Despite having the second highest payroll and a roster packed with a dozen All-Stars, the Yankees can’t hit. You know that if you have seen New York stumble these past two months while Aaron Judge is on the injured list. This is the feeblest Yankees offense (4.35 runs per game) since the 1991 team lost 91 games. It has the franchise’s fourth lowest batting average (.230), its worst since the mound was lowered in 1969.
What you might not know is why they can’t hit. They are getting shut down with a barrage of breaking pitches.
The decline of fastballs and the increase in spin is a familiar trend in the analytics era. The Yankees are getting exposed by that trend this year. The Yankees are the worst team in baseball slugging against spin (.328), well below the next worst teams against spin, the Cubs (.337) and Pirates (.338). Their batting average against breaking pitches is .194. Only Seattle is worse (.192).
