DJ LeMahieu went from most hated to most important for Yankees

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Remember the “Saturday Night Live” sketch when legendary quarterback Joe Montana plays Phil Hartman’s ultra-sincere roomate, Stu?

Stu says to Hartman and his date, Jan Hooks, “I hope I’m not disturbing you,” and then, in a voiceover, he thinks, “I hope I’m not disturbing them.” He keeps it very simple.

DJ LeMahieu is the 2019 Yankees’ version of Stu.

Allow the rest of us to declare vindication for the Yankees and LeMahieu, whose marriage — rather controversial upon its announcement, you might recall — has been completely vindicated so far. The soft-spoken LeMahieu, one of the Yankees’ most valuable players and one of the few to not spend time on the injured list, doesn’t waste his time on such sentiments.

“I don’t know. This is the place I wanted to be,” LeMahieu said Friday, before the Yankees opened a big series against the Rays at Tropicana Field, when asked if he felt vindicated. “Free agency’s a little different now than in the past, so I kind of expected that going in. This is the place I wanted to be, so I was just happy about that.”

Despite being one of the industry’s best defensive second basemen, with three Gold Glove Awards in the five prior seasons, LeMahieu signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the Yankees in January based on the premise he would bounce around the infield. Because the transaction essentially ended the possibility the Yankees would sign Manny Machado, it sparked outrage among a significant contingent of the team’s fans.

LeMahieu entered Friday’s action with a .344/.399/.451 slash line in 138 plate appearances, fourth-most on the club; playing time has not been an issue thanks to the slew of sidelined teammates. He has played primarily at the keystone, his most familiar position, since his old Rockies teammate Troy Tulowitzki predictably went down, compelling last year’s main second baseman Gleyber Torres to pivot to shortstop, and LeMahieu’s overall strong defense gave him 1.1 wins above replacement (as per Baseball-Reference.com) through Thursday’s action. Machado had compiled a virtually identical 1.2 WAR with the Padres at the same juncture.

“I’ve always kind of admired his game,” manager Aaron Boone said. “One of those pro’s pros. Really good defensively. Runs the bases well. Tough out at the plate. He’s just a really solid player. I felt like we knew we were getting that when we were able to get him this winter, and he’s more than delivered.”

Among LeMahieu’s highlights are strong performances in two split categories, one of which has plagued the Yankees historically and the other LeMahieu himself. The former is the insanely good .517/.528/.552 slash line with runners in scoring position he took into Friday’s game. He’s one of many players who are excelling here, giving the Yankees a .273/.359/.430 mark after going .253/.342/.442 last year.

“When you spray the ball around, it usually gives you a chance to have success in those situations where guys are really a little more locked in on trying to execute a pitch,” said Boone, who conceded that players’ performance in clutch situations usually wind up being similar to their numbers without runners in scoring position.

“He can handle a lot of different pitches within the strike zone and that, coupled with hitting to all fields, usually ups your chances.”

The latter is LeMahieu’s output on the road. Like many Rockies players, LeMahieu put up notable home-road splits, performing far better at Coors Field; last year he posted an OPS of .793 at home and .698 on the road. This season, he stood at .858 at home and .834 on the road, a huge upgrade over his career road OPS of .678.

“When I played with the Rockies, I didn’t want to think about Coors Field,” LeMahieu said. “I guess as this season goes on, maybe I’ll be able to tell a little more of a difference. But for me, I’m just trying to take the same at-bats no matter where I’m at, and hopefully get the results as well.”

He doesn’t overthink or overtalk it. He is giving the rest of us, however, plenty to contemplate and discuss.

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