BALTIMORE — This latest pinstriped revelation did not arrive primarily via analytics, nor by the Yankees’ ability to solve some Sphinx-like riddle and procure some secret sauce.
No, if you ask Mike Tauchman and the people around the Yankees about how he became such a crucial member of this team so quickly, after arriving as a late-March Band-Aid, you’ll find this to be more of an old-school inspiration.
Tauchman, the 28-year-old outfielder who had done virtually nothing at the major league level before this season, has surged offensively, while maintaining his value defensively, thanks to old, yet cherished, devices like maturity and work ethic.