For the majority of the season, the limelight has been on Aaron Judge and the massive deal he struck with the Yankees earlier this month. However, there is one player who is equally important in the Yankees setup, if not more than that, and he is Anthony Rizzo. During the 2022 season, Rizzo has been one of the most important players for the Yankees\’ side. As a result, the team got him back from the free agency for an expensive two-year deal.
Why Is Anthony Rizzo So Important For The Yankees?
For several years, the New York Yankees have struggled to find some stability at first base. They have tried several combinations but have had little success. However, due to his performance last year, some started to believe that baseman Anthony Rizzo could be the answer for the Yankees.
If Rizzo starts at first base for the Yankees on Opening Day, he will be the first player since Mark Teixeira in 2015 and 2016 to hold the position for the team on Opening Day. Eleven players who have worked for the Yankees as first basemen have appeared in at least 50% of their games in pinstripes. People like Chase Headley and DJ LeMahieu, who also played first base sometimes. But for the sake of this exercise, he largely played elsewhere.
Of those 11 real first basemen, Baseball Reference rated Voit as their most useful player. Voit leads the squad in Wins Above Replacement, although Rizzo has only been a team member for 17 months. The most stunning aspect is, however, the person who follows. Ji-Man Choi has appeared in just six games with the Yankees. But according to Baseball-measure Reference of WAR, from the year\’s beginning, he has been the Yankees\’ third-best first baseman.
Anthony Rizzo was the team\’s second-best hitter among the regulars for the Yankees last year. He has a .804 OPS, 96 RBI, and 40 home runs over 179 games with the Bombers. R The Yankees expected LeMahieu to produce strong on-base percentages and low strikeout rates. His slugging percentage has been significantly reduced as a result of a recent spate of injuries. But Rizzo has little trouble maintaining it above.400. There will also be a greater opportunity for Rizzo to locate a few extra-base hits after the new defensive shifting regulations go into effect in 2023.
Rizzo has also made no secret of the fact that he wants to join the Yankees. Using the experience he learned from working for ten years in the competitive Chicago media business. He successfully navigated the Yankee lifestyle trappings. Rizzo has unquestionably displayed a great deal of promise. The team would want to see him capitalize on it as Aaron Judge did in the previous campaign.
Rizzo appears to be the man who will finally put an end to the Yankees\’ first base rotation now that he has a brand-new two-year deal in his pocket. Anthony winning a World Series for the Bronx is the finest way to leave a genuinely lasting legacy, just as Teixeira did as the final person to provide stability to the frigid corner.
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