Yankees: Anthony Rizzo’s ‘Babe Ruth game’ by the numbers
By Mark Powell
New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo hit three home runs on Tuesday night, but that doesn’t tell the entire story.
Rizzo is now in the same conversation as The Great Bambino, and not because Ruth wore the same uniform.
Against the Orioles on Tuesday, Rizzo hit three home runs, becoming the second-oldest Yankees to do so. The oldest? Oh that would be Ruth, who did so at 35. Rizzo is just 32 years old.
At 32 years and 261 days old, Anthony Rizzo is the second-oldest player in @Yankees history at the time of his first career 3-HR game in the regular season.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 27, 2022
The only older one was Babe Ruth, who had his first on May 21, 1930, at 35 years and 104 days old.
What’s more impressive? Rizzo was feeling himself so much that he made adjustments without any help from a hitting instructor in the middle of an at-bat. In this excellent analysis by Jomboy Media, Rizzo takes the O’s pitcher to a full count, only to make a quick change to his stance at 3-2. In doing so, he moved up half a foot as he expected a changeup on the inside part of the plate.
Rizzo was correct in that assumption.
Rizzo makes a mid-at-bat adjustment and it pays off, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/rSwJQXyQHe
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) April 27, 2022
When he got to the bench, he let his teammates know. It’s also important to note that wouldn’t have been a home run in any other MLB park. Thank you, short porch.
Yankees: Anthony Rizzo isn’t a bad third option
Rizzo was definitely aided by Yankee Stadium in his three home run game, as the average homer distance was just 350 feet. Per Sarah Langs, that’s the first time that has happened.
Anthony Rizzo has hit 3 HR tonight with an avg dist of 350 feet
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 27, 2022
That's the shortest avg HR distance in a 3+ HR game tracked by Statcast (since 2015)
Three home runs in a single home remains an impressive accomplishment, even if it takes place in a little league park. Rizzo knows his friendly confines, and used them to his advantage, finding the short porch.
New York preferred the likes of Matt Olson or Freddie Freeman this offseason, but re-signing Rizzo at a cheaper rate ended up being the right decision. He’s been excellent so far this season, slashing .283/.411/.733 through 17 games.
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