Why are Rays so much better than Mets and Yankees? Response to SNY Article

This article is in response to an article titled “Mailbag: Without star-filled roster, why are the Rays so much better than Mets and Yankees?” by Andy Martino. The original article can be found here.

In the article, SNY’s Andy Martino responds to the following question posed by @SamStephenson12:

No position player on the Rays would start for either Mets or Yankees (with possible exception of Wander Franco). Then why are the Rays so much better?

@SamStephenson12, originally submitted to SNY & Andy Martino

And the (abridged) answer provided:

That person’s [a high-ranking executive from one of the New York teams] answer cut right to the heart of the matter: “They have no choice but to do the right thing.”

The executive’s meaning: Because of their limited budget, the Rays are forced to make the highly difficult decisions that richer teams punt on for sentimental reasons or other market factors like media and fan reactions.

Andy Martino, SNY

My Response to Martino’s Response:

There are several issues with this answer, including the fact that it is not even close to being a complete response to the question posed and it does not paint either of the New York teams in a good light. This answer implies that the New York offices are not only listening to fans, but also using their opinions as a basis to make decisions, which I believe is simply untrue.

I disagree with the idea that either of the Mets or Yankees Front Offices are extending deals and making trades based on initial fan and media perception. Why does it matter what the fans think initially of a trade/free agent signing if the net effect on the team is positive? The front office should be putting the team in a position to win and make decisions based on that goal alone. And I do believe that is what the Yankees and the Mets front offices are doing.

Further along in the article, Martino describes the Rays’ market as a “better environment in which to make smart baseball decisions”, and goes on to identify three general managers who were once promoted within the Rays organization: Dodgers GM Andrew Friedman, Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom, and current Rays GM Erik Neander. 

While Neander does face budgetary constraints and runs his team in one of baseball’s smaller markets, Friedman and Bloom do not.

Friedman and Bloom are currently operating and constructing their respective teams based on the same basic ideology as the Rays, except with larger budgets. As a result, the Dodgers have seen great success in the postseason over the past several years. Additionally, in a short amount of time since Bloom has been GM the Red Sox have already made strategic moves to reshape their roster at the major league level ,and toward rebuilding depth in the minor leagues, similar to the depth in the Dodgers system.  

Friedman and Bloom continue to make smart baseball decisions, despite having more money to work with than the Rays. Therefore, the reason why the Rays have a better team has nothing to do with their budget or the fact they are operating in a small market with “less passionate” fans.  

What is the Actual Answer to the Initial Question of Why the Rays are Better?

First, let’s revisit the question being posed:

No position player on the Rays would start for either Mets or Yankees (with possible exception of Wander Franco). Then why are the Rays so much better?

@SamStephenson12, originally submitted to SNY & Andy Martino

 And my Response to the Question:

There are a few reasons why the Rays have performed better than the Yankees and Mets this season. But before we get started, the Rays actually do have several position players who are talented enough to start for the Mets and the Yankees. While they are very rarely talked about on national platforms, these players include:

• All-Star catcher Mike Zunino
• Brandon Lowe (one of the best offensive performing second baseman in MLB)
• Baseball’s former Number 1 prospect Wander Franco
• Nelson Cruz

But it’s not just about who is on the team, it’s about how they are used. The Rays love platoon match-ups and have built their roster around them. If we break down the position players, we can see right away how the Rays would be able to create two distinct line-ups, one for vs a right-handed pitcher and one for vs a left handed pitcher.

The Rays have players who can be put in multiple positions, and have a very balanced roster in terms of left handed hitters (red), right handed hitters (black) and switch hitters (blue).

We can look at two recent line-ups from this past weekend to see how it differs based on the handedness of the pitcher:

The offense is also very consistent and has high run production. The following video describes what makes the Rays offense so good this year.

To summarize, the Rays have a nice balance of players who can get on base, have power, and run the bases extremely well. They have an aggressive approach at the plate and have very good quality of contact in terms of hard hit rates.  

Not only are the Rays strong offensively, but they also have a strong defense, particularly in the outfield. With the exception of shortstop, the infield defense can be improved, but the offensive production from the infield position players in addition to the strong outfield defense makes up for this weakness.

The Rays also run the bases very well. They are fast and steal bases, in addition to taking advantage of opportunities and getting extra bases.

To summarize, the Rays have a strong and consistent offense, a strong outfield defense, and run the bases well.  If you’re interested in how the Rays have such a good team year after year, check out this article.

Without getting too far deep into the rosters of the Yankees and the Mets, it is clear why the Rays have been performing better this season. The Yankees have a very strong offense with excellent hitters, but they have not been consistent this season and some have underperformed. The Yankees are also a slower team. They are not as good as the Rays at running the bases and have a weaker defensive alignment.

One thing the Yankees have done well this season that is worth pointing out is adding several left-handed hitters to their line-up to make it balanced, similar to that of the Rays. The problem here is that these left-handed hitters are not performing up to expectation and are not producing as well as the right-handed hitters that play the same positions. Therefore, the platoon is not as effective as desired.

I primarily followed the AL East this season, so I am not as well-versed with the Mets roster construction. But looking over some quick team stats, it seems like the Mets’ offensive is not as productive as the Rays (they rank 19^th in the majors in terms of weighted on-base average and 16^th in terms of weighted runs created plus). The Mets also do not have as strong of a defensive alignment as the Rays.  

Concluding Thoughts

The question submitted was a great opportunity to discuss the reasoning for why the Rays have performed so well this season. As we head into the postseason, it should be known that is no surprise that the Rays had a competitive team this season.

I can already hear an announcer say something along the lines of “Somehow the Rays are good again this year despite having anonymous players and a limited budget”.

This is very frustrating because what the Rays are doing is not complicated, it is just never spoken about. The Rays have become an enigma in the league, even though there are other teams employing very similar ideologies for roster and line-up construction. The difference is, very few people bother to understand the Rays despite them being competitive year after year, and this is a disservice to all MLB fans.

Not only are the Rays interesting AND charismatic, they continue to be a team who shapes the game, challenges traditional ideologies, and have sustainable success.