Why have the Yankees been so bad offensively at home?
The Yankees have been a flat out average team offensively. Their wRC+ is sitting at an even 100. For reference:
Season
Team wRC+
2017
109
2018
112
2019
116
2020
116
A wRC+ of 115 is considered above average by FanGraphs. What’s even more surprising is their offensive production at home:
Season
Home wRC+ Away wRC+
2017
117
101
2018
122 (led majors)
102
2019
112
120 (led majors)
2020
145 (led majors)
86
2021
98
103
The Yankees have always been a great offensive team at home in recent history. However, in 2021 they are below average. Here are some more stats at home this season:
Stat
Value
League Rank
OPS
0.708
19th
wOBA
0.313
18th
SLG
0.384
21st
AVG
0.228
26th
HR
56
9th
Who has contributed the most to these poor home numbers? The team’s big bashers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton certainly have not, as they boast excellent wRC+ numbers at home: 137 and 136, respectively. Gio Urshela (128) and Gary Sanchez (116) are also well above average. But that’s where it falls off:
Player
Home wRC+
DJ LeMahieu
91
Clint Frazier
91
Gleyber Torres
88
Rougned Odor
77
Luke Voit
73
Miguel Andujar
72
Brett Gardner
71
I don’t think most people expect DJ to be in this position. Sure, he’s been much better of late, but considered he had an absolutely absurd 256 home wRC+ last season and 157 home wRC+ in 2019, it is a bit startling. In 2019, the Yankees had seven players with a wRC+ above 100 at home (minimum 120 plate appearances). In 2020 it was eight. This year it is only four. The same four are the only ones to have a home OPS that is considered above average. Everyone else is below average or poor. While keys guys such as Luke Voit (who has been killing the ball in Seattle) and Gleyber Torres well below-league average, it dampens the lineup we had all hoped would be dangerous one through nine. What's the solution? Honestly, I don't know. It's not like we have had a ton of injuries to key players throughout the lineup. Some people who mashed at Yankee Stadium the past few years simply have regressed. Hopefully, guys can get it going sooner rather than later, but we can’t kid ourselves — the All-Star break is next week. This is no longer a small sample size. Even with our mediocre year last year, we still raked at home. This year, not so much. And it’s been costly.