From Bryan Hoch:
Nearly every time the Yankees’ order has rolled around since their arrival, Ben Rice has been busy covering the 90 feet between home plate and first base, reminding at least one observer of another left-handed hitter whose excellence earned statues in this town.
“I told him, he’s doing his Tony Gwynn imitation,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the club’s 5-1 victory over the Padres on Saturday at Petco Park. “Watching him slash it all over the field, man, he keeps hitting it off the barrel – line to line, it feels like.”
I couldn’t think of who to give the featured image to in this very balanced team win, so I’ll take their cue, and go with Ben Rice (the first of his three hits).
Rice is picking a nice time to stop sucking!
About the Author
Congrats to the Yankees on their 81st win and 34th consecutive winning season, the second longest in professional sports history.
Who among us wouldn’t trade half of those “winning” seasons for another championship?
yea, being the regular season champs is all well and good, but yea… Also, being a prospect nerd, I enjoy tasteful tanking once in a while.
I think sustained excellence is fun, too. One of my favorite things about following baseball is the team building. I love seeing smart decisions and financial wherewithal culminate in a great team. There is building for the 162 game marathon and for the short playoff series, but there is so much chance in any given series that it’s really tough to build around. It is not satisfying. I empathize with Billy Beane’s frustrated exclamation, “My shit doesn’t work in the playoffs!”
Da lineup
https://x.com/yankees/status/2096648444383252878?s=61