Yankees fire hitting coach Dillon Lawson

The New York Yankees made a surprising change to their coaching staff as the All-Star break begins, firing hitting coach Dillon Lawson.

This is a surprise because General Manager Brian Cashman has never fired a coach during the middle of the season over his 25 years as GM.

“It has been well documented that I have been reluctant in the past to make changes to our coaching staff in the middle of a season,” said Cashman in a press release. “I am a big believer that successes and failures are collective efforts. However, I ultimately felt that a change was needed and that a new voice overseeing our hitting operations would give us the best chance to perform closer to our capabilities as we move forward into the second half of our season.

“I want to thank Dillon for all his efforts. He has a bright baseball mind that will continue to lead to a long and fruitful baseball career.”

Cashman said the next hitting coach will come from outside the organization and hopes to name one by the end of the All-Star break.

Lawson, 38, was named the Yankees’ hitting coach before the 2022 season and has spent parts of five seasons in the Yankees organization, spending his first three seasons (2019-21) as the Yankees’ minor league hitting coordinator.

New York has the third-worst batting average in Major League Baseball at .231 and tied with the Detroit Tigers for the fourth-worst on-base percentage at .300.