Yankees lose despite outsmarting Mariners all night long: ‘Really good job by the guys!’

SEATTLE — The late, great Ted Williams is always in the conversation with Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb when baseball historians debate who’s the best hitter of all time. No one ever questions who had the best eye at the plate. It was Williams, who hit .

344 playing outfield for the Red Sox from 1939 to 1960, minus three seasons in the ‘40s when he was a Marine Corps flight instructor during World War II. Perfect vision is considered 20/20, and Williams’ 20/10 was twice as sharp. The Splendid Splinter’s eyes were so good that he famously could tell whether his swinging bat met the ball across or between the seams.

A couple of generations later, the Yankees might have the best eyes in Major League Baseball. They might be one of the smartest hitting ballclubs, too. On a cold Monday night at T-Mobile Park, the Yankees were the smartest hitters in the batter’s box.

But it didn’t matter. They fell 2-1 to the Mariners on Cal Raleigh’s ninth-inning walk-off hit off reliever Paul Blackburn. This was a tough night for Yankees hitters, who managed one unearned run and five hits, and not just because the temperature was in the 40s with a 12-mph wind.