The Yankees face an offensive slump as a whole. But Anthony Rizzo‘s downhill draws the most attention and he needs to break out of it more than others. Yankees new hitting coach has identified the cause of his struggles and expected the first baseman to come out of it.
“I think Rizz maybe is pressing a little bit, he said. “But one thing I know about Rizz is, he’s been here before. He might say this is the worst stretch of his career, but he’s had stretches like this and he’s come out of them.”
The seasoned first baseman finds himself trapped in a relentless slump, struggling to find his form with a meager .156 batting average and a .471 OPS over the last 36 games. To compound matters, Anthony Rizzo hasn’t managed to hit a single home run since May 20.
This extended drought marks the most extended stretch in Anthony Rizzo’s career without a home run, an agonizing 178 plate appearances without clearing the fences.
Sean Casey on Anthony Rizzo’s batting struggles
Just one week into his tenure as the New York Yankees’ hitting coach, Sean Casey is already feeling the pressure to find solutions and revitalize the team’s offense for the remaining two months of the season. With Aaron Judge sidelined and the healthy Yankees struggling to produce, there’s a significant focus on Anthony Rizzo’s surprising slump.
Since the beginning of June, Anthony Rizzo’s batting average with the Yankees stands at .156, and he hasn’t hit a home run since May 20. Sean Casey remains optimistic and believes the three-time All-Star has the ability to rediscover his form.
According to Sean Casey, when a player experiences a power outage, they might start to try too hard to hit home runs. He thinks Anthony Rizzo might be pressing a bit due to his strong desire to perform well, considering his previous successes. The new hitting coach acknowledged that Anthony Rizzo might see this as the toughest stretch in his career, but he is confident that the first baseman has encountered similar situations before and has overcome them successfully.
Sean Casey has made it clear that the key is for players to keep playing, and he expects someone with Anthony Rizzo’s experience to handle that aspect well. Despite his current struggles, the player knows how to mentally prepare himself for games. However, when the team as a whole is not performing up to par, it adds extra challenges and intensifies the pressure for everyone involved.
Anthony Rizzo’s turnaround is crucial for the Yankees as their chances of making the playoffs are diminishing. With the team currently sitting four games behind a playoff spot and languishing in last place in the AL East, they are in need of a significant boost from Rizzo’s bat to revive their postseason aspirations.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
I think he needs to start fuckin’ hitting PERIOD. It’s not just home runs. No RsBI nothing. OBP is crap. Situational hitting 😞 It’s everything. At this point the whole team sucks, and beating the worst team in MLB on pace to lose 118 game by one run with the outcome of the game in doubt 🧐 until the final out isn’t reason to be cheerful!!!
“Pressing a little bit”??? Casey sounds just like Boone, which is not a compliment. Ok, if he is pressing, then he should consider use a shortened swing no matter the count and just hit the ball square for base hits. Home runs will follow.
It’s all in his neck. You don’t go from a .304 BA & .505 SLG% to .156/.195. He was not able to get full extension for full arms use. One day, it was going to one day waking up suddenly fully healed, but when was anyone’s guess considering he is playing through the injury. It looks like this weekend he is finally healthy.