The Bronx Bombers are seemingly struggling to shed their image as a team prone to defensive lapses.
New York’s quest for the AL East lead took a hit Wednesday with an 8-4 defeat against the Toronto Blue Jays, a game marred by defensive miscues. The team barely outpaced their error count (four) with their hit total (five).
The Yankees began the three-game set with an opportunity to draw even with Toronto in the division standings, mirroring the Blue Jays’ surge earlier in the season, but instead dropped the series, committing seven errors in total. They now trail the Blue Jays by four games with approximately a third of the season remaining.
Some mistakes were more glaring than others, but collectively, they portrayed a team exiting Toronto with a collection of regrets.
The four-error tally doesn’t even factor in a fly ball that right fielder Cody Bellinger lost sight of in the evening sky. Plays where fielders lose the ball — due to sun, stadium lights, or other factors — are rarely ruled as errors. This particular play was recorded as a triple for Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement.
Even casual baseball observers are likely aware of the Yankees’ defensive struggles at this point. Their infamous collapse in Game 5 of last year’s World Series left a lasting impression, and two difficult series against the Blue Jays in recent weeks have solidified that perception for many, particularly among the team’s own supporters.
Having committed four errors in the other series, the Yankees have now racked up 11 errors in seven of their most pivotal games this season.
New York’s skipper, Aaron Boone, defended his players postgame, acknowledging the errors but maintaining the team’s defensive strength:
“It just wasn’t adequate. I believe we possess a strong defensive unit, but clearly in these seven games we’ve played here, gifting them extra opportunities, whether through errors or missed plays, has been detrimental in these two series. It has truly hurt us.”
“We need to sharpen it up, without a doubt. I’m confident we will. We’ll continue to work diligently. We have capable defenders here, but tonight was undeniably a difficult night for us.”
The Yankees endured one of their most defensively challenged games of the season. (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
He also suggested that the artificial surface of the Blue Jay’s Rogers Centre might have contributed to the issue, while acknowledging that the Blue Jays didn’t appear to face the same challenges:
“I think we just had two poor series playing here. I’m not certain if it’s related to the turf — though that’s not really an excuse, it’s the same game for both teams — but I do believe that in these series, we’ve afforded them too many extra outs, and it’s been costly for us.”
Boone’s argument has some validity, though. While the Yankees’ errors have garnered attention, their overall defense appears more respectable when viewed holistically. With 52 errors thus far this season, they rank around the middle tier in MLB, and several defensive metrics actually paint them in a positive light.
Prior to Wednesday’s game, they held the second-best defensive efficiency rating in MLB, indicating their effectiveness at converting balls in play into outs. They were also ranked sixth in defensive runs saved and ninth in Statcast’s fielding run value. While they may not be a team of Gold Glove winners, and some Yankees fans might argue they’re witnessing something far worse, the data suggests that several teams have fared much worse defensively.
Still, it’s concerning that these errors occurred frequently during games that closely resembled playoff scenarios, a year after miscues contributed to their World Series defeat, following a regular season where their defensive statistics were also acceptable. This is certainly a point of concern and might require more than just a few coaching sessions to resolve.
