The 2010s Yankees Came Closer To #28 Than You'll Remember

Barton Silverman / The New York Times

Sitting – no, standing – in the upper deck at the new Yankee Stadium watching the New York Yankees win the 2009 World Series will forever be one of the greatest nights of my life.

I remember almost everything about that night, thanks in large part to my uncle recording a ton of videos on his brand-new iPhone 3GS. But as the ten-year anniversary of that night approaches, something I was caught saying on-camera has been on my mind these last few days.

“28 next year!” I shouted, mere minutes after the Yankees won 27.

Watching that video makes me wish Doc really did build a time machine out of a DeLorean, and that I could travel back to that moment and warn my 11-year-old self of what was to come…. or not come, for that matter.

It’s incredibly difficult to win a professional sports championship, and, in my opinion, even tougher to win the World Series. 30 spring training games and 162 regular season games are spread across seven grueling months. Then, if you make the postseason (and let’s just say you’re a Wild Card team like the Washington Nationals), you need to win 12 more games to win it all, which, if you go the distance in each round, would mean you play an additional 20 games.

That means a World Series champion plays roughly 200 nine-inning baseball games in eight months. I’m not trying to say my hopes for a repeat in 2010 were misguided, but I do wish I was more realistic. In order for your team to win a World Series, almost everything has to go their way in almost every game, be it lucky bounces, a batter swinging when he shouldn’t, a pitcher making a mistake in location, and even the wind blowing in a certain direction. All of those things and more went the Yankees’ way in 2009 and 26 other years. Don’t get me wrong, talent and execution are still crucial to winning baseball games, but come October, every team is talented and every team executes well.

So when nothing goes your way, you wind up with a decade like the Yankees had in the 2010s:

A.J. Burnett was one out away from finishing six strong innings and handing the dominant Yankees bullpen a 3-2 lead in Game 4 of the 2010 ALCS. The Yankees winning Game 4 would’ve tied the series up and completely shifted the momentum.



Instead, Bengie Molina jumped on a pitch that caught a bit too much of the plate and hit a three-run home run to give the Texas Rangers a 5-3 lead. The Rangers went on to win Game 4 and took a commanding 3-1 series lead. They then won the series in Game 6.

Derek Jeter missed what would’ve been an iconic, game-winning two-run home run in Game 5 of the 2011 ALDS by an arm’s length.



Rather than a 4-3 Yankees lead going into the top of the ninth with Mariano Rivera on the mound, the Detroit Tigers held onto their 3-2 lead and won the game and the series.

The slightest misstep caused Jeter’s fragile ankle to shatter in the top of the 12th of Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS, dooming the series and the following season for the Yankees.



In the bottom of the tenth, Jeter popped out with the winning run on third base.

Todd Frazier hit a game-tying three-run home run in the top of the seventh of Game 6 of the 2017 ALCS....



....if the game was played in any other ballpark. Instead, it was a long flyout because Minute Maid Park has one of the deepest right-center fields in all of baseball. The Yankees lost their chance to clinch the series in Game 6, and lost Game 7 and the series the next night.

Gary Sanchez got a hold of a Craig Kimbrel fastball that should’ve landed in the seats and forced the 2018 ALDS back to Fenway Park for a Game 5.



Instead, it was a flyout to the warning track, and the Yankees lost Game 4 and the series in heartbreaking fashion on the very next play.

Aroldis Chapman hung a breaking ball to Jose Altuve that, if better placed, might have given the Yankees the chance to take the lead in the top of the tenth of Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS.



Instead, it was a walk-off two-run home run, ending the Yankees’ season just minutes after D.J. LeMahieu had saved it in dramatic fashion.

I’m not trying to excuse the Yankees for their self-inflicted shortcomings and embarrassing postseason failures. Far from it. They certainly brought a lot of these losses and championship-less seasons on themselves.

However, when I look back at the Yankees of the 2010s, I can't help but think of these moments before anything else. Things just never went their way when it mattered most, and yet there the Yankees were, always putting up a fight and coming incredibly close to 28, 29, and so on.

You can’t predict baseball, Suzyn.

