The New York Yankees announced following Sunday’s first half-ending loss to the Cubs that they have fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson.
Lawson is the first coach of any kind to be fired during the season in the Cashman era.
“It has been well documented that I have been reluctant in the past to make changes to our coaching staff in the middle of a season,” GM Brian Cashman said in a team statement released shortly after Sunday’s loss. “I am a big believer that successes and failures are collective efforts. However, I ultimately felt that a change was needed and that a new voice overseeing our hitting operations would give us the best chance to perform closer to our capabilities as we move forward into the second half of our season. I want thank Dillon for all his efforts. He has a bright baseball mind that will continue to lead to a long and fruitful baseball career.”
The Yankees will not name a replacement immediately, although Cashman told the media during an evening conference call that the two assistant hitting coaches, Casey Dykes and Brad Wilkerson, will remain with the organization, and he hopes to have a replacement named by the time the Yankees begin second-half play Friday in Colorado.
Lawson, 38, was in his fifth year in the organization and second as the MLB hitting coach. He was the Yankees’ minor-league hitting coordinator from 2019-21, and prior to that, he served as a hitting coach in the Astros’ system as well as at the University of Missouri, and had nine years of experience as an assistant at various other schools beginning in 2007.
Lawson oversaw the 2022 team that averaged 4.98 runs per game, but has also overseen a huge regression in 2023; the team entered Sunday tied for 28th in MLB in average, (.231, tied with Detroit and ahead of only Oakland at .221), tied for 26th in OBP, 21st in OPS (despite being 13th in slugging), 19th in runs, 29th in hits, and dead last in BABIP, despite being fifth in at-bats per home run.
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