Analytics Took the Plate—and Hit Nine Home Runs
The New York Yankees are no strangers to consistent wins. Admired by some and a bitter rival to others, the team is renowned for its success. Making it to the post-season four of the last five years, the Yankees made it all the way to the World Series in 2024, just falling short of becoming world champions. With so much at stake, Yankees’ players and managers prioritize the lofty goal of staying at the top of their game.
But what does this have to do with application development? Surprisingly, analytics takes center-stage for the team. Here’s how the Yankees apply advanced analytics to ensure success.
How Analytics Revolutionizes the Game
On Saturday, March 29, 2025, the New York Yankees obliterated the Milwaukee Brewers 20-9. Not just a simple win, it was a warning shot to other teams in Major League Baseball (MLB). With nine home runs, the Yankees achieved a franchise record. The win was executed by skilled players, but playing ability alone isn’t enough for the team to achieve a win of this magnitude–it’s a masterclass in what happens when you weaponize analytics.
Aaron Judge smashed three home runs, including a grand slam–a home run while the bases are loaded, leading to four total points–notching a career-high eight runs batted in (RBI). But behind the fireworks was something deeper: the Yankees’ analytics department had re-engineered the most critical tool of the game.
Enter the “torpedo bat”—a radical, data-driven redesign and a feat that could only be achieved with the power of data. Yankees analysts studied swing patterns across the roster and found that many hitters weren’t connecting with the traditional “sweet spot,” the area of the bat where, once hit, the ball can travel the farthest. Instead of forcing players to adjust, the team turned to analytics to tailor the equipment.
To accomplish this, Aaron Leanhardt, a former physics professor at the University of Michigan and Yankees’ lead analyst until the beginning of the 2025 season, carefully analyzed the physics of the commonly-used baseball bat.
Typically, the bat is heaviest at the end. But Leanhardt realized the traditional bat isn’t as optimized as it could be. By using data and determining that the average batter’s sweet spot is approximately six-seven inches below the tip of the bat, he went to work on a new innovation in baseball.
The torpedo bat shifts mass toward where each hitter actually makes contact—essentially creating custom bats optimized for individual swing mechanics. While other teams stick with tradition, the Yankees let the data lead—and redesigned the game.
This isn’t just a story about baseball. Application development teams across all industries can leverage data for improved performance just like the Yankees did. Providing advanced analytics enables you to pull up to the plate for your customer base, giving them insights that improve decision-making while you run bases around your competition.
Score a Home Run With the Power of Data
If you’re not embedding analytics into your app, you’re forcing your users to make high-stakes decisions without a bat in their hands. And if your dashboards still look like Excel, it leaves your customers without the visualizations they need to find trends in their data. Like an eephus pitch to an unsuspecting batter, they’re seeing the pitch after it’s already past.
Data is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s the difference between winning and watching from the dugout.
When embedding analytics into your application, you’re presented with the choice to build or buy. Building is a common way to ensure an organization’s unique needs are met. However, building runs the risk of burying your team in technical debt, chasing roadmap parity, and maintaining brittle infrastructure instead of moving your product forward. Other pitfalls to building a custom analytics solution are:
- Slower time-to-market
- Endless development cycles
- Security risks and compliance headaches
- Features that lag behind user expectations
Embedded analytics doesn’t have to be a slow, painstaking process. With Logi Symphony, you’re not starting from zero. Logi Symphony offers the best of both worlds–the embedded analytics customization you normally only would get with building combined with the rich functionality and low maintenance you expect from a third-party solution. You’re plugging into enterprise-grade analytics built for scale, speed, and real business value. With Logi Symphony, you can:
- Deploy in weeks, not quarters
- Let your developers focus on your core product—not reinventing analytics
- Stay current with built-in innovations like AI insights and governed self-service
- Deliver a seamless, white-labeled experience your users will actually enjoy
The result? Faster releases, happier users, and a product that doesn’t just catch up—it leads.