They’ve certainly been a frustrating watch at several points this season, but by definition, the Yankees are currently a contender in 2026. They’re neck and neck with the Rays for the lead in both the AL East and the AL in total. Now, you may have your doubts about whether that record will then translate into playoff success, but the fact of the matter is, putting up one of the best records in the league will get you into the playoffs — then you just have to have a couple things break your way, and who
knows what happens after that.
The Yankees have also managed to accomplish all that while getting basically no offensive production out of one position in particular: catcher. Austin Wells has had his ups and downs, but he’s completely fallen off a cliff in 2026. None of the backups they’ve tried had fared much better either. As we near the Trade Deadline, the Yankees will likely target catchers for a platoon at the very least, which they wouldn’t have expected going into the year.
That being said, it’s not unheard of for one particular spot on an otherwise good team to yield bad results. In fact, even Yankees World Series-winning teams have carried a black hole in the lineup. To find the worst regular (which I’m counting as someone who qualified for the batting title by today’s standards) hitter to ever play on a Yankees World Series championship team, you can go right back to the first ever one in 1923.
After an eight-year career and three World Series wins with the Red Sox, the Yankees acquired shortstop Everett Scott in December 1921, along with pitchers Sad Sam Jones and Bullet Joe Bush. Scott was primarily known for two things in his career: his glove and his consecutive games played. It was his record of 1307 consecutive games played that was broken by Lou Gehrig and then eventually Cal Ripken Jr. Scott today still holds the third longest streak ever.
While he was considered one of the best shortstops in the game during his career, Scott was never much of a hitter. If you use the OPS+, which gets adjusted for era, Scott’s best career hitting season was 1920. That year, he hit .269/.300/.369, which equated to a 79 OPS+. His defense still led to him grading out as being a perfectly fine player according to WAR.
Scott’s first year with the Yankees saw them come up just short, as they fell in the 1922 World Series to the Giants. The following year, he was again the starting shortstop and a team leader as they made another run at the franchise’s first championship. He just didn’t always lead the team with his bat.
In the 1923 season, Scott hit just .246/.266/.325, which equated to a 54 OPS+. That season has gone down as the worst ever by a regular for a Yankees World Series-winning team. He actually did hit a little better in that year’s World Series victory over the Giants, posting a .636 OPS. Even then though, it was just him going 7-for-22 with all singles.
Scott’s hitting was a bit worse in 1924, and he posted just a .459 OPS in his first 22 games of 1925 leading to the Yankees selling him to the Washington Senators. He played for a couple more teams before hanging it up after 1926. Despite his light bat, he still ended his career with four World Series championships, and was well regarded enough in Boston to be posthumously inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame.
If the Yankees do end up winning the World Series, it would be difficult for them to do that while Wells breaks this particular “record.” It’s hard to see them actually pulling it off unless Wells manages to turn it around or they trade for someone who can hit better. That being said, it’s apparently not impossible to win the World Series despite carrying one particular putrid hitter.