Billy McKinney Learns from The Past, Embraces the Doubters

First impressions are important. Billy McKinney learned that the hard way.

The 24-year-old outfielder received his first call to the big leagues last year while with the New York Yankees. In just the second game of his MLB career, McKinney brutally collided with the outfield wall as he tried to make a leaping catch. He ended up spraining the AC joint in his right shoulder and was sidelined for nearly two months.

Looking back, McKinney admits he was trying to do too much, too fast. “I was trying to make a play, being the young, new guy.” McKinney said. “I was trying to make a statement and open some eyes.” 

McKinney recovered, but never played another game for the Yankees. At last year’s trade deadline, New York sent McKinney and infielder Brandon Drury to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for starting pitcher J.A. Happ.

McKinney settled in nicely in Toronto. He hit .252/.320/.470 in 36 games. This year, he is gunning for the starting left field job and hoping to impress new Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, who he calls a “baseball genius.”

Sabermetric system PECOTA projects the Blue Jays to win just 76 games this season, but the doubters are a source of motivation for McKinney. “It just gives you something to strive for.” McKinney said. “We have the talent, and I’m looking forward to us trying to bring a World Series to Toronto.”

Bryce Harper Signing Leaves Phillies Fans in Shock

The Bryce Harper buzz is in the air at Spectrum Field. Philadelphia Phillies fans flocked to the team’s spring training home for Tuesday’s game against the Saint Louis Cardinals.

While Harper will not play until Saturday, but fans still caught a glimpse of him in the dugout. The ink is barely dry on the 26-year-old’s record-setting 13-year, $330 million contract. So, fans easily recalled the exciting moment they found out Harper would be calling the City of Brotherly Love home.

“I was just listening to the radio at the time just waiting on it like everybody else,” said Casey Dunn, a Clearwater resident and self-proclaimed die-hard Phillies fan. “I’m so excited to have him here.” 

Part of the excitement, fans say, stems from the shock they were in when the signing was announced. Reports earlier in the week suggested Harper was not sold on playing in Philadelphia and might be leaning toward signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Francisco Giants. The six-time All-Star and 2015 National League MVP ultimately felt differently.

Philadelphia native Nick Tulli said, “I was thrilled, I didn’t think there was any shot they’d sign him.”
What would Tulli do with $330 million? “Sign Mike Trout,” he said. “One hundred percent.”

CC Sabathia Announces Retirement

New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia is entering his 19th season in Major League Baseball. It will also be his last.

The 38-year-old announced his upcoming retirement at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida on Saturday. Sabathia’s family, friends and teammates joined him in support.

The left-hander has a career record of 246-153 with a 3.70 ERA. Sabathia is 14 strikeouts shy of 3,000, a feat only accomplished by 16 major league pitchers ever. He earned the 2007 American League Cy Young Award while with the Cleveland Indians. He won the 2009 World Series in his first season with the Yankees.

Sabathia will also leave his mark as an advocate for investing in youth baseball, especially for inner cities. He has drawn attention to the declining number of African-American players in MLB. 

Sabathia remains a highly-effective pitcher, as last season he owned a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts. However, Sabathia underwent an angioplasty to unclog an artery with a stent this past December. The Yankees cleared him to resume baseball activities the following month.

Sabathia has a specific ending to his career in mind. “Right now, I’m just focused on trying to win the championship and have a parade at the end of the year,” he said. “That would be a great way to top this thing off.”

New England Patriots Win Super Bowl LIII

They’re still here. 

The New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions for the sixth time after a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was named Super Bowl MVP, tallying 10 catches for 141 yards.

Edelman was one of the few offensive standouts in the game. The Patriots and Rams entered Super Bowl Sunday having scored an average of 28.6 and 32.4 points per game respectively, but at halftime, New England’s lead was 3-0 by way of a Stephen Gostkowski field goal.

The two teams traded punts for most of the game, and it took until midway through the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 3, to see signs of life from the Patriots’ offense. Rob Gronkowski made a diving 29-yard catch near the goal line. Tom Brady then handed the ball