MLB

Hal Steinbrenner’s ‘tipping point’ with Dillon Lawson firing was Jameson Taillon’s dominance

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Published July 21, 2023
Updated July 21, 2023, 2:14 p.m. ET

Maybe Hal Steinbrenner does have a little bit of The Boss in him, after all.

In a report from The Post’s Jon Heyman, the MLB insider noted that hitting coach Dillon Lawson’s firing — Brian Cashman’s first in-season axing of a coach in his 26 years as general manager — came with a call from upstairs.

Reportedly, Steinbrenner’s “tipping point” with the Yankees offense came after the team was stymied by former Yankee Jameson Taillon in a July 8 shutout against the Cubs.

Taillon, who the Yankees acquired from Pittsburgh via trade prior to the 2021 season, spent two years pitching in pinstripes (4.08 ERA in 321.2 innings) before the Yankees let him walk in free agency ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Despite Taillon’s abysmal 6.05 ERA with the Cubs this year, the righty dominated a hapless Yankee offense earlier this month, pitching eight shutout innings while only allowing one hit and two walks in a 3-0 Chicago win.

It was Taillon’s best outing all season by a long shot — he had not previously completed more than six innings.

Hal Steinbrenner
Hal Steinbrenner had seen enough after Jameson Taillon shut down the Yankees. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Jameson Taillon
Taillon has a 6.05 ERA this year but dominated the Yankees in the Bronx. AP

The Yankee offense has been under significant scrutiny all season, as the team ranks 20th in MLB in runs scored, 22nd in OPS, and 28th in batting average.

The team’s struggles, in large part due to a toe injury to superstar Aaron Judge and underperformance from veterans like DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo, culminated in Lawson’s firing on July 9.

In Lawson’s stead came Sean Casey, a former Reds teammate of Aaron Boone’s who has been working at MLB Network for the last 15 years.

Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner
Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman decided there needed to be a change on the hitting front. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson watches as Harrison Bader #22 of the New York Yankees takes his at bat
Dillon Lawson’s Yankees tenure was undone by Jameson Taillon. JASON SZENES/New York Post

Casey’s hiring was a major departure from Lawson’s style, as the former hitting coach never played in the majors and was a big believer in analytics to deliver help to the Yankees’ bats.

“Our offense has struggled mightily, more so than I can recall,” Cashman said after Lawson’s firing. “The team that we have, in fairness to Dillon, we have had some injuries without a doubt, but collectively we’ve really struggled. I feel like we’re best served kind of changing things up a little bit as we move into the second half here.”