Once again, we’ll return to the 50-Game Rule to see how things are going in the baseball season. So, how are the Yankees doing after 50 games?
The short answer: they’re doing fine, but not as well as last year.
The longer answer is that they’re doing better than I’d have expected. Yes, they’re only 30-20. But that’s good enough for a 5 game lead in the AL East and second best in the entire American League. Once you account for the fact that ace pitcher Gerrit Cole is sitting out the season with an injury and intended closer Devin Williams has struggled mightily, this is pretty remarkable.
Granted, a major reason why the Yankees are so far ahead in the division is that the rest of the AL East has struggled. The Orioles are inexplicably terrible, and the other three teams are playing .500 ball.
But the Yankees have plenty of merits to highlight. Obviously Aaron Judge is putting up yet another MVP season – one arguably even better than his 2024 season! That’s nothing short of remarkable. But it’s not only Judge. Max Fried has put together a Cy Young worthy season so far, and Luke Weaver stepped into the closer role without problems.
But the pleasant surprise of the season thus far, for me, has been Trent Grisham. The once light hitting Padres center fielder is putting up Juan Soto level numbers in the Bronx. I don’t know if that can last all season, but he has certainly filled the gap left by Soto so far.
Can the Yankees keep it up and compete as one of the best AL teams? The evidence so far suggests they can.
