Joey Gallo doesn’t blame Yankees for mechanical issues, wants them in World Series
![LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 23: Joey Gallo #12 of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs to first during a 10-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium on August 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fyanksgoyard-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2022-2F08-2F1419358089-850x560-fa41a418067066493a4e767ed835b77e.jpg)
After being traded at the deadline, Joey Gallo has no hard feelings for the New York Yankees organization. The fans? Let him get back to you on that one.
Gallo returned to New York this week as a member of the world-beating Dodgers, a team that has inherited the wins record-setting mantle from the Yankees and passed 90 wins Tuesday night, setting themselves up on a possible 114-win trajectory (unless they take the foot off the gas pedal).
Ah, who are we kidding? Miguel Vargas and James Outman are better than anyone the Yankees have to offer, and they’re the Dodgers’ third tier. Even if they relax, they can still get there.
That boffo roster has left Gallo riding high, even as he continues to work his way back to full speed; his Dodgers bounce back has left him with a limited sample size 122 OPS+, though he’s still hitting .196 with 22 whiffs in 46 at-bats. He’s playing like Gallo, but this type of production would still bug your average Yankee fan, to say the least.
On Tuesday after the Dodgers’ 4-3 victory over the Mets, Gallo definitely sounded mellow, proving that his California cool has translated on the opposite coast. He clarified that he’s not upset with the Yankees or their methods. They didn’t miss an easy tweak or tell him not to be the best version of himself. It just … didn’t work. It was never going to work.
Joey Gallo: “There’s nothing the Yankees were doing wrong. I just didn’t play well there. I wish I played better. My time was up there. It’s been a nice transition.”
— Anthony Rieber (@AnthonyRieber) August 31, 2022
Joey Gallo doesn’t blame Yankees for mechanical struggles
Gallo popping that mythical bubble that the Yankees’ staffers were one tweak away from getting him right might help some fans sleep at night.
There’s that whole other rumor that Brian Cashman was warned against the deal and Gallo fulfilled the analytics department’s temperament worries, but save that for another day. This is a Good News Column.
Gallo also made it clear Tuesday that he loves the guys in the Yankees locker room, too — well, probably everyone except the guy who reported on his uniform preparation last fall. But everyone else is good!
Joey Gallo on the Yankees: "I want the best for those guys. I love those guys. Just because I got traded doesn’t mean I have any hard feelings for any of them."
— Anthony Rieber (@AnthonyRieber) August 31, 2022
Boom! Another myth popped.
As for Gallo’s World Series pick … isn’t it obvious? Yankees-Dodgers, and he’d like to win it.
But whatever way that battle breaks, he’d be earning some hardware, a thought that reportedly made him smile after a relatively smile-less year.
Joey Gallo on the Dodgers and the Yankees meeting in the World Series: “It’d be nice – I’d get a ring either way." He was SMILING when he said it. Not sure he ever smiled in NY.
— Anthony Rieber (@AnthonyRieber) August 31, 2022
Gallo was an impossible watch during his final months in the Bronx, and it was hard not to wish him well while also feeling caught with your pants down in case he terrorized the NL West.
So far, so good for Gallo, but the man himself confirmed the organization told him all the right things, and it still didn’t click over here. That means it was never happening.