A season like 2023 has rattled the New York Yankees from within. A franchise accustomed to 27 World Series titles suddenly faced challenges to come out of the last place in AL-East. Eventually, the playoff race went farther from their reach, and before September, they were out of the postseason.
Naturally, to come out of a season like this won’t be an easy ride for the entire Yankees organization. Having said that, owner Hal Steinbrenner is committed to delivering up to the standards of his franchise. Moreover, to further dissect the issues of the 2023 season, Steinbrenner has reached out to a third-party company with expertise in analytics to help with deep-dive analysis.
Yankees Hire Zelus Analytics For Off-Season Audit!
During the last week of August, Hal Steinbrenner made a rare public appearance and addressed the Yankees’ underwhelming season. He promised to conduct a deep dive analysis of the organization’s working structure through a third-party company. And that company is apparently Zelus Analytics. A source spoke to the Athletic and confirmed the same. Zelus Analytics is a sports analytics company that assesses a team’s numeric data to view how the organization uses its numbers with respect to player performance, in-game decision-making, and much more. Interestingly, the founders and employees of Zelus Analytics have a deep connection with MLB. The co-founders Doug Fearing and Dan Cervone worked with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Additionally, Andrew Hopen, Zelus’ senior data scientist, previously served in the Yankees’ analytics department.
It would be interesting to see how the third-party company conducts its business in the Bronx. So far, it seems the audit will be largely focused on the analytics only. Earlier, Captain Aaron Judge flagged concerns about the numbers being used and questioned their authenticity. Also, in general, the Yanks analytical department has been criticized a lot for its resilience to computer-generated data. Thus, the Bronx Bombers want to solve that to ensure that everyone is on the same page as far as analytics is concerned and that no player faces any trouble henceforth. It’s plausible that a few guys in analytics could take an exit after the audit. However, the audit is unlikely to target any personnel. It’s just about how the numbers are generated and whether the Yanks are using it the right way or not.
Hal Steinbrenner To Address Enraged Yankee Fans Soon!
Prior to the audit, the New York Yankees owner, Hal Steinbrenner, will conduct an annual postseason press conference. This year, the press address got delayed as the season winded up pretty earlier than usual in the Bronx. Having said that, as the off-season kicked off this week, the Bronx Bombers leadership is ready to face the tune.
The Yankee fans, on the other hand, must not expect any major announcements or decisions. Since the off-season has just commenced and the third-party audit is yet to take place, Hal Steinbrenner might not answer the fans’ burning question. Having said that, Hal, personally, must ensure that he gives fans something to hold on to. A hope of a comeback or promise of bigger and better off-season changes would calm the agitated fans down.
