New York Yankees: How a playoff bubble could tank World Series hopes

Here’s why the New York Yankees will not be a factor in a playoff bubble.

For the New York Yankees, a couple of mid-season adjustments to the 2020 Postseason could play a major factor in the team failing to obtain their 28th World Title. The most important of these factors is the institution of a playoff bubble, which essentially renders the entire postseason a slate of away games for every team.

To start the season, the Yankees boasted a 16-6 record, the best in all of baseball. At the time, everyone expected the dominance to continue. Nobody seemed to have noticed that during that 22 game stretch, the team’s splits might have foretold the team’s ultimate destiny.

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You see, during that stretch, the Yankees featured an impressive 10-0 home record and a mediocre 6-6 away record. It was really a tale of two teams: one that is unbeatable in their own stadium and totally weak when visiting other teams.

Looking at the bigger picture, statistically, the numbers tell a much bleaker story. Here are three reasons why:

First, with four games left in the regular season, the Yankees currently have a 21-7 (.750 W-L%) home record. Aside from the Minnesota Twins, this is the 2nd best home record of any team in the postseason picture.

In away games, however, the Yankees are 11-17 (.393 W-L%). That’s the third-worst away record of any playoff-bound team. The Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants are the only other two teams with worse away records currently holding a playoff seed.

Secondly, at home, the New York Yankees are a run-scoring machine. In fact, when calculating each playoff team’s home run-differential (Rdiff), the Yanks rank first with a +65 Rdiff.

Conversely, in away games, this team presents as anemic and soft. Compared to the rest of the teams currently qualified to make the postseason, the Yankees have the third-worst away Rdiff (-18). As a matter of fact,  the Yanks have scored the fourth-fewest runs 124) of all playoff-contending teams.

Finally, the bread and butter of the Yankees is power hitting. This season, the team is tied for third with 91 HR and fifth with a .796 OPS. However, when looking at the splits, again you see a glaring change.

At home, the Yankees actually have the most HR (64) of any team in MLB and the best OPS (.925) in baseball. In away games, the team ranks 27th with 27 HR and 24th with a .672 OPS.