New York Yankees third baseman Chase Headley ended a lengthy extra-base-hit drought Thursday with a second-inning two-run homer against the Kansas City Royals.
Headley’s last extra-base hit, a double, came on Sept. 27, 2015, against the Chicago White Sox, which breaks a streak of 124 plate appearances without such a result, per NBC Sports’ Bill Baer.
The YES Network provided a look at Headley getting the monkey off his back:
The Wall Street Journal‘s Jared Diamond noted that Headley’s first jack of the season puts him in some interesting, maybe unfortunate, company:
Considering his contract—a four-year, $52 million deal signed in 2015, according to Spotrac—Headley is grossly underperforming. He entered Thursday’s game batting just .178 in 28 games with just four RBI before adding a pair with his home run.
The Yankees have struggled to score for most the season, but the offense seems to be coming alive as of late. Not including Thursday, the team has scored at least six runs in five of its last 10 games. This is good news, as New York has scored the fifth-fewest runs in the American League, per ESPN.com.
Perhaps Headley could be waking up as well. He is a .263 career hitter who provides a solid presence in the middle of the lineup when performing at his best. If the 13-19 Yankees are going to turn it around, they will need Headley to start breaking out.
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