Two years ago, the Yankees fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild with a year remaining on his contract.
Their search for a replacement brought them to a somewhat surprising hire, 34-year-old Matt Blake, who had just been promoted to Director of Pitching Development with Cleveland after three years as the organization’s assistant Director of Player Development.
The move to The Bronx brought Blake from participating in the formation of pitching strategy for the organization and collaborating with coaches and the front office to the dugout.
At the time, general manager Brian Cashman said the Yankees had been looking for someone who would be able to make more use of the new metrics that are shaping the game.
“Obviously, as we move forward, I felt I wanted to gravitate to somebody that had a little bit more in-depth knowledge of some of the newer technology out there,’’ Cashman said after Blake was hired. “It doesn’t mean that Larry hasn’t been exposed to it. So it’s a balance. Obviously, it’s not easy.’’
Blake just finished his second season as the Yankees’ pitching coach. We’ll see if the Yankees turn to a similar route in replacing hitting coach Marcus Thames, whose contract was not renewed after four seasons.
It was clear even before the hiring of Blake that the Yankees were heading toward a more analytic and technological mode in developing their pitchers and preparing them for games. Blake just continued it.
And while Thames and assistant hitting coach P.J. Piliterre — also let go this week — adapted to the new technology, as did Rothschild, it wasn’t enough.
The Yankees also turned to Eric Cressey to be their Director of Player and Health Performance to improve athleticism and reduce injuries. Cashman has said he’s pleased with the results of what the Yankees have done under Cressey’s watch, even as they set a franchise record by using 59 players this season.
So it’s no surprise the Yankees are looking to go in a different direction on offense. That desire was likely hastened by an overall underperformance by the lineup — outside of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton — this season.
But expect a lot of the same philosophies the team has used in recent seasons to continue.
As minor league hitting coordinator Dillon Lawson said in July to The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pa., the organization’s goal was “to square the ball up more, which in turn is going to increase average exit velos.”
Judge and Stanton lit up Statcast with their exit velocities, but others such as DJ LeMahieu, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela, did not.
Lawson, who could be in play for a role on the major league staff, also said: “It’s trying to create some sort of bridge from the training environment to the game, and connecting the cage to the advanced information to observing the game in the dugout, and then finally getting your name put in the lineup.”
He also added that, with all of the analytics and numbers involved, the team simply wants “to score the most runs possible.”