Yankees playoffs: The ALCS and making of the 2017 Baby Bombers

A Walk is as Good as a Hit

We take a lot of pride in that here at YanksGoYard. It’s what allowed us to put together this piece way back in May, entitled, Yankees OBP is the real hidden secret of their success:

"But, while those are all worthy candidates, the driving force—the indispensable stat—is OBP. There is nothing more important than getting on base with great regularity because the ramifications dictate the game. The Yankees lead all MLB clubs. Aaron Judge is 3rd in the AL (.417), followed by Brett Gardner in 11th place (.373), Starlin Castro 13th (.372), and Matt Holliday 15th (.370)."

On-base Percentage continues to drive the success of the Yankees, and most winning teams. It carried Judge through his mid-season struggles, and is the only major offensive stat that all five AL playoff teams have in common.

To make the playoffs, it was more important that BA, RBIs, or home runs; the Yankees finished third behind Houston and Cleveland. And it continues to drive their playoff success: Judge and Bird have the two best OBP’s in the ALCS.

The Yankees spent the first half of the season getting on base, and getting driven in with monster home runs. By late June, it was clear the Yankees were going to be buyers. And what they needed was pitching.