Baseball scouts often say that teams win when they are built “up the middle.” The importance of having stability at the positions in the middle of the diamond, where the most on-field action happens, cannot be overstated. Just ask the dynasty-era Yankees, who trotted out a core of Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams up the middle of the field.
The 2021 Yankees are a far cry from those days. In fact, the Yankees’ most stable positions are on the corners – the future of the Yankees’ up-the-middle core is up in the air. Questions dog Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks, and they’re a big part of why the Yankees haven’t gotten where they need to be.