Brett Gardner Curse Shows Its Face Again As Yankees' Left Field Struggles Continue

The New York Yankees have a left field problem, but that's nothing new. The organization has struggled to find a reliable left fielder for the past three years. There’s been a long string of baffling defensive mistakes, poor offense, and being played out of position since 2022.

Brett Gardner played his entire career for the Yankees from 2008 to 2021. For fourteen seasons, Gardner was a mainstay in the outfield. The majority of Gardner’s career was spent in left field, although he played a significant amount of center field, as well. Gardner played 8,287.2 innings in left field with the Yankees. 

Post-Gardner era, the Yankees haven't been able to fill the hole he left behind. Fans were reminded of this with Jasson Dominguez’s miscues in the outfield against the Baltimore Orioles in the final week of the 2024 regular season.

Yankees’ Left Field Has Never Been the Same Since Gardner

While Gardner was never the superstar of the team, the underdog worked hard and contributed, quietly becoming a fan favorite. Gardner was not known for power or his arm but was known for his defense, speed, and plate discipline. The lefty’s availability was an asset, as he was rarely injured. Gardner turned down a contract option for the 2022 season but wanted to make a deal to return to the Yankees in free agency. The call never came, and Gardner didn’t want to play anywhere else, so he retired.

Gardner was clear that after his playing career, he wanted a private life out of the spotlight with his family, but when he opted not to return for 2024 Old Timers’ Day to be honored with the 2009 team, speculation went around that Gardner wasn’t exactly thrilled with how things ended with the Yankees. It was reported that he was attending his son's football game that weekend, but we also learned he doesn’t keep in touch with the organization. Fans have clamored for a Gardner sighting, even if just to appease the curse that has befallen Yankees left fielders ever since Gardner's career ended without a proper send-off. 

Since 2022, left field has been a problem for the Yankees. No one needs to be reminded of the disaster that was Joey Gallo’s offense while with the Yankees. Poor guy can’t show his face in New York anymore. Then there was Aaron Hicks’ stint in left after being relegated from center. A once-solid defensive player couldn’t catch a routine fly ball and eventually just looked defeated. Offensively, he batted .188 in his final 28 games with the Yakees.

The team has lacked a true starting left fielder since Gardner. There have been many other players who have rotated through left field since Gardy, many of whom are infielders or utility players. Miguel Andujar, Marwin Gonzalez, Willie Calhoun, Tim Locastro, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Everson Pereira and Oswaldo Cabrera have all been part of the revolving door.

In 2024, the Yankees thought they solved the left field woes that plagued them throughout 2022 and 2023 by acquiring Alex Verdugo. While Verdugo’s fielding panned out, his bat didn’t. His 83 WRC+ is the second-worst among starting left fielders in MLB. Verdugo became a liability at the plate.

Jasson Dominguez is a huge star in the making, but he's raised some eyebrows in the past week for his defense. Dominguez is a center fielder, but Aaron Judge is playing center field for the Yankees since Juan Soto is playing right field. Dominguez’s offense is needed in the lineup, so he’s finally playing over Verdugo. Problem is, the Yankees waited too long to call him up, and he now doesn’t have time to sort out the defense in left. The postseason is not the time to figure it out.

Dominguez’s defensive mistake in the first inning against the Orioles on Sept. 25 was his third within a week with two others happening against the Seattle Mariners, although one of those was in center field. We knew Dominguez was more known for his bat than his glove, but we didn’t expect this. Dominguez's mistake prompted Jomboy to put together a reel of defensive mistakes in left field post-Gardy.

Now, the Yankees must decide what to do for the playoffs. Verdugo’s fielding is needed, and Dominguez’s bat is needed. Is it possible to combine the two into one person? The left field curse is at it again, with the Yankees not having the best answer to this dilemma.

When will the left field curse expire? It’s been three years. If the Yankees are looking for an idea, perhaps the baseball gods would accept a Brett Gardner bobblehead night in 2025 as a peace offering.

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