It feels like the New York Yankees have struggled massively with offensive consistency this season. They’ve ranged from the middle-of-the-pack to downright awful in most team statistical categories. Without superstar slugger Aaron Judge to anchor the lineup, it’s been difficult for the Yanks to find any kind of rhythm at the plate. In spite of that, New York holds onto the second Wild Card spot in the American League. They’re eight games ahead of the final Wild Card spot and have, more or less, locked up their spot in the postseason (barring a catastrophic collapse). The club also sits just five games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
The Strangeness of the Playoffs
So why the hype around the Yankees and their chances of returning to the Fall Classic for the first time since 2024? It’s no secret that the postseason is a bit of a crapshoot. The playoffs invite a bit of chaos into the process, with both luck and skill determining which of the 12 teams win out in the end. It’s a tough environment to have success in, and even harder to win consistently for a full month against the best of the best. That problem has kept teams that were juggernauts in the regular season from making it to the World Series. For example, the 2025 Milwaukee Brewers were the best team in baseball, without a doubt. The club won 97 games but was swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.
That causes many fans and executives alike to worry about their team’s chances in the playoffs. The odds game that clubs play during the regular season doesn’t work as well in the postseason. That’s mostly due to the smaller sample size in the postseason. If a team is lucky, they’ll be measured by as many as 22 games. But a team could also be measured by just two. Neither is a large enough sample to make anything meaningful of the data. That’s why teams use analytics that play out over a 162-game season. But those analytics, unfortunately, fall short when attempting to evaluate the playoffs.
Yankees Have Ace Up Their Sleeve
Despite their inconsistencies, the Yankees’ offense has managed to live up to their nickname. Entering play on Wednesday, the Bronx Bombers have sent a whopping 192 balls out of the park. That number ranks New York third in the majors, behind only the Chicago Cubs (196) and the Washington Nationals (193). They lead the American League in home runs, but have had significant problems with contact hitting. New York is 28th in team batting average (.233), ahead of the Seattle Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds, who are tied for last place (.228).
A Surprising Metric With the Yankees’ Offense
So why would the Yanks have an edge in the playoffs over other teams? It’s not New York’s ability to hit long balls. Home runs are valuable, but they’re a dime a dozen and don’t often play well in the shortened postseason. Instead, the Yankees’ primary value lies in their ability to win close games late. That is a seemingly intangible quality that has been made much more tangible by the Yanks’ performance this season. Out of 69 games categorized as late/close this season, the Yankees’ offense has produced 23 home runs (second in MLB), 87 RBIs (second) and 68 walks (seventh).
But it’s more than that. Those raw numbers have translated into the four major statistical categories used to measure teams (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS). Of those four, the Yankees are first in all of them. The club owns a team batting average of .280, a .372 on-base percentage, a .474 slugging percentage and an OPS of .846 in late/close games. That is real production over a sample size large enough to trust the analytics behind it. Those 69 late/close games rank sixth in all of MLB, with New York’s superior starting rotation often keeping them in games.
Setting Up for a Deep Playoff Run
That consistent ability to come through late in games gives the Yankees a major edge against the competition. Of the other 11 teams currently in the postseason entering play on Wednesday, only the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Brewers rank higher than New York in any of the aforementioned statistical categories. The Braves are first in homers (24) and the Padres are first in RBIs (87). The rest of the teams only rank higher than the Yankees in walks with 80 (Cubs) and 69 (White Sox and Brewers). That said, no team has beaten out the Yanks in any of the major analytic categories (BA, OBP, SLG, OPS). That alone shows that New York is more than capable of making a deep playoff run versus the other American League contenders.
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