‘I’m going to be better’
Now healthy, Rizzo says he expects big comeback
TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees travel squad to Lakeland was already halfway up Interstate 4, leaving behind a group of veterans — the lucky ones — who weren’t required to be on the bus.
That’s a veteran’s spring training perk. You get a pass on the road games, even the Grapefruit League opener.
While the Yankees were demolishing the Tigers 22-10 about 35 miles away Saturday, Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu, among others, were treated to a brief, light workout at Steinbrenner Field.
They had the rest of the afternoon off under the Florida sun.
Anthony Rizzo was one of the stay-behinds who used the free time to assess his current health (good), plans for 2024 (huge) and recollection of the concussion that sabotaged the 2023 season (terrible).
“Scary” is the word Rizzo uses to describe last season’s final two months. He suffered a concussion in late May and was never the same. Doctors recommended the first baseman stay home in August and September. No one argued with the diagnosis.
The Yankees, after all, had become irrelevant, on their way to their worst finish in 30 years. Even healthy, Rizzo wouldn’t have made a difference. And he was anything but.
Memories of the sluggishness, the lack of depth perception, the inability to connect with fastballs cutting the plate in half left Rizzo wondering if he’d suddenly gotten old — or worse.
Restoring the glory
“I was thinking, ‘Am I crazy?’ ” Rizzo said. “Things that I’d been able to do my whole career, suddenly I couldn’t. I knew something was wrong, but I tried to ride it out. It wasn’t until later that (doctors) finally figured it out.”
Rizzo didn’t have to be warned of the dangers ahead. Clint Frazier, several years younger than Rizzo, saw his Yankees career derailed after a similar head injury in 2018.
Even with therapy and rest over the winter, there was no guarantee Rizzo would be a star again. He’s going into his age-34 season. Fans have begun thinking about the line succession at first base: who’ll be next in 2025?
But Rizzo has a two-part response to those who are already referring to him in the past tense.
“First of all, I’m fine,” Rizzo said. “I have no symptoms. The way I feel now, it’s like (the concussion) never happened.”
That proclamation segued straight to Rizzo’s prediction for The Great Comeback.
“I’m going to be better than I was,” he said, referring to the cratering of his season in June and July. Rizzo, badly impaired, batted just .172 with one home run before the neurologists finally diagnosed his concussion.
To say Rizzo will play a key role in the Yankees’ success is an understatement. The lineup is loaded with power — we’re looking at you, Judge and Juan Soto — but it’s the second, salient discussion about the offense. It’ll mean the difference between catching the Orioles or settling for a wild-card spot.
Rizzo, along with Giancarlo Stanton and LeMahieu, are the Yankees’ Bermuda Triangle of uncertainty.
Stanton ended 2023 with a .191 average, the lowest of his career.
LeMahieu’s average improved by 53 points after the All-Star break, but don’t be fooled. His overall .243 average was the lowest of his career. The 125 strikeouts were the highest. Most damning was LeMahieu’s .149 average against fastballs 95-mph or better.
And then there’s Rizzo, who may or may not be the 30-plus home run he’s been five times in his career, including in 2022 with the Yankees.
Aaron Boone knows both Judge and Soto will draw enough walks to require Stanton, LeMahieu and Rizzo to do the heavy lifting. Boone says he’s “excited” by the challenge, but that’s just Boone’s optimism gene at work.
The real audition begins on opening day in Houston. That’s when the three veterans will help set the tone. Rizzo’s comeback is the most important.
Unlike Soto, an all-fields slugger, Rizzo’s swing is programmed for right field. In 2022, his last full season, Rizzo was fourth in the American League with 45.9% pull rate. He was made for Yankee Stadium’s short porch.
If Rizzo can turn back the clock, then Boone doesn’t have to look any further for a cleanup hitter. He can bat Soto second, Judge third and let Rizzo complete the alignment as the No. 4. Rizzo says he’s ready.
“Go look at 2012 to 2022,” Rizzo said, referring to the back of the baseball card. “You’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s still there.”