The New York Yankees were the class of baseball through the first portion of the 2022 season. But they labored during the month of August. They still hold a respectable lead in the AL East. But the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays have closed the gap considerably after the Yankees seemed like they had the division in the bag a month ago. Nevertheless, New York has ran into trouble as of late. So what is their fatal flaw?
On paper, they still feature an extremely talented roster. This is still a ball club that is near the top of baseball in most categories. And it is difficult to understand why they are losing games on a consistent basis lately. They are near the top of the league in OBP and runs scored. And that is typically a recipe for success. However, there is one thing the Yankees don't do well which hampers their offensive results.
1 fatal flaw Yankees must address ahead of 2022 MLB Playoffs
Moving runners over and manufacturing runs
As of this story's publication, the Yankees are 1st in home runs, fourth in OBP, fourth in slugging, and second in runs scored in MLB. But they are just 18th in batting average. And they don't move runners over well.
In other words, the Yankees may get a runner on base with nobody out. But they have struggled getting that runner into scoring position. The lineup has plenty of power threats who can hit a home run at any given moment. However, when they don't hit the ball over the fence, the Yankees don't score many runs.
During the first portion of the season, the team was much better in this department. They were doing the little things well and finding ways to manufacture runs.
But the Yankees fatal flaw is an inability to move runners over and manufacture runs.
How to fix their fatal flaw
The Yankees need to send their hitters to the plate with a game plan. If someone comes to bat with a runner on second base and less than two outs, his main focus needs to be hitting a ground ball to the right side of the infield. This will allow the runner to move to third base and give the next batter a better chance of driving him home.
If there is a runner on third base and less than two outs, the Yankees just need to hit a ground ball up the middle or drive the run home with a sacrifice fly. Again, nobody will ever complain about hitting a home run. Aaron Judge recently crushed his 50th homer of the season. But the Yankees can't become reliant on the long ball.
This will be especially important come playoff time. In the postseason, teams tend to face the best pitchers in the league. If New York finds ways to move runners over, they will fare well in those games.
Final thoughts
How much of a concern is this for the Yankees?
In recent years, New York's home run hitting mentality has been an issue at times. But at the beginning of this season, it seemed as if they had turned a page. The Yankees simply need to get back to the basics and play a clean brand of baseball.
The Yankees should be fine.
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