Yankees' team celebration filled with so many individual stories
Yankees outfielder Juan Soto and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton celebrate after winning Game 5 of the ALCS against the Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Saturday. Credit: Newsday/William Perlman
In the immediate aftermath of their ALCS-clinching victory over the Guardians on Saturday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland, the Yankees celebrated by:
— Jumping around in a big circle;
— Hugging each other and then doing the same with loved ones once their families came onto the field;
— Gathering on the infield for a group photo;
— Going into the clubhouse for a champagne and cigar party, the fourth time they have popped corks this season (also for clinching a playoff berth, winning the AL East and beating the Royals in the ALDS).
There are those who wonder why baseball teams celebrate so often. Why they don’t save the champagne for the ultimate moment, when they win the World Series.
Why do they celebrate? There’s the team accomplishment, first and foremost.
But on a big-league team, there are so many individual stories. Some you know well, others you might not know at all.
As the Yankees went into Sunday waiting to find out if their World Series opponent would be the Mets or Dodgers, here are some of those stories from the 2024 American League champion New York Yankees:
— There’s owner Hal Steinbrenner, who only hears every day how he’s not his father.
— There’s Brian Cashman, the Yankees lifer who has built four World Series championship teams during his tenure as general manager and who some of the fan base thinks should have been fired long ago.
— There’s manager Aaron Boone, who hasn’t been to the World Series since 2003, when he sent the Yankees there with one of the biggest home runs in franchise history, and who some of the fan base also thinks should have been gone a long time ago.
— There’s Omar Minaya, a special adviser to Cashman and the former Mets GM, whose wife Rachel passed away in July. Minaya, who is beloved and respected throughout baseball, walked onto the field after the players celebrated and shared congratulations with those who have welcomed him into the Yankees family.
— There are the players, starting with captain Aaron Judge, the face of the franchise and one of the faces of baseball, who personifies the belief passed down from George Steinbrenner and Derek Jeter that any Yankees season that doesn’t end with a championship is a failure.
— There’s Juan Soto, the free-agent-to-be who accepted the challenge of coming to the Yankees in his walk year, immediately captured the hearts of Bronx fans, and who hit the dramatic three-run home run on Saturday that powered the Yankees to the World Series.
—- There’s Giancarlo Stanton, the freakishly talented slugger who was once hit so hard by a fastball that it shattered his face. Stanton, the ALCS MVP with four home runs, cemented his status as one of the best postseason performers in Yankees history.
— There’s Anthony Rizzo, who hit .429 in the ALCS with two recently broken fingers and downplayed the obvious pain he was in. On warmup throws before innings, Rizzo would cup his painful right hand with his left to cushion the blow from soft tosses. Here’s the best compliment we can give Rizzo: He’s tough enough to be a hockey player.
— There’s Gleyber Torres, who was benched for not hustling in August and who is hitting .297 from the leadoff spot in the postseason.
—- There’s Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was toiling for the Marlins before a July trade to the Yankees, and who has been telling everyone since he got here that his new team was going to the World Series.
— There’s rookie catcher Austin Wells, who suffered through a postseason slump that saw him dropped from cleanup to eighth, and who from that spot delivered a home run in Game 4 and a rally-starting walk before Soto’s homer in Game 5.
— There are Gerrit Cole and Anthony Volpe, who grew up on opposite coasts a decade apart dreaming of playing in the World Series for the Yankees.
— There’s Carlos Rodon, who let us into his mind as he detailed his struggle with emotional control after his first start in this postseason, and then who went out and dominated the Guardians the next time out.
— There’s new closer Luke Weaver, who was let go by the Mariners and Reds as a failed starter last season, never had a save before Sept. 6, and who finished six of the Yankees’ seven wins this postseason.
— There’s Tim Hill, who was released in June by the White Sox, who went on to become the losingest team in baseball history, and Jake Cousins, who the White Sox traded to the Yankees in March for cash.
— There’s Mark Leiter Jr., who was added to the ALCS roster because of an injury to Ian Hamilton before Game 4, ended up as the winning pitcher in that game and got two outs in Game 5.
There are other players. There are coaches, trainers, all the people behind the scenes who started working in spring training in Tampa, Florida, in February, and who got to taste — or at least be sprayed with — some champagne in mid-October in Cleveland.
Why do they celebrate?
The better question is: Why wouldn’t they?
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
