text: 2014 On February 23, 2014, the Yankees and Gardner agreed to a four-year, $52 million extension to begin in 2015. On April 23, 2014, Gardner made his first career start at right field. On July 28, 2014, Gardner recorded his first career multi-homer game where he hit two home runs off of Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish. He was named AL Player of the Week on August 4. On September 21, Gardner recorded the 15,000th home run of the Yankees franchise off the Blue Jays' Drew Hutchison. Gardner struggled in September due to an injury, finishing 12-for-72 (.167 batting average), dampening his strong 2014 offensive season. Gardner changed his approach to hitting, relying less on his declining speed and altering his swing to develop more power. For the 2014 season, Gardner played in 148 games, batting .256 with a career-high 17 home runs, 58 RBI, and 21 stolen bases, and had the highest number of pitches per plate appearance in the major leagues (4.44).
  Gardner was the Yankees' nominee for the Hank Aaron Award for the 2014 season. After the 2014 season, Gardner underwent surgery in his right arm to correct a rectus abdominis muscle injury that affected him in July and September.