Weird Stat Shows Why Yankees' Offense Might be Struggling
It's been a somewhat interesting start to the 2026 campaign for the New York Yankees. On the surface, I'm not too upset with how New York has played. New York came away with an 11-10 win against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night, bouncing back after a rough series against the Tampa Bay Rays in which it was swept.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, the offense just hasn't been doing enough to get wins. There are some concerning reasons for that, and the latest was brought up by one of the team's insiders. Instead of looking at guys who aren't playing well or any other reason, an intriguing statistic was considered.
“The Yankees entered Sunday with the lowest swing percentage by any team since the 2012 Minnesota Twins, who were 30 games under . 500 that season. The Yankees, almost certainly, won’t be that dreadful, but the lack of swinging is an early concern through 15 games.
Part of that is their identity. “The Yankees have seen the most pitches in baseball in back-to-back seasons, and they were tied for the MLB lead in pitches per plate appearance last season. To begin this season, the Yankees, to a fault, are being too passive.
They entered Sunday with the 10th-most pitches seen in the strike zone, and yet they ranked third-to-last in swinging at said pitches. For an offense built around hitting strikes hard, they’re not doing that enough. Getting walks and not chasing pitches out of the strike zone continue to be strengths for the Yankees, but those skills won’t be maximized if the players are watching hittable strikes go into the catcher’s glove,” Chris Kirschner of The Athletic wrote.