New York Yankees Editorial: Has Stephen Drew Finally Turned It Around?

By Caleb Gebrewold | Sep 7, 2015

Up until sitting on May 31st in favor of Jose Pirela, Stephen Drew had hit .157 with five home runs and 15 RBI’s. Since then, he has hit .246 with 12 home runs and 29 RBI’s. After hitting .162 in 85 games between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in 2014, many Yankees fans felt Drew didn’t deserve a place on the 2015 roster.

Drew has attributed his turn around to watching tape of his seven seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he hit .266. He also added that hitting coaches Jeff Pentland and Alan Cockrell helped him, stating they have worked on “trying to keep my hands inside the baseball as much as I could”.

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Drew added that the adjustments didn’t end there:

"I was coming around the baseball too much, and I needed to start seeing the ball better, so it’s more or less looking back at that, and there were other adjustments, trying to get my top hand to where balls, balls that are away, I’m hitting through the ball, and I was messing around with my stance and the way I feel on my feet, and feeling comfortable."

The adjustments made by Drew and the hitting coaches has clearly paid off as he has gone the opposite way more than at any point in his Yankees career. Drew stated that being able to do so has felt good at the plate:

"It feels good. It’s a good feeling because I know it’s in there and the feeling is, for me, I’m just glad to finally have that feeling regardless of it, hopefully I keep it this whole time."

Drew has looked like a different hitter at the plate, improving each month. Although the Yankees called up Pirela and Rob Refsnyder when rosters expanded, Drew’s performance has led to a lack of playing time for the youngsters. It is even possible that Drew will, once again, be extended in the offseason.

What do you think Yankees fans? Should the Yankees give Stephen Drew a contract extension?

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