Why is Marcus Thames Still The Yankees Hitting Coach?

As I write this, the Yankees currently sit in 3rd place in the AL East. They’re 4.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Devil Rays which is incredibly close to first place considering the Yankees have no idea how to hit baseballs anymore.

New York ranks 26th in batting average (.227), 25th in runs scored (207) and 24th in slugging percentage (.370).

With a lineup that includes a former batting champion (DJ LeMaheiu), home run champion (Aaron Judge) and NL MVP (Giancarlo Stanton), it makes zero sense for their batters to be so ice cold after two full months of baseball.

We’re not warming up. It’s the season now. It’s time to be good at our jobs.

It makes you wonder why these hitters aren’t making adjustments and why their hitting coach, Marcus Thames, still remains employed despite only two batters hitting batter than .260 (and one of those two batters is DJ LeMahieu who is batting exactly .260)

Here’s what Thames said about the Yankees hitters:

Thames says he told some of the Yankees hitters that sometimes it looks like their not having fun. Said they just need to go and play.

— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) June 1, 2021

Ohhhhhh, that’s the problem.

Not the fact that their hitting approach is absolute dogshit. That they are always swinging for the fences and don’t change their swings when there are 2 strikes or when there are runners in scoring position.

Interesting note. It’s the lack of ‘fun’. Got it.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised the team can’t hit when their hitting coach has a career .246 batting average during his playing days. Marcus Thames didn’t even have a great approach when he was playing so I’m not certain what he could possibly be teaching these current Yankees.

When players underperform, the fault typically falls on the coach’s shoulders. So when can we blame Marcus Thames—and Aaron Boone—for this team’s lack of development?

I know Brian Cashman is often under the microscope from Yankees fans but he’s provided this coaching staff with some of the best young talent available. When do we talk about their organization’s inability to cultivate and groom talent?

Gary Sanchez was called up in 2016 and hit 20 homers in 53 games. You’d think he would’ve improved every year but he’s gotten worse every single season. Professional athletes don’t typically peak at 23 years old.

Miguel Andujar was called up in 2018 and led the team in batting average his rookie season. He hasn’t been able to crack the batting lineup since.

DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton are worse hitters in New York than they were with their previous teams.

I don’t even understand what the fuck is happening with Gleyber Torres who was projected to be a 40+ home run hitter who now has 2 homers in 46 games this year. He’s playing like an infielder from the early 2000’s. Young Miguel Cairo out there.

There is no downside to firing Marcus Thames and getting fresh eyes on the Yankees hitters. Jay Bruce was so terrible that he RETIRED. I cannot stress this enough. The Yankees stink.

Fire everyone, actually.

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