Getty Luke Voit of the New York Yankees, who hit the first home run on opening day of the 2019 season.
While Yankee lineup-mates Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton draw most of the attention as the power in the middle of the Yankee’s order, Luke Voit has quietly carved himself out a middle of the order spot in one of baseball history’s most loaded lineups. Despite being a relative unknown entering 2018, Voit finished the season on a tear after being traded to the Yankees and was a crucial component to their playoff push.
Many wondered if Voit would be able to keep up his otherworldly numbers and despite a strong spring training, questions followed him into opening day. Voit decided to put a quick answer to that with a monster three-run shot to center field to push across the first runs of the Yankees’ 2019 campaign.
WATCH: Luke Voit Launches First Yankees Home Run of 2019
After some heads up baserunning from Aaron Judge got the crowd warmed up, Luke Voit stepped to the plate with one out and runners on the corner in the first inning.
Well, that didn’t take long.
Luke Voit HOMERS to start the season.
After working a 3-1 count, Voit caught a hanging slider low in the zone and ripped the ball to dead center. Statcast recorded the exit velocity on Voit’s blast at a blistering 112.6 mph, which was somehow less than Giancarlo Stanton’s 120 mph single in the previous at-bat.
With the home run, Voit not only launched the first home run of the 2019 Yankee season but also knocked in the first runs as well. Despite the top-shelf talent and household names surrounding him, Voit simply continues to make a case for himself at the heart of baseball’s deadliest lineup.
Yankees Battle for First Base
Despite Voit slashing an insane .333/.405/.689 in 2018, the first base job wasn’t entirely his heading into spring training. Former super-prospect and perennially injured Greg Bird was back in the mix and manager Aaron Boone decided to give both some burn in the spring.
No one gets more excited for a Luke Voit home run than Luke Voit: t.co/D1HfZyVEsg #MustC
While Voit would do nothing to lose the job, slashing .289/.365/.578, Bird would have a strong spring as well by hitting .333/.500/.643. At the end of the day, Boone decided to roll with both heading into the 2019 season although Voit’s at-bats shouldn’t see much of a hit. Having cemented himself as a steady power bat in the middle of the order, Voit should find his way into the lineup on a near-daily basis.
The two players look to be locked into a platoon for now but despite Bird being a lefty and holding an advantage over right-handed pitching, Voit’s bat should see regular reps at DH (like today against the Orioles). A fan-favorite and an infectious bundle of energy, players like Voit are glue guys and make the long 162 game grind that much more bearable.
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WATCH: Luke Voit Launches First Yankees Home Run on Opening Day