(The following was originally published at The Captain’s Blog; follow me on Twitter at@williamnyy23).
There’s probably nothing more satisfying to a manager than saving his best bat off the bench for just the right moment, and then having him come through according to plan. On Friday night, Athletics’ manager Bob Melvin got to experience that thrill when Brandon Moss’ game-tying home run off Rafael Soriano became only the sixth long ball by a pinch hitter to erase a deficit in the ninth inning or later.
Clutch Pinch Hit Home Runs in 2012
Note: Defined as pinch hit home runs that erased a deficit in the ninth inning or later.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Unfortunately for the Athletics, Moss’ home run did not lead to a victory, but it continued an impressive run of success by the team’s pinch hitters. In 96 plate appearances off the bench, Oakland batters have produced at combined rates of .288/.385/.488. The resultant OPS of .873 is not only the highest rate produced by any team’s pinch hitters, but it also dwarfs the MLB average of .654 and stands well above the cumulative .725 OPS turned in by all major league batters over the course of the season. To illustrate the point even better, every time Melvin has gone to the bench, it has been like bringing Joe Mauer to the plate.
Pinch Hitter OPS by Team, 2012
Note: Blue bars represent N.L. teams; Red bars represent A.L. teams.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Joe Girardi has not enjoyed his pinch hitters’ at bats nearly as much as Melvin has this season. In 134 plate appearances off the Bronx Bombers’ bench, the Yankees have hit .175/.254/.317. However, perhaps even more significant than the team’s poor performance in these situations is the frequency of them. Among American League teams, only the Tampa Bay Rays have used more pinch hitters than the Yankees, and with 10 games still remaining, the team is on pace to use the most bats off the bench since 1990.
Yankees’ Pinch Hitter OPS, 1993 to 2012
Note: sOPS+ compares a team’s performance in a split to the league average. A reading above 100 is considered above average.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
The Yankees’ reliance on pinch hitters has been the result of injuries and an increased vulnerability to split-based matchups. The best way to overcome this dependence would be to have Mark Teixeira and Ichiro Suzuki firmly established as everyday players heading into the playoffs. Otherwise, the Yankees will need more production off the bench. On Saturday, Raul Ibanez provided such a jolt. If the Yankees plan on playing late into October, he, and others on the bench, will likely have to do so again.
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One Response to Yankees Bench Coming Up Empty in the Pinch
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TIQ IQ
Chavez, Jones, Nix, Stewart, sometimes Nunez, Wise when he was here, and Ibanez since Ichiro took LF from him have had excellent seasons, and I don’t think anyone on here expected any of these players save Jones to give the Yanks significant production.
The strength of a bench lies in its defense and ability to hold down positions when everyday players are out with injury more than in its pinch-hitting.
Cases in point:
Chavez/Nix/McGehee did an excellent job holding down 3B while A-Rod was out and produced better than A-Rod since he’s returned.
Dewayne Wise smacked 3 HR and stole 7 bases in way under 100 AB while he was a Yankee.
Ibanez has been on a mini-tear since an 0 for 16 slide. He and Chavez had back to back homeruns last night.
Jones and Chavez have almost 30 HR combined and not you or anyone else (myself included) expected Chavez to hold up his end or was 100% sure Jones would hold up his.
Stewart has shown the Yanks why they made an eleventh hour trade for him to unseat Cervelli for the backup catcher slot.
Nix isn’t Luis Sojo but he has had Sojo-like moments here and there.
Dickerson is a solid gloveman who can pinch-run while Pearce is a good gloveman who’d have been the perfect “rest Teixiera guy” if the Yanks had a 5 or more game lead in the division right now not 1 1/2.
This bench should be measured by its all-around production.
I don’t take stock in pinch-hitting success for several reasons:
1. Pinch-hitters usually come in when their team is trailing or tied which means they usually face the better part of the bullpen brought in to preserve the lead or tie.
2. Bench players are for the most part inherently inferior hitters to the everyday players otherwise they’d be everyday players, so you have to expect them to do worse as PHs than everyday players who come off the bench to PH. A regular has somewhat of a difficult time coming off the bench to hit after not playing all day, but he is used to batting way more than a bench player thus usually does better for where are the premier pinch-hitters like there used to be like Lenny Harris and Jerry Hairston the guy Harris unseated for the all-time lead in pinch-hits (I think, unless someone surpassed Harris.)
3. Pinch-hitters don’t usually face a bad starter, they face a good or better starter or reliever, as bad starters leave the game too early to face pinch-hitters.