NEXT: Carlos Rodon Had A Nightmare Finish To His 2023 Season
