The Second Half Demise of Brett Gardner: A Reoccurring Theme

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The dog days of August and September really affect some players, good and bad. For Yankees 2015 All-Star Brett Gardner, it's been a career long struggle in the second half of the season and it hasn't gotten better this year.

Since coming into the league in 2008, Gardner has been a big fan favorite here in New York. His speed he displays on balls in the gaps, or going to first to third on a base hit, even sometimes when he decides being an above average base stealer. Gardner has never had a problem getting off to a quick start as he is a career .283 first-half of the season hitter. He reaches base at a .360 clip, slugging percentage at .421, and almost at a .800 OPS at .781. But boy do things change in just a months’ time.

The Yankees basically have two left-fielders in one body. Second-half Brett Gardner has been a ghost since he's entered the league. A .242 career hitter in the second half, a .332 OBP, a less than stellar .358 slugging percentage and a .690 OPS. To be frank, the drop in numbers is a very big pause for concern. It could be especially concerning if it doesn't improve seeing how the Yanks just handed him a nice new shiny four-year $52 million dollar extension.
Here's the breakdown month by month thanks to baseball reference:
  • April/March: 141 games played, .265 BA, .340 OBP, .372 SLG%, .711 OPS
  • May: 164 games played, .284 BA, .360 OBP, .417 SLG%, .777 OPS
  • June: 152 games played, .328 BA, .400 OBP, .521 SLG%, .921 OPS
  • July: 158 games played, .244 BA, .343 OBP, .359 SLG%, .720 OPS
  • August: 127 games played, .233 BA, .321 OBP, .332 SLG%, .653 OPS
  • September/October: 133 games played, .236 BA, .319 OBP, .358 SLG%, .677 OPS
Maybe Brett wears down as the season progresses. Maybe his approach at the dish approaches. Maybe even he knowingly stinks in the second-half year in and year out and it gets to his head. Whatever the case may be, he needs to figure it out for his sake and for the present and future Yankees' teams. They need him now and they'll need him two years down the line. Hopefully he rights the ship and helps the Yanks win some chips.

Article by: James Grande
Follow me on twitter: @The_Real_Grande
Follow the blog on Twitter: @BronxBomberBlog

Comments

  1. Stanley, Stan, Stacko, or StoszAugust 17, 2015 at 1:07 PM

    Since the all-star break he can't lay off the high heat--and he never catches up.

    ReplyDelete

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