Hal Steinbrenner told the Associated Press on Thursday that the team is considering hiring an outside entity to look at the organization’s use of analytics and overall baseball operations as a disastrous season heads down the home stretch.
“We’re going to take a very deep dive into everything we’re doing,” Steinbrenner told the AP. “We’re looking to bring in possibly an outside company to really take a look at the analytics side of what we do. Baseball operations in general. We’re going to have some very frank conversions with each other. This year was obviously unacceptable.”
Such a tactic has been used in sports before, with the Knicks and Astros both being among notable teams to hire the consulting company McKinsey. James Dolan hired the company after a 54-win season in 2013, and some members of the organization noted a change in vibe around the team with outside consultants hanging around day to day, typing away at their laptops during team functions.
McKinsey & Company was brought in by the Astros in 2017.
The Yankees’ use of analytics has often been criticized, especially in recent years, as the team has shifted from a righty-heavy lineup in a lefty-friendly Yankee Stadium to a lineup that relies on aging, oft-injured veterans to do the heavy lifting. It appears Steinbrenner wants an outside eye to take a look at what the organization can do better after a season that appears to be headed for a finish not seen in over 30 years.