Yankees' sweeping influence on 2025 Silver Slugger finalists reveal problem with team

On Wednesday, Louisville Slugger and FanSided revealed the NL finalists for the 2025 Silver Slugger award, and the American League representatives followed suit on Thursday morning. The New York Yankees have four finalists.

Aaron Judge (OF), Cody Bellinger (OF), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B) and Ben Rice (UTIL) will have a chance of earning the prestigious honors this year. They were prolific players throughout the regular season, which is great. Teams need that in order to position themselves for the playoffs. The Yankees were also among three nominees for the team award, recognizing great (regular season) offense.

But the Yankees are no stranger to wielding influence annually with this recognition. They are built on slugging. They have been for a long time now ... and it's gotten them a singular pennant since 2010. Zero championships. Five division titles. Two 100-win seasons. It's good, but it's not spectacular. Again, they have the resources to maintain this sort of consistency. They do not exercise their resources to go beyond it.

One would think four individual Silver Slugger nominations speaks volumes in regard to their play but ... it's a facade. They hit homers, yes, but in spurts. Then they go quiet. They strike out incessantly. They ground into double plays. They don't hit with runners in scoring position. They do not orchestrate come-from-behind victories.

When you have cumulative stats like this:

• Aaron Judge - .331/.457/.688 with 137 runs scored, 53 home runs and 114 RBI
• Cody Bellinger - .272/.334/.480 with 89 runs scored, 29 home runs and 98 RBI
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. - .242/.332/.481 with 75 runs scored, 31 home runs and 80 RBI
• Ben Rice - .255/.337/.499 with 74 runs scored, 26 home runs and 65 RBI

... you would think that team made it beyond Game 4 of the ALDS. Instead, they got bounced handily by the Toronto Blue Jays, who led MLB with a .265 batting average and recorded the second-fewest strikeouts on the year. Clearly, the holes in the Yankees' "we will out-slug you" approach are greater than one would expect when the postseason arrives.

There is no discounting the statistics New York compiled during a grueling 162-game season. Some of their individual performances were among the best in the league. But the collective approach, for just about the eighth season in a row, is not yielding the championship results they claim to expect (and the fans undoubtedly expect).

Like we've said: the Yankees are more than happy with this. They remain in the headlines, they're always in contention, and they have the star/power recognition that sells tickets and has people talking on social media.

Beyond that, though? Hollow outcomes. But we guess it'll be cool with Judge collects his fifth Silver Slugger award come November.