Yankees Facing Unprecedented Coaching Decision After Latest Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
You’ve almost certainly heard that cliché about three things being true, two of which are death and taxes.
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Besides high payrolls and early playoff exits, there’s another truth about the New York Yankees: they don’t make midseason coaching changes, at least not in the Brian Cashman era.
In fact, the Yankees never changed their coaching staff during the season from 1998 through 2022. Then came 2023, when the Yankees fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson amid a disappointing 82-80 campaign.
If the Yankees’ recent offensive skid continues, the club may need to make a similar decision regarding hitting coach James Rowson.
New York Yankees hitting coach James RowsonJohn Meore/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK
In fairness to Rowson, he doesn’t deserve the full blame for the Yankees’ 10-11 June. However, the Yankees’ June .719 OPS is considerably down from May’s .792, and their .319 on-base percentage is disappointing, especially given the marquee names in their lineup.
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Those poor stretches are usually what cost assistant coaches their jobs, though. Think about how many NFL teams dismiss a coordinator amid a four or five-game slump. MLB clubs often shake up their coaching staff, even if it’s only replacing a base coach.
Sometimes, those changes work. Other times, it means nothing.
The Yankees need to decide if such a move would get the club back on track. It’s telling that Joe Torre and Joe Girardi never replaced a coach during the season, and Boone waited until his sixth year to do so.
However, both managers had championships under their belt. Boone only has a single pennant in eight seasons, and the Yankees’ AL East lead is down to one game. Who knows if it’d even be his decision to revamp his staff?
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.