Ex-New York Yankees Star Says Analytics Caused 'Rift' in Clubhouse

This ex-New York Yankees star says that analytics caused a "rift" in the team's clubhouse.

It doesn't sound like everyone is content with the increasing influx of analytics in the game of baseball.

Former New York Yankees star reliever Zack Britton revealed that there was a "rift" in the team's clubhouse over the organization's over reliance on analytics.

"So I don't really know what discussions are going on. I just know that, as a player there, a lot of times in the clubhouse it felt like there was this disconnect between some of the things we were presented with, and what we were seeing on the field as players," Britton told Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post.

"Sometimes that creates a rift, which is not what you want. You want from a clubhouse culture standpoint everything to mesh well together — whether that be the communication from the front office, to the play on the field, and I felt that sometimes the two just weren't connecting well.

"What the players were saying, like, 'Hey, we should be doing this,' and 'This has been working well,' and then sometimes the way that was implemented through the data didn't line up, and I don't think I'm the only player who feels that way.

"But I don't think it was Brian Cashman or Aaron Boone. I think it's an organizational thing."

Over the past several years, all 30 MLB teams have either implemented or enhanced their analytics departments. It is a critical part of the game today, where the department relays information to the players and coaches in the clubhouse.

At GM meetings earlier in the month, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman expressed his displeasure regarding the accusations that the team is overly reliant on analytics. According to Cashman, the Yankees have the smallest analytics department in the American League East, which isn't a positive considering the direction that baseball is going.