Luke Voit failed to crush a home run Friday night and still his legend grew.
The Yankees first baseman contributed with a quieter hit, a two-run single in the seventh inning of a 10-8 win at Yankee Stadium, but it evoked the same loud chants of “Luuuke!” across Yankee Stadium nonetheless.
When the Yankees began the season dreaming of October, they envisioned Greg Bird manning first base. With each passing September night of fans calling the new first baseman’s name, that picture includes more of Voit and less of Bird, if at all.
As the Yankees close in on a wild-card berth, playoff roster decisions begin to loom, and the emerging presence of Voit has left Bird on the bubble.
“In most cases, the answer should be obvious,” general manager Brian Cashman said before the game, when asked about playoff roster decisions, including Bird and Brett Gardner. “We’re just going to put our best out there. [Gardner] has obviously had a big impact for us, especially in the first half. Obviously, Greg has struggled with injuries. Thankfully, Luke Voit has stepped in and done what he’s done and alleviated the pressure on that position.”
Voit has delivered with the long ball — he has 10 in his last 24 games — but he showed Friday night he can contribute in other ways too, lining a single to left field in the seventh inning to give the Yankees a 9-4 lead. The 109-loss Orioles delivered a scare with a late comeback against the bullpen, but the insurance runs Voit drove in stood up as the winners.
With the versatile Neil Walker providing depth at first base behind Voit, Bird’s status on the playoff roster has become no sure thing. Bird, who missed the start of the season with an ankle injury, is batting just .195 with a .669 OPS in 79 games.
Voit, meanwhile, has brought everything the Yankees could have hoped for since he came over from the Cardinals in a hardly acclaimed trade on July 28. At the time, he was providing some first base depth before they shipped Tyler Austin to the Twins for Lance Lynn.
Now, Voit has been one of their biggest impact bats in the lineup down the stretch, while bringing what Didi Gregorius could only describe as an “NFL-type of energy.”
Since taking over the starting job from Bird on Aug. 24, Voit is batting .337 with 22 RBIs and a 1.138 OPS. In 31 games overall as a Yankee, he has a slash line of .317/.389/.634.
“It’s awesome,” Gregorius said. “[Voit] is a funny guy. He comes up really big. He’s hitting homers and getting good at-bats in the right situations. It’s really good for us.”
