{"id":57452,"date":"2025-06-20T07:22:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T07:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=57452"},"modified":"2025-06-20T07:22:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T07:22:04","slug":"austin-wells-is-silently-approaching-rarefied-air-in-yankees-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=57452","title":{"rendered":"Austin Wells is silently approaching rarefied air in Yankees history"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_103,y_36,w_5106,h_2872\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/43\/01jxjqhpcz8z0fp6y643.jpg\" alt=\"Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees\" width=\"5106\" height=\"2872\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees | Luke Hales\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\">\n<div class=\"hidden md:block md:mx-4 hidden md:block\" data-testid=\"share-menu\">\n<div class=\"sticky top-20 mb-3\" data-testid=\"share-menu-inner\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">The Yankees have had plenty of stellar catchers in their 125-year history. Yogi Berra. Bill Dickey. Thurman Munson Jorge Posada.\u00a0We\u2019re quickly approaching a point where Austin Wells could be referenced among them.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">After smashing a home run on Wednesday, Wells was one pace to become one of three Yankees catchers to hit 27 home runs and 101 RBI in a single season, along with Dickey and Berra.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Austin Wells is silently approaching rarefied air in Yankees history<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Wells kicked off 2025 with a bang when he homered on the Yankees\u2019 first at-bat\u00a0of the year (becoming the first Yankees catcher to hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day) and he\u2019s been heating up again after experiencing struggles on the offensive end.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">While Wells has admitted that he isn\u2019t sure what to make of his season, he\u2019s provided a strong spark to a lineup that\u2019s only recently become more balanced after being top-heavy for much of the first few months. He recently rode a strong stretch of batting .311 with three home runs and 14 RBI across 13 games back to prominence.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_2_5\" class=\"mm-slot-content\"><\/div>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1932640126510756089&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fyanksgoyard.com%2Faustin-wells-is-silently-approaching-rarefied-air-in-yankees-history&amp;sessionId=ab8f3876e7e1c964ae6c67a48cd1e963f8647b58&amp;siteScreenName=YanksGoYardFS&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1932640126510756089\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">He\u2019s now slashing .220\/.283\/.455 on the season with 11 home runs and 43 RBI. His 43 RBI are second among all catchers behind Cal Raleigh, and his 11 home runs is third in MLB among that same group. Wells is on pace to have the best offensive season by a Yankees catcher since Jorge Posada hit 30 home runs and had 101 RBI in 2003.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_2_6\" class=\"mm-slot-content\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">He&#8217;s had eight multi-hit games this year and four others where he&#8217;s driven in four or more runs. He&#8217;s also hit in seemingly every spot in the lineup, which a testament to his ability to be ready every day regardless of the situation.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">And Wells\u2019 strong season is even more impressive when you consider the lack of success the Yankees have had at the position recently. Yankees catchers had posted a wRC+ of 82 from 2020 to 2023 (the last year before Wells took over), while Wells has posted a wRC+ of 107 across 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">He\u2019s also in the 91st percentile in framing, and Yankees pitchers have an ERA of 3.97 with him behind the plate. While he\u2019s still finding his groove as a defensive catcher, his bat makes up for those deficiencies,\u00a0especially if he continues to hit left-handed pitching.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">While Aaron Judge has garnered a ton of headlines thanks to another MVP-caliber season, Wells has been a silent assassin regardless of where he\u2019s hit in the Yankees lineup. And with Jazz Chisholm Jr. beginning to get hot and a Giancarlo Stanton return imminent, the Yankees\u2019 lineup has a chance to be extremely dangerous.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">And, in the case of Wells, it could be record-setting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees | Luke Hales\/GettyImages The Yankees have had plenty of stellar catchers in their 125-year history. Yogi Berra. Bill Dickey. Thurman&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Austin Wells is silently approaching rarefied air in Yankees history - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=57452\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Austin Wells is silently approaching rarefied air in Yankees history - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees | Luke Hales\/GettyImages The Yankees have had plenty of stellar catchers in their 125-year history. 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