As Oswaldo Cabrera, Ben Rice and Jon Berti fielded groundballs at first base during the Yankees’ first postseason workout on Oct. 1, Anthony Rizzo watched from the shallow infield grass with his hands in his hoodie pocket.
With his right hand carrying two fractured fingers, the result of a hit-by-pitch on the second-to-last day of the regular season, Rizzo played the part of coach. As his teammates – all relatively inexperienced at first base – took reps at the position, the Gold Glover stopped them, chatted them up and offered pointers.
Rizzo, unable to heal in time for the ALDS, has remained a presence around the team. He’s been especially helpful to those working at his position.
“We are like the students, and he’s like our Mr. Miyagi,” said Cabrera, who started Game 1 of the ALDS at first despite logging just 71.2 regular season innings there.
“Rizz has been helping out a bunch,” added Berti, who has not played first base outside of a few innings in a spring training game with the Marlins a few years ago. “I’m just asking him a bunch of questions and learning as much as I can as quick as I can.”
Ben Rice, Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti are taking grounders at 1B while Anthony Rizzo coaches them up. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/l2PaBUlPw8
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) October 1, 2024
Rizzo’s expertise has not been limited to first, either.
“He’s been great,” said Rice, a fellow lefty swinger and natural catcher who is still finding his way at first. “He’s definitely been a mentor for me, not just defensively, but also offensively. Just talking to him about watching the game, watching at-bats, talking about pitchers, talking about game-planning, tendencies, all that stuff. So he’s been an awesome teammate.”
While Rizzo’s injury would normally require a 3-4-week timeline, the former World Series champ is hoping to join the Yankees for the ALCS should they advance. He started doing some baseball activities prior to the ALDS, but he found his capabilities to be substandard with two broken digits.
In the meantime, Rizzo is downplaying the help he’s been giving the Yankees’ first base novices.
“I was just talking to them [about] bunt scenarios, different plays, pickoffs. I’m an open book,” Rizzo said. “Everyone has each other’s’ backs.”
However, Cabrera, Rice and Berti are not the only ones who realize how useful Rizzo has been and can continue to be – even if he’s stuck on the sidelines.
“So many guys look up to him in that room,” Aaron Boone said. “I think [it] means a lot to those guys. And I’d like to think [that’s] another piece in some of the value that he brings.”