George Lombard Jr. Makes Yankees History for the Wrong Reason With 6-Game Error Streak
George Lombard Jr. is now part of Yankees history. Not the kind he wanted.
The 21-year-old rookie shortstop committed an error for the sixth consecutive game on Thursday night, becoming the first Yankee to do it since second baseman Chick Fewster in 1921. That is a long time. Ruth was still the Bambino. The Yankees had not even moved into the original Yankee Stadium yet.
The latest miscue came in the eighth inning of a 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros. With Christian Walker on second, Yainer Diaz hit a grounder that caromed off Lombard’s glove, third baseman Jose Caballero then threw wildly to first, and Walker scored. Both players were charged with errors. That is the kind of night it has been.
The numbers are ugly. Lombard has seven errors in 20 games and a .925 fielding percentage. Since 1901, no major leaguer has posted a six-game error streak since Cleveland’s Mark Lewis in 1992. The last Yankees shortstop to do it was Roger Peckinpaugh in 1915.
Lombard was called up on August 4 after Anthony Volpe was optioned to Triple-A. He committed just one error in his first 14 games. Then the wheels came off.
“It’s something we’re trying to figure out. It’s not acceptable,” Lombard said. “If you make your pitchers have to get extra outs, it just makes it way harder on us, and teams are going to capitalize.”
Aaron Boone is not benching him. He said Lombard will stay in the lineup because “foundationally he’s really good” and will work through it. That is the correct call. This is a 21-year-old first-round pick in his first month of big league baseball, playing shortstop in New York with the season on the line. He needs the reps, not a seat.
Gerrit Cole did his part, saying errors sometimes arrive in bunches and praising the rookie’s work ethic. Jazz Chisholm Jr. said Lombard is handling the New York spotlight well. Those are the kinds of quotes a young player needs to hear.
The real question is whether the Yankees can afford this while chasing a Wild Card spot. They are still in the race but running out of margin, and every unearned run matters. If Lombard does not settle down soon, Boone will have a decision to make between developing the kid and winning games right now.
For now, the Yankees are betting on both. Talent this rare gets that kind of leash. History will decide whether it was the right call.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
