New York Yankees fans decry Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks in critical spots as team unveils new batting lineup
New York Yankees fans are notorious for being critical of their "beloved" baseball club. Justin Verlander's wife Kate Upton even cited the denunciatory nature of the club's fans as the main reason why her 2022 Cy Young Award-winning husband did not sign with them this past offseason.
The wrath of New York Yankees fans was on full display recently when their team shared the upcoming lineup for a preseason game against the Washington Nationals on March 1st.
Fans were all too quick to pile on complaints and suggestions for manager Aaron Boone. The lineup features most of the Yankees' big names, who are expected to take the field on Opening Day.
New Month, New Lineup 👊 https://t.co/rrol1hoA17
"New Month, New Lineup" - @ New York Yankees
The New York Yankees dropped last night's contest against the Tampa Bay Rays by an embarrassing 12-0 margin. Most of the big players were notably absent, giving way to a slew of prospects eager for MLB exposure.
Among the players in the lineup getting the most flak from the Yankees faithful was Josh Donaldson. Donaldson, who won the 2015 AL MVP Award, came to the Yankees last season in a trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Originally, Donaldson's acquisition was welcomed by New York Yankees fans. The 36-year old even hit a walk-off single to lift his team over the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day. But as the season went on, Donaldson began to struggle and was not even hitting his weight by July. The third baseman finished the season with 15 home runs, 62 RBIs and a .222 batting average, making for the worst offensive stats of any full season of his career.
@Yankees I see Boone hasn’t learned from the small sample size of 162+ games that Donaldson at the 5 spot doesn’t work
JOSH DONALDSON STINKS!
@Supreme_Nalgas @Yankees Listen I know it’s spring training but Donaldson anywhere in the lineup is not good.
@navitistrong @Yankees Donaldson, Hicks and IKF were the reasons our offense struggled. We can't lean on Judge to carry an offense.
Fans took issue with the fact that Donaldson was penciled in to hit the number 5 start, with bigger bats like Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo appearing earlier in the order.
Aim was also taken at outfielder Aaron Hicks. Hicks' future in the Yankees outfield was thrown into question when the team acquired Harrison Bader from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline. The Bronxville, New York native hit 2 home runs in 4 games during the 2022 ALCS, while Hicks did not even appear in the series.
@Yankees If hicks is in the opening day lineup I’ll cry
@Yankees Why do we still have Aaron Hicks
@Yankees We don’t wanna see Hicks in Left and we also don’t wanna see IKF at SS
Isiah Kiner Falefa, who came to the Yankees in the Donaldson trade, is also facing some backlash. Many fans were unimpressed with his 2022 campaign and largely favor young infielders like Oswaldo Peraza and 2019 first overall pick Anthony Volpe in his place.
@Yankees Please please please have Pereza or Volpe at SS on opening day
@Yankees Why are volpe peraza dominguez all on the bench?????
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone doesn't need any advice
There are many reasons why the New York Yankees won 99 games and hit more home runs than any other team, but manager Aaron Boone is one of them. Boone, a former player, knows the game better than most and is likely to only be experimenting with different lineups. When the games begin to matter, he will know what to do.