One and Done in October: Who were the real 2015 New York Yankees?
By Danni Santana
The New York Yankees first playoff appearance since 2012 was a short one. The hosts of the American League Wild Card Game were shutout in Yankee Stadium 3–0 by Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros. And just like that, it was over.
The Oct. 6 Wild Card matchup, ESPN’s highest-rated baseball game in 12 years, according to research company Nielsen, ended an up-and-down year for the Yanks, who managed just three singles in the contest.
“At that moment, you almost want to blink a couple times and wake up and have that not be the reality,” outfielder Brett Gardner told reporters after the game. “You want to have a couple more cracks at it.”
It was always tough to tell who the real Bronx Bombers were in 2015. Some times they were the team that went 17–7 in July, other times the squad that finished 15–18 the last month plus of the season and hit a combined .233. They could get hot, they could go cold, but never really found that middle ground.
Yankee fans will wonder what went wrong. But, it’s safe to say the team over performed this season and at minimum were victims of their own unexpected success. The Yankees were what we thought they were.
Look at the Stats
Alex Rodriguez carried the Yanks much of 2015, but like the rest of the team, ran out of gas in September. Fresh off a yearlong suspension, the 40-year-old hit .188 in the final two months of the season compared to .278 before the All-Star break. Rodriguez’s on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) also fell 14 percent to .772 over that span, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Another key player for the Yankees, Brian McCain, rebounded from his subpar 75 RBI season in 2014 to knock in 94 runs and blast a career-high 26 homers. The slugger, however, hit .177 in September with just three home runs and went hitless in his four at-bats against Houston last week.
Quiet Trade Deadline
The Yankees hit .236 in the dog days of August and September compared to .260 before the July 31 trade deadline when the team, reluctant to give up its top prospects, opted not to make any big acquisitions. The Yankees passed on opportunities to trade for Ben Zobrist and pitcher David Price. Those trades fell by the wayside and with them went the Yankees title chances.
Mark Teixeira’s season-ending leg injury didn’t help the team, but the emergence of Greg Bird, who hit 11 homeruns in 46 games and committed just one error at first base, helped the Yankees dodge that bullet.
However, the team was not able to overcome poor production from Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner. The Yankees one and two hitters combined for a .213 average after the break. Gardner, who on July 12 was hitting .302, barely cracked .200 in the second half of the season and saw his on-base percentage slip 77 points.
The Blue Jays
On July 27, the Yankees sat atop the American League East by seven games over the Toronto Blue Jays. By August 12, the lead was gone.
A porous 6–13 record versus Toronto cemented the Yankees fate, but the team’s pitching did little to offset its cooling bats. The Yankees staff pitched to a 4.23 ERA in September. The bullpen, a model of consistency all season, also had a 5.63 ERA since September 1.
New York allowed over four runs a game against the AL East champions in 2015 and hit just .220 against Blue Jay pitching. Only the Astros at .188 held the Yankees to a lower batting average.
Next Year?
Manager Joe Girardi already told reporters Friday he plans on winning the World Series next season. But with many of the same players likely returning, the Yankees will face the same problems: An injury plagued first basemen and centerfielder and a rapidly aging group of veterans.
In order to win, the Yankees will again have to overachieve, meaning more late-game heroics from A-Rod this time at 41 years of age and confidence that he, Ellsbury, Garner and McCain don’t all fall back to earth late in the season.
To a fan, the Yankees biggest problem is a lack of identity. The season began with General Manager Brian Cashman preaching pitching, defense and small ball, but by June the team had reverted back to depending on the long ball.
The Yankees are what they are. They Just don’t have the talent to hit their way to a title like 2009. Word of advice, next year, commit to small ball. It worked for the mid 2000s Angels. It has worked even better for the San Francisco Giants and it can work for you.
