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Didi Gregorius is finally getting the Yankee Stadium boost

Whenever the New York Yankees acquire a left-handed hitter, there is always hope that Yankee Stadium will be good to them.

With comical right-field dimensions that warmly invite even modest fly balls into the crowd, most assume new Yankees can count on a few more round trippers than they’re accustomed to.

This line of thinking has only really been applied to power hitters, and as a result not much thought was put into what the Yankee Stadium boost could do for a glove-first shortstop like Didi Gregorius.

Last season, it appeared it would do absolutely nothing. Gregorius hit .225/.283/.341 in the Bronx, prompting Jake Devin of Pinstripe Alley to pen this piece wondering why he’d struggled there.

Coming into 2016, it would have been reasonable to assume that while left-handed, Gregorius just didn’t have enough power to take advantage of his home park in a meaningful way.

Unfortunately for those who love baseball for the way it conforms to reason and can be predicted with ease, the 26-year-old is making things happen at Yankee Stadium this year hitting .308/.340/.517 with six of his eight home runs.

Last week against the Rangers he hit home runs on consecutive days the would never find the seats on the road.

On Wednesday his walk-off shot landed here:

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On Thursday he golfed one to a similar spot:

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Looking at the six home runs he’s hit at home this season, they are all almost dead pulled and not one of them traveled farther than 383 feet.

Didi Gregorius (1)

Not only is the Yankees shortstop starting to get some signature short-porch shots, his approach at home indicates there may be some intent there.

Compared to his numbers on the road, Gregorius is pulling more balls and putting more balls in the air at Yankee Stadium.

Split Ground Ball Rate Fly Ball Rate Pull Rate
Home 40.8% 37.6% 40.3%
Road 50.5% 31.2% 35.4%

Even with a slightly different approach, Gregorius isn’t going to turn into a massive power threat at home. His pull rate of 40.3% at Yankee Stadium is hardly Jose Bautista-esque. So far, we are talking about six home runs.

Considering what he can bring to the table defensively though, a handful more home runs makes a big difference. Gregorius has already matched the career high he set last year and his overall offensive production is above league-average for the first time.

If his fielding metrics met 2015’s lofty standards he would have the overall value numbers to be seen as a breakout star in sabermetric circles. Guys who play good defense at shortstop while putting up respectable offensive numbers are mighty valuable.

Alas he hasn’t been as good with the glove in 2016, so we are left to appreciate his mini power boost in isolation. It’s still an impressive one even if Yankee Stadium is playing a nice supporting role.

By using his home park to his advantage Gregorius is playing the cards dealt to him, and unlike last year, playing them well.

As the saying goes, it’s a bad handyman who blames his (presumably bad) tools. The other side of that coin is we can’t fault a handyman for having good tools. It’s never really about the tools, it’s about the guy wielding them.

Through exclusively dumb luck, Gregorius was born a left-handed hitter and he gets to play 81 games at Yankee Stadium. In his second season with the Bronx Bombers he’s finally making those two things work together.

Photo: Jake Roth/USATSI

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