![]() ![]() In 2022, their first year under Lawson, the Yankees returned to the top of the American League in runs scored - in no small part because of Aaron Judge's otherworldly individual season - but this year they are back down to 19th at the break. Again: both teams had seen this work brilliantly first-hand. Evidently, they wanted to recapture that magic of the 2019 season, because they each selected known students of analytics, at a time where modern hitting theory at large focused greatly on the idea of sacrificing contact for damage swings, and adopting a philosophy where barrels, exit velocity and launch angles became the gold standards. (Albeit against juiced balls.)Īnd so, as these potent offenses saw their results dip in 2020 and further in 2021 - when the Twins ranked 14th in runs scored, the Yankees 19th - both organizations decided to make a change. ![]() Both clubs embraced a mentality of attacking and elevating the ball, with spectacular results. In 2019, they had the two best offenses in baseball, ranking first and second in runs scored, on the strength of power-driven approaches that led to record-setting homer totals. The two had a number of commonalities: both fairly young, considered up-and-comers after having success in reputed minor-league systems - Lawson as minor-league hitting coordinator for the Yankees, Popkins as a Single-A hitting coach for the Dodgers.Īlas, neither had ever coached or played in the majors before.įrom the outside at least, it appeared that the Twins and Yankees were of similar minds when they made these hires. Lawson was originally hired by the Yankees in December of 2021, just weeks after the Twins hired Popkins. Those parallels are even more intriguing when you take a step back and look at the paths that brought us to this point. It's natural to draw parallels to the situation here in Minnesota, where continual teamwide failures in hitting approach have called into question the viability of top hitting coach David Popkins and his program. ![]() "I've never not been willing to make a decision like this but with careful consideration, I decided as we move forward, we have a sprint here in the second half, I felt like this was necessary," said New York GM Brian Cashman. It was described as a "rare midseason change by a franchise that has prized stability." On Sunday, following their 7-4 loss against the Cubs to close out the break, the Yankees announced that they had dismissed hitting coach Dillon Lawson. ![]()
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