The 2022 MLB regular season has been a tale of two different campaigns for the Yankees.
Prior to the All-Star break, manager Aaron Boone’s club owned a 64-28 record. It was easily the best in baseball, and the American League East was all but theirs thanks to a 13-game cushion over the Rays. After a rough August, New York is currently 79-52 and has watched that double-digit divisional lead shrink to just six games.
August has been part of a two-month cooling-off period for the Yankees, but the most recent month has been the worst of all. Through the first three months of the season, New York didn’t post a winning percentage worse than .679. In July, that number dropped to an even .500 before dipping even further to .357 following a 10-18 performance.
Here’s some historical perspective on just how tough the second half has been for the Yankees so far:
The Yankees (.357) finished with their 7th worst August in franchise history, and worst since 1989 (.323).
They currently are on pace for their 4th worst 2nd Half in franchise history (.385), only ahead of 1973 (.377), 1912 (.372), and 1908 (.284). pic.twitter.com/QZbs4kV4uc
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) September 1, 2022
Yes, you read that right. New York hasn’t suffered through that bad of an August in more than 30 years, and the club’s current second-half performance is on par with what happened in 1973. For some context, the 1989 Yankees finished 74-87, while the ’73 Yankees finished 80-82.
Obviously, the 2022 squad is in a much different situation thanks to a tremendous first half. Seeing any team with championship aspirations go through an extended struggle like this isn’t ideal. However, there are two bits of silver lining to take from this:
- It’s better for it to happen now instead of in October.
- This is why building up a huge divisional lead early in the season is so huge.
The six games separating New York and Tampa Bay is a lot slimmer than any Yankees fan would like right now. But it’s still a sizable lead with about one month left to play. Prior to Wednesday’s action, the Bronx Bombers’ chances of winning the division are still at 91.7%, according to FanGraphs.
Is there some cause for concern? Well, yes — of course there is. But the Yankees are still very much in control of their own destiny and have a few weeks to get back on track. Probably the best thing that could’ve happened to them is watching the calendar flip from August to September so they can get a clean slate to work with.
More on ESNY:
• WATCH: Brandon Nimmo robs Dodgers’ Justin Turner of HR
• Yankees-Angels takeaways: Awful August ends with another whimper
• Yankees may finally see if Harrison Bader trade pays off
• Here are some potential Jacob deGrom contract numbers
• Mike Francesa has well-timed thoughts on ‘guy talk’ vs. ‘sports talk’
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
