New York Yankees new hitting coach Sean Casey on main issue facing his $154,696,491 offensive lineup: "I see some tension"
Sean Casey, the new hitting coach of the New York Yankees, appears to know the task that lies ahead of him in fixing the team's offensive struggles.
In an interview with New York-based television station SNY, Casey spoke of the approach he will take now that he has moved into the Yankees dugout, noting that he sees "tension" in the team's at-bats. He said:
"I have watched some film. ... I see some tension. ... You can't just, in this game, come in as an old-school guy. I will come into it with my old-school approach, but also the new-school approach of analytics."
Sean Casey says he's observed some "tension" in the Yankees' at-bats as of late: https://t.co/UfrlZVNZBl
Sean Casey will be back on the field in uniform for the first time since retiring as an MLB player in 2008 when the New York Yankees travel to Denver to face the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. He has been working as an analyst for MLB Network since his retirement.
In a statement released by the team upon his hiring on July 10, Casey said:
"I'm just really excited about having this opportunity in the second half to impact the guys in the lineup. The Yankees have a lot of professional hitters, and I'm looking forward to connecting with them and getting on the same page."
Sean Casey was a .302 lifetime hitter over 12 major league seasons. He played with current New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone with the Cincinnati Reds from 1998-2003, and said that working with Boone was a major reason in his taking the team's hitting coach position. Casey said his approach as a coach will be to identify player's particular needs:
"There's no way to cookie cut hitters, and if you start doing that, you get into trouble and underutilize strengths they may have. I'm going to get to know each player and their approach at the plate.
"One thing I will stress is controlling the zone and hunting in the zone. I want them to control their process and stick to their approach with the goal of winning every pitch. At the end of the day, we're going to focus on making sure each hitter has a process that brings out the best version of himself."
Sean Casey has a big task with the New York Yankees
Sean Casey will look to improve a New York Yankees offense that is hitting just .231 currently, 28th out of 30 MLB teams. The team has struggled mightily since losing defending American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge to a toe injury in June.