Okay, so today, I wanted to mess around with the Yankees’ batting order. You know, see if I could come up with something better than what they usually roll with. I’ve got my own ideas about who should hit where, and I figured, why not put them to the test?
First off, I grabbed the current roster. Just went to their website, found the list of players, and copied it down. I didn’t bother with any fancy stats or anything just yet, I just wanted the names to start with.
Then, I started moving guys around. I’ve always thought Aaron Judge should hit cleanup, even though they often bat him second. So, I slotted him in at number four. Then I put Giancarlo Stanton after Judge, as it’s good to have those big power guys back-to-back.
Next up, I focused on the top of the order. I know DJ LeMahieu is a great leadoff hitter, but I wanted to try something different. I moved Gleyber Torres to the leadoff spot, figuring his on-base skills and speed could be valuable there. Then, I placed LeMahieu in the second spot, thinking he can really drive in runs.
I filled in the rest of the lineup kind of based on a mix of gut feeling and some basic stats I glanced at. I put Anthony Rizzo at number three, figuring he’s a good all-around hitter who can both get on base and knock in runs. Then I added some of the other guys, trying to balance power, speed, and on-base percentage.
After all that shuffling, here’s what my ideal Yankees batting order looked like:
- 1. Gleyber Torres
- 2. DJ LeMahieu
- 3. Anthony Rizzo
- 4. Aaron Judge
- 5. Giancarlo Stanton
- 6. Josh Donaldson
- 7. Aaron Hicks
- 8. Isiah Kiner-Falefa
- 9. Jose Trevino
I shared this order with a few buddies of mine who are also big Yankees fans. We debated it a bit, and they had some interesting counterpoints. It was a fun little exercise, even if it doesn’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things.
Ultimately, I don’t think my lineup is necessarily “better” than what the Yankees actually do. I just wanted to see how my ideas would stack up. Maybe I’ll do this again sometime and track some actual stats to see how my theoretical lineup performs compared to the real one.
What do you think?
I’m curious to know what other Yankees fans think about this. Who would you bat where? Let me know in the comments!
