Why Austin Romine’s hitting surge didn’t arrive by accident

The Yankees have one catcher slugging over .370 and another slumping near the Mendoza Line. And this comes as quite a big surprise, since the two players’ performances aren’t reflecting the numbers printed on the back of their baseball cards.

Of all the backup catchers in the majors, Austin Romine is surely the hottest, and his recent hitting surge has coincided with the adversity hampering Gary Sanchez.

Although Romine has played in half as many games as Sanchez (120 less at-bats, too), he’s in the midst of a career-best 11-game hitting streak, and since May 20, he’s tied his season-high in home runs with four. During this span, Sanchez has hit zero balls over the fence, and his batting…