The New York Yankees have owned an esteemed place in the glorious history of Major League Baseball. Over the past century, the club has claimed 27 World Series titles, including 20 AL-East division titles. However, modern-day baseball has evolved to become more demanding as the Yanks have apparently failed to keep pace.
Since 2009, the Yankees have been without a World Series title which is denting their status as a storied franchise in MLB. Even this season, the team is setting up unwanted records and is almost on the brink of playoff elimination. Amid this, a former Yankee prospect has come out to expose the Yank’s troubled organizational approach, which is apparently the reason behind their downfall.
Ex-Yankee Prospect Claims Yankees Are Too Reliant On Analytical Approach, Needs Leadership Change
The New York Yankees leadership has already faced a lot of criticism this season owing to the team’s subpar performance. Amid this, a former Yankee prospect has added fuel to the fire. OF Ben Ruta played for the Yanks from 2016 to 2021. In a recent podcast with Foul Territory, Ben opened up on what conspired during his last moments with the club. He revealed an instance wherein during spring training, they were made to play a game called “pitchers vs hitters.” In that, the prospects were asked to walk or hit a ball 95 mph-plus to score a point. Ben claimed that was the only way they evaluated a player’s talent. Other fundaments of the sport, which are baserunning and moving runners, were not taught at all.
Ben Ruta further added that the Yankees organization is heavily dependent on analytics. The coaches that came after Joe Girardi are responsible for this. While there is nothing wrong is using analytics to make the process easy, there has to be a healthy mix of other things. Moreover, Ruta reckoned that “the strategy of running an org like this is just dumb.” The former outfielder wants the Yanks to undergo a leadership change. The old development culture of the club needs to be brought back in order to ensure success in the future. Having said that, Hal Steinbrenner is not in the mood to let either of the managers, Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone, go anytime soon. Hence, it’s highly unlikely that the organization will undergo any change, for that matter, in the near future.
Aaron Boone’s Job Under Threat Owing To Recent Collapse
While Brian Cashman has his job secured, skipper Aaron Boone could be seen packing his bags by the end of the season. This season, the Yankees have not much to show on their report card. Moreover, the team’s recent collapse has irked the owner Hal Steinbrenner who would be demanding some answers from Boone really soon.
Earlier, in an interview, Hal stated that Aaron Boone receives a lot of respect from guys in the clubhouse. They are willing to listen to him and do as he says. The day Hal feels the respect is gone, he would show the exit door to Boone. Having said that, Steinbrenner also added that if the team is healthy and still fails to make it to the playoffs, he would ask tough questions.