New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone defended Trent Grisham one day after the centerfielder failed to charge a base hit that landed in front of him, allowing the runner to take second base.
“It’s a bad look,” Boone told reporters on Friday, July 5. “But at the same time, one of the reasons he’s a Gold Glove center fielder is because of his heartbeat, the reads, the jumps, the ease with which he plays the position, so you don’t want to lose that in there. But with that just be mindful of certain routine things.”
The play happened in the 9th inning of the Yankees’ 8-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, resulting in a series sweep and New York’s 13th loss in 17 games.
Jeimer Candelario hit a soft line drive back up the middle, landing in front of Grisham. Rather than charging the ball, Grisham let it bounce and eventually roll to his glove. When the ball bounced off his glove, Grisham bobbled and Candelario took off for second. Grisham’s throw came in way too late.
“If Grish makes a mistake in the field or if Gleyber [Torres] makes a mistake in the field, the way they play the game it’s not going to have a good look to it,” Boone continued. “It’s not going to look like you and me playing softball where we’re going to take it off the chest and off the chin, but we suck.”
Aaron Boone: Grisham’s Play ‘Gets Magnified’ as the Yankees Keep Losing
If the play happened in the ninth inning of the Yankees’ 13th win in 17 tries, it would not have become a multi-day story. But that’s not the case. The Yankees have gone from the best team in baseball on June 15 to having the worst record since then. Not coincidentally, they had the best team ERA in baseball at the time, and since then, they have the worst.
Yankees on the morning of June 15:
50-22, best record in @MLB
2.88, best ERA in Majors
Since then:
4-13, worst record in Majors
6.69 ERA, worst ERA in Majors
Things aren’t going well in New York, and Yankees fans aren’t known for their patience. Boone knows that. He’s in his seventh season as Yankees manager and he’s heard it all in that time. He did his best to put Grisham’s play into context.
“Believe me, that lackadaisical look sometimes is what makes Trent Grisham a Gold Glove center fielder. He plays the game with an ease and a flow,” Boone said. “Now catch the ball. We don’t want that guy on second. And it gets magnified a little bit when we’re going through a spell like this.”
He’s right about that last part. It also means his comments will be magnified. Fans have already begun criticizing the Yankees manager, who they weren’t exactly enamored with to start.
Trent Grisham Isn’t Hitting, Either
This also wouldn’t be as big a deal if Grisham was producing at the plate. Unfortunately for him, that’s not the case — and it hasn’t been for several years.
After hitting a combined .191 with a .647 OPS in his final two seasons with the San Diego Padres, Grisham came to New York in the trade that landed Juan Soto with the Bombers. This season has been worse. In 42 games heading into play on July 5, Grisham is batting just .165. His line drive percentage is down to 6.1% from 21.9% last year, according to FanGraphs, and his strikeout percentage has ticked up 5 points as well to 32.4%.
With Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton on the Injured List, Grisham is getting at bats. The consistent appearances have helped slightly, as he’s hitting .286 with half his hits going for extra bases since June 18.
It’s not exactly lighting the world on fire, and it’s certainly not enough if you’re not going to charge a ball hit in front of you.
