Should Joey Gallo Bat Leadoff for the Yankees?

A few weeks ago, fellow Pitcher List Podcaster Pete Ball of the Keep or Kut Podcast and I discussed Robin Ventura and leadoff hitters on my show Long Ball Legacies. With a career 13.0 BB% and a .362 OBP, we wondered if we transported Ventura to today’s baseball environment, would he have been a stud leadoff hitter where getting on base consistently outweighs speed or stolen bases in today’s game? The more and more I thought about it, I started thinking about other hitters today who fit the same mold where they are miscast in their spot in the lineup because it accentuates their weaknesses while minimizing their elite skills. The player that came to mind was Carlos Santana – who had a career year in his one season as a leadoff hitter – but the second hitter who came to mind is the subject of this article: Joey Gallo. Gallo is the…