Dillon Lawson, hitting coach of the New York Yankees, poses for a photo at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, February 22, 2023. /CFP
The New York Yankees have sacked their hitting coach Dillon Lawson, the team announced on Sunday.
It happened on the day when the Yankees lost to the Chicago Cubs 7-4 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the Yankees' 42nd loss of the 101 games they have played so far this season. They are currently fourth in the American League (AL) East, above only the Boston Red Sox (48-43).
Lawson was the Yankees' minor-league hitting coordinator before he was promoted to replace Marcus Thames in 2021. However, the team has scored only 400 runs in 101 games, ranking only 18th of all 30 teams in the major league, and the fewest in the AL East. Their general on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) is .710, which ranks 21st in the MLB.
Aaron Judge is the only regular for the Yankees with an OPS of over .800. DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton are at .642 and .702, respectively. Judge suffered a torn ligament in his toe against the Los Angeles Dodgers in early June. However, even when he was still playing, the team ranked 25th in on-base percentage and 22nd in batting average.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees at bat in the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, June 3, 2023. /CFP
"It has been well documented that I have been reluctant in the past to make changes to our coaching staff in the middle of a season," the Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman said in a statement. "I am a big believer that successes and failures are collective efforts. However, I ultimately felt that a change was needed and that a new voice overseeing our hitting operations would give us the best chance to perform closer to our capabilities as we move forward into the second half of our season."
Lawson became the first coach fired by the Yankees since Cashman became their general manager in 1998. "I want [to] thank Dillon for all his efforts. He has a bright baseball mind that will continue to lead to a long and fruitful baseball career," Cashman added.
The general manager revealed that the Yankees will search for Lawson's replacement from outside. "Ultimately, it's not coming from within and obviously I want to have somebody in place by the time we open in Colorado," Cashman said.