Pinstripe Preview: Brett Gardner
Looking back to 2010, when Gardner first became a regular in
the outfield, he has been the epitome of solid. Nothing great, but just someone
the Yankees can depend on as a good top of the lineup hitter, with a solid amount of
walks, a good on base percentage, and an occasional bit of power. In the last four seasons, he is averaging 148 games played, a .262 average, a .341 on base
percentage, and 62 walks, along with about 20 steals per season. For a leadoff
hitter, what more could you ask for? Gardner consistently gets on base, and
gives the Yankees what they need in order to win games.
Last season was a weird year for Gardner. He was essentially the
exact same player he was in 2014 and 2015, except the power he had shown in
those two seasons (17 homers in ’14, 16 in ’15) all went away. Gardy hit just seven homers in 2016, but the rest of his numbers were right on par with his career
statistics. His slash line in 2016, .261/.351/.362, matched up pretty well with
his career line of .264/.346/.388. What made this season standout for Gardner
was the fact that he won his first career Gold Glove, and it was rightfully
earned. He’s the type of player that is not going to wow you with anything, but
he does pretty much everything right, and occasionally will pull off a game saving
catch like this one against the Blue Jays on September 6:
That game in general was probably one of the best of the
entire season, but that catch was the cherry on top. Overall though, Gardner’s
2016 season went right along with his other seasons; just a good, solid season.
Not too great, but not too bad.
2017 Outlook
In 2017, we will probably see more of the same from Gardner.
Joe Girardi has hinted that the Yankees want to break up the duo of Gardy and
Jacoby Ellsbury at the top of the lineup, and I am perfectly okay with this as
long as Ellsbury is moved down in the lineup. Gardner should remain the team’s
leadoff hitter, since he is the better player between the two of them. There’s
a reason that Ellsbury and Gardner were flipped in the lineup around halfway
through last season. However, 2017 will be Gardner’s age 34 season. It’s hard
to believe that he is one of the oldest players on the Yankees now, but those
are the facts. If he was to decline a little, that wouldn’t be surprising. My
guess is that decline has already begun, which is why his power was so low last
year. He also might lose some playing time if younger players like Clint Frazier,
Aaron Hicks, and Tyler Austin all force their way into the lineup, which could
be a plus for him. Gardner could use the rest. In general though, Gardner
should continue to be a solid contributor for the Yankees in 2017.
Article
by: Alex Weir
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