George Lombard Jr. didn’t just leave the Yankees’ Wild Card Series with a stronger postseason résumé. He also picked up a new off-field boost that says plenty about how fast his profile is rising.
The 21-year-old announced a partnership with BMW USA on Thursday in an Instagram reel connected to the company’s BMW Certified Pre-Owned campaign. It came less than a day after the Yankees finished off Boston and just before they opened the AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Confidence matters at the plate and behind the wheel. BMW Certified Pre-Owned gives me plenty of both,” Lombard wrote on Instagram.
No financial details were released, but the move gives Lombard a national brand tie-in at a moment when he’s suddenly becoming a much bigger name.
That jump started at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees put Lombard at shortstop and fifth in the order for both games of their American League Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, even though he had only 152 regular-season at-bats in the majors entering October. He answered with a 4-for-8 series, three runs, one RBI and clean defense across all 18 innings at shortstop.
Game 1 on Sept. 29 was the breakout inside the breakout. Lombard went 3-for-4 in New York’s 9-0 win, becoming the youngest player in franchise history to get a hit in his postseason debut at 21 years and 119 days. His second-inning single helped kick off the scoring before Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice took over.
He followed that with another RBI single in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 9-2 clincher, part of a six-run frame that sealed the sweep.
The postseason surge looked even more striking when stacked against what came before it. In the regular season, Lombard hit .237 with a .285 on-base percentage and .414 slugging percentage, along with seven homers and 22 RBIs.
The Yankees’ 2023 first-round pick made his MLB debut on Aug. 4 and finished the year with a .699 OPS. Through Oct. 2, his October line sat at .500 with a 1.000 OPS.
The reaction from inside the Yankees clubhouse showed how quickly the rookie’s presence is growing.
Ben Rice, who powered Game 1 with two home runs, replied to Lombard’s announcement with, “It’s common sense,” while Austin Wells also chimed in with, “Nice torpedo.”
The attention is arriving fast, but the baseball challenge hasn’t gone anywhere. The Yankees were set to begin the ALDS at Tampa Bay on Oct. 3 after the Rays won seven of 13 regular-season meetings, though New York took four of the final five. Lombard’s defense and contact ability give Aaron Boone another option in a lineup that has already leaned hard on younger players, and his two-game Wild Card showing only strengthened his spot on a roster that outscored Boston 18-2 and piled up 26 hits in the series.
Two months after his debut, Lombard is already dealing with the kind of attention that usually comes much later. Now the Yankees will see whether that momentum keeps rolling against the Rays.
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