Yankees Expecting to 'Crush' Team Home Run Record They Set Last Season
The Bronx Bombers are ready to re-create history in 2019.
Last season, the Yankees set the MLB record for team home runs in a season with 267 jacks. They broke the record set by the 1997 Mariners, who mashed 264.
But after outfielders Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge each hit two homers in Sunday's spring training game against the Tigers, the duo was talking about how this year's team can improve upon last year's success with the long ball.
"You get this whole team healthy, we're going to crush the record that we set last year," Judge said. "We've got a good team, a lot of guys that could make a lot of solid contact, and a lot of big boys that when they make contact, man, it goes. We're a team that's primed and ready to do that."
Last season, Judge, catcher Gary Sanchez and first baseman Greg Bird all missed serious time due to injuries. Judge saw his home run total drop from 52 in his rookie season to 27 last year while Sanchez's home runs dropped from 33 in 2017 to 18. Bird matched his career-high with 11 homers, but he needed 36 more games than in 2015 when he set that mark.
And let's not forget Giancarlo Stanton, who had an underwhelming first year in the Bronx after the Yankees acquired him from the Marlins before the 2018 campaign. The 38 homers Stanton hit last season would qualify as a career year for most, but considering he launched 59 dingers in the pitcher-friendly Marlins Park when he won the 2017 NL MVP, it's safe to assume Stanton could approach 60 bombs again in Yankee Stadium this year.
Gardner's numbers also dipped to 12 from 21 the year before. Yet, he thinks this team should break the record assuming all they key pieces stay on the diamond.
"So far in camp, everybody's healthy, everybody's hungry and working hard," Gardner said. "Yeah, I expect us to have a better year, collectively, and not just me, or Giancarlo [Stanton] or Bird or whoever. But collectively as a unit, I expect us to be a better offense and score more runs."
Last season, the Yankees went 100-62 while hitting all those homers, but they were eliminated by the rival Red Sox in the ALDS.
