Yankees: 3 Injuries That Officially Killed the 2019 Season

3. Mike Tauchman

The New York Yankees’ loss of Mike Tauchman left a hole in their outfield in 2019.

This one was particularly cruel. The Sock Man wouldn’t be available for the postseason? After all he’d done to build the team’s ethos throughout the unexpected 2019 season? That can’t be.

Alas, Mike Tauchman was lost for the year when he pulled up lame in the Fenway Park outfield (of COURSE it came in front of those out-of-the-race hooligans) on Sept. 9, suffering a Grade 2 calf strain too late in the season to plot a return, on an otherwise-innocent play.

“I hurt for him,” manager Aaron Boone told Newsday while awaiting official word. We did, too.

But when he was available, Tauchman was so much more than a stopgap, and he would’ve been an integral part of a postseason outfield mix that ended up emphasizing Cameron Maybin instead, unable to cover for the sudden loss of…well, we’ll get to it.

All told, Tauchman emerged from nowhere to produce 3.8 WAR in only 260 at-bats, sparkling defensively each and every time he was placed in left field, and smacking 13 homers while hitting .277. It can’t be emphasized enough that no one knew who this guy was entering 2019, and come September, nobody could forget him. With a little more luck, he could’ve contributed to earning a ring.