New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells immediately justified the decision to bat him leadoff. Atop the Yankees’ Opening Day lineup, Wells put his team on the board first with a home run off Milwaukee Brewers starter Freddy Peralta.
With that leadoff homer, Wells became not only the first Yankees catcher to hit a home run to begin a game but also the first at his position to do so on Opening Day in league history, according to MLB.
Peralta fell behind two balls to zero strikes versus Wells, trying to get him to chase outside. The veteran starter then left a 93.4 mph fastball high and down the middle of the strike zone, and Wells didn’t miss the opportunity.
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Wells, 25, is the first Yankees catcher to ever bat leadoff and was confirmed for that spot earlier this week by manager Aaron Boone. As Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman pointed out, the Yankees were the last team that had never batted a catcher in the leadoff position.
As a rookie last season, Wells compiled a .322 on-base percentage in 414 plate appearances. Only Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Jazz Chisholm Jr. had higher numbers for the Yankees in that category during the regular season. In the postseason, Wells was even better, boosting his OBP to .460.
Chisholm profiles as a more traditional leadoff hitter given his speed, stealing a combined 40 bases with the Yankees and Miami Marlins last season. However, Boone said speed wasn’t a factor in his decision, and Wells showed the ability to begin a game with some power during Grapefruit League play. Wells batted leadoff in 15 of his 16 spring training games, with a .400 OBP and 1.183 OPS in 46 at-bats.
Against left-handed pitching, Boone said that Paul Goldschmidt and Jasson Domínguez were possibilities to bat leadoff.
