One of the wildest comments during these MLB playoffs came from retired and non-retired WFAN broadcaster John Sterling. Sterling, who returned to a play-by-play role on Yankees’ WFAN for the postseason after abruptly retiring in April after the season started, had quite a line-up for Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday.
It happened after Anthony Rizzo was ejected at the end of the inning by the Cleveland Guardians for giving away too much of a lead, prompting Sterling to say the Yankees were “running the bases like drunks.” It’s arrived.
That’s what they’re doing – running the base like drunks! pic.twitter.com/YTaL72aZSK
— John Sterling Calls (@JSterlingCalls) October 16, 2024
At first glance, “all they do is run the bases like drunkards” seems pretty harsh. But as MLB.com’s Brian Hock relayed on Saturday, MLB Network research suggests the Yankees are the worst base running team in MLB this year.
The research team @MLB Network We investigated whether the Yankees were really “running the bases like drunks,” as John Sterling said.
Minimum Base Runs – 2024 Regular Season
Yankees -16.9
Angels -14.2
Astros -12.7
Blue Jays -12.7
Twins -11.0
*0 is MLB…
— Brian Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) October 18, 2024
“Like a drunk” is still not necessarily accurate. There are currently no reports of fried chicken and beer in the clubhouse for the 2024 Yankees, and it’s unclear whether alcohol actually worsens base running. But Sterling’s seemingly outlandish and cringe-worthy comments about his personal observations (and after a brief retirement, in a season in which he didn’t call up most of the regular season) actually have data to back him up. It’s interesting to be there. .
Either way, the Yankees ran the bases “like drunks” as they won Game 2 6-3 and were up 3-1 in the series heading into Saturday night’s Game 5. So far, this has not determined their fate.
(Brian Hock of X)
