Yankees' 12-year title drought doesn't cut it in Bronx
New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson (28) is out trying to get back to 1st base as he is tagged by Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) in the 5th inning In Game 1 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 11, 2022 Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The Yankees’ unmatched October success, which includes 27 world championships, has made this franchise the gold standard for most of the past century.
But the number that stands out this season, above any other data point or statistical breakdown, is a sobering reality: 0-for-12.
Twelve years, zero titles.
Ending that streak is the Yankees’ mission this October, and it got off to a solid start Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Division Series. At least the part that followed Nick Swisher, wearing a No. 99 jersey, standing in centerfield and waving a giant NY flag with all the lights off at Yankee Stadium.
Yeah, that really happened. But what also happened was Gerrit Cole shaking off some early traffic to push into the seventh inning while Harrison Bader and Anthony Rizzo both homered to give the Yankees a 4-1 victory over the Guardians.
Bader, famously known as the injured Cardinal who showed up in a boot, blasted to bits any lingering fondness for Jordan Montgomery with his tying 406-foot blast over the leftfield wall in the third inning. Rizzo launched a two-run shot that ended Cal Quantrill’s night with two outs in the sixth.
Since the Yankees won, we considered letting Josh Donaldson slide for yet another doomed home-run-trot-that-wasn’t, but this was not a first-time offense. With the score tied at 1 in the fifth, Donaldson thought he dumped the go-ahead homer into the short porch in rightfield -- even slapping hands with first-base coach Travis Chapman on his jog by. But the ball caromed off the top edge of the wall, kicking back onto the field and the stunned Donaldson was thrown out scrambling toward first base.
The replay didn’t save Donaldson, but his teammates did. After Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with a single and raced to third on a two-base error by rightfielder Oscar Gonzalez, Jose Trevino supplied a a sacrifice fly that put the Yankees in front for good anyway.
And they didn’t have to lean on Aaron Judge to do it.
The new AL home-run king had a quiet playoff opener, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout and walk in his first game since hitting No. 62 a week ago against the Rangers at Globe Life Field.
After Judge finally passed Maris, the Yankees have some of their own history to take care of this October. Since the New York Highlanders became the Yankees in 1913, only twice before has the winningest franchise in professional sports had a longer drought without a championship. The 17-year desert after the ’78 ring and a 14-year gap following the ’62 crown.
But it’s actually much worse, when you consider that the Yankees haven’t even appeared in the World Series -- once considered this team’s birthright -- after beating the Phillies in 2009. Total cost in payroll during that stretch: $2.45 billion.
Not since Don Mattingly’s solitary brilliance in pinstripes, from the early-80s to mid-90s, has that level of October futility been approached.
For Cole, he’s saddled with the added responsibility of being the $324-million pitcher signed specifically to get the Yankees back to a World Series. Or the way Hal Steinbrenner put it, to win multiple titles. To date, Cole’s presence hasn’t gotten the Yankees past a Division Series, and now in his third season of the nine-year deal, he’s got some catching up to do.
The last time Cole stepped on a playoff mound, he didn’t survive the third inning at Fenway Park a year ago, and the Yankees postseason was done after that wild-card loss to the Red Sox. Tuesday night eventually turned out be an effective palate-cleanser for this playoff run, but it took a few innings for Cole to settle in.
He gave up a solo homer to Steven Kwan in the third inning, but escaped further trouble by whiffing the former Met Andres Gimenez with the bases loaded. From there, Cole retired 11 of the next 13 before Myles Straw’s infield single with one out in the seventh finished his night. (four hits, one walk, eight Ks). It was exactly how Cole needed this October to begin for him.
“I haven't put much thought into legacy,” Cole said on the eve of Tuesday’s Game 1. “All my focus is towards preparing to pitch well tomorrow.”
Speaking of legacies, manager Aaron Boone is now on Season Five at the helm -- after signing a three-year extension last October -- and he’s only made it out of the Division Series once (predecessor Joe Girardi won the ’09 title in his second season). Boone has his work cut out for him with this group. Other than Judge, the likely American League MVP and soon-to-be owner of a $300-plus million contract, the Yankees seemed to have some trouble even fielding a team for this round, with DJ LeMahieu (fractured foot) and Scott Effross (TJ surgery) added to the shelf hours before Game 1.
“It's an opportunity in the biggest month of the year for guys to really step up and shine,” Boone said before Game 1.
Better late than never. And it’s about time for the title-starved Yankees.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
