Yankees Catcher Had Brutally Honest Take on What Team Must do to Stop Struggles

The Yankees face the Rangers on Monday night after getting swept by the Marlins.
The Yankees face the Rangers on Monday night after getting swept by the Marlins. / John Jones-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees have been one of the most disappointing teams in Major League Baseball so far this season. After being swept by the Miami Marlins this past weekend they find themselves in third place in the American League East.

The Yankees are in Texas on Monday where they will start a three-game series with the Rangers, who are currently two games out of the wild-card race. The Yankees are second in that race, just 2.5 games ahead of the Rangers.

The pressure is mounting for Aaron Boone's team and while the manager has enraged fans by often repeating simple lines after losses, one player stood up and made an honest statement about what the team must do starting now if they want to turn things around and put their struggles behind them.

That player? Second-year catcher Ben Rice, who has also played first base and been used at designated hitter this season.

"I think a little sense of urgency would be good for us," Rice said after Sunday's 2-0 loss in Miami. "I think just going forward to continue to do what we can winning ball games and that’s going to be doing the little things."

The little things—including bad errors and costly mental mistakes—have hurt the Yankees a lot lately. If they don't stop doing those things, losses could be piling up.

Rice's teammates might want to listen to him, because a loss Monday night to the Rangers would only ramp up the pressure even more.


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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.