Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner Calls 2023 ‘an Embarrassment,’ Says NY Has New ‘Mindset’

Julia StumbaughFebruary 22, 2024

Dustin Satloff/Getty Images

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner says he was embarrassed to watch his team miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016 last season.

“Last year was an embarrassment. We’re all embarrassed,” Steinbrenner told reporters Thursday, per Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record.

The team has a “different mindset” heading into Spring Training after last year’s 82-80 record, Steinbrenner said.

“They feel like they have something to prove to the fans,” Steinbrenner said.

Steinbrenner wasn’t the only one unhappy with the results of Yankees’ 2023 campaign. Outfielder Aaron Judge said Tuesday that a “lot of guys were embarrassed” by the team’s postseason miss, per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.

“Kind of a wake-up call, and I think just collectively as a group we all kind of looked at each other and said this can’t happen again,” Judge said.

The Yankees made several moves this offseason, including adding three-time All-Star Juan Soto, in a bid to climb back to the top of the AL East in 2024.

The team also signed starting pitcher Marcus Stroman and is hoping to receive more additions in the form of bounce-back campaigns from players who struggled in 2023.

Those include injured pitchers Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes, as well as Anthony Rizzo, who dealt with the worst slump of his career before being diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, and Giancarlo Stanton, who slashed a career-worst 191/.275/.420.

One injury concern still lingering heading into 2024 involves Judge, who said the big toe injury that caused him to miss 42 games last season will require “constant maintenance… for the rest of my career,” per Blum.

Despite lingering concerns over Judge’s injury and the Yankees’ inability to add more to the top of the rotation despite offering a $300 million deal to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, those changes are enough to expect a better record in the Bronx in 2024.

Despite earning just 82 wins and joining the Boston Red Sox as the only AL East team to miss the playoffs in 2023, the Yankees are currently the consensus betting favorite to win the division title in 2024.