Yesterday, the Yankees parted ways with their hitting coach, Dillion Lawson, per Jon Heyman. The Yankees rollercoaster season has pointed fingers everywhere for what exactly has gone wrong. Although a number of negative factors go into the Yankees season, their hitting is definitely at the top of that list.
Longtime Yankees GM, Brian Cashman, had this to say:
“It has been well documented that I have been reluctant in the past to make changes to our coaching staff in the middle of a season,” said Cashman. “I am a big believer that successes and failures are collective efforts. However, I ultimately felt that a change was needed and that a new voice overseeing our hitting operations would give us the best chance to perform closer to our capabilities as we move forward into the second half of our season. I want thank Dillon for all his efforts. He has a bright baseball mind that will continue to lead to a long and fruitful baseball career.”
After the 1st half of this season, The Yankees offense ranks as follows:
5th in HR
13th in SLG %
18th in RBI
21st in OPS
26th in OBP
28th in BA
29th in Hits
This has been one of the worst Yankees seasons on the offensive side of things. The Yankees have now hired Sean Casey to take over the role as hitting coach. Sean Casey and Aaron Boone were teammates from 1998 through 2003 with the Reds. Casey has never coached before and it would seem this would signal a clear shift in how hitting will coached in the majors, especially regarding veterans.