The Yankees’ Success in 2019 Will Hinge Upon Good Opposite-Field Hitting

Many Yankee fans bemoaned the fact that the Yankees signed DJ LeMahieu, since he was not Manny Machado. At first, the signing made no sense, since there was no clear need for him, with all four infield positions filled, and he was another righty bat in a lineup filled with righties from top to bottom. However, DJ LeMahieu had one quality that the Yankees loved: the ability to hit the ball to the opposite field.

The Yankees in 2019 will likely have 7-9 righty hitters in their daily lineup (depending on the opponent and the pitcher), and as a result, will not have many hitters who can take advantage of the friendly right field in Yankee Stadium, especially with Didi Gregorius expected to be out most of the year.

Last year, the Yankees were lucky and had several righty hitters who were adequate in hitting the ball to right field in Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, and even Luke Voit. Voit’s triple in the AL WC game was to the opposite field. Gleyber’s walk-off homer against the Indians was to right-center field. A sound opposite-field hitting approach will turn many batted balls into likely home runs which could mean the difference between a win and a loss in several games this season.

If the Yankees are able to hit well in the opposite-field, they will be able to make key offensive plays that will most certainly have an impact on the season’s outcome.

Having Judge and Stanton as power hitters is great for the team; however, having the ability to put the ball in play to right field will turn more hits into home runs and guarantee the Yankees even more success than they will already likely have in the 2019 season.