The Bronx Bombers are back, but only at Yankee Stadium. Most teams hit better at home, but this year, the Yankees have taken their splits to the extreme. Not only do they have one of the largest home/road disparities in the league, in terms of both OPS and runs scored per game, but the current gap is easily the largest in franchise history. The Yankees have always been tailored to take advantage of the short porch at the Stadium, but never before has the offense performed so much better wearing pinstripes instead of road grays.
MLB Home vs. Road Splits: OPS and R/G, 2015
Note: Positive figures represent better performance at home. Data as of June 24, 2015.
Source: baseball-reference.com
Yankees Historical Home vs. Road Splits: OPS and R/G, 1914-2015
Note: Positive figures represent better performance at home. Data for 2015 as of June 24, 2015.
Source: baseball-reference.com
The Yankees’ extreme home/road split has been a team-wide effort. Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Jacoby Ellsbury are the only Yankees to perform at above average levels on the road, and only Teixeira has stepped up his production away from the Stadium. Almost every other regular in the lineup has performed significantly better in the Bronx, including several by drastic margins. Brett Gardner, Chris Young, Garrett Jones, and even Stephen Drew have all been very productive in pinstripes, but anemic in road grays. However, no one exemplifies the contrast more than Brian McCann. In the Bronx, the Yankees’ catcher has a home wRC+ that is the fourth highest among qualified hitters in baseball, but on the road, he ranks near the bottom. This continues the similar, albeit less pronounced, split McCann exhibited last season (his home performance has improved, but his road output has remained the same), suggesting that of all the Yankees hitters, he is probably the most likely to maintain the discrepancy.
Yankees’ Individual Player Home/Road Splits, 2015
Note: Data as of June 24, 2015.
Source: frangraphs.com
Perhaps the most confounding thing about the Yankees’ struggles outside the Bronx is the team began the season as road warriors. In their first 17 games away from home, the Yankees won 12 and averaged 5.1 runs. Since then, the offense has managed only 2.9 runs per game on the road, and lost 16 of 21 as a result. This equally drastic “split within a split” speaks to what has been a very inconsistent season, and makes it difficult to determine what the future will hold.
Is the Yankees’ poor production on the road an aberration that will even out over the season, or an inherent flaw that will linger? The answer to that question will go a long way toward determining whether they make the postseason. In the meantime, the team had better fatten up at home because, unless they improve significantly on the road, that’s where they’ll be headed in October.
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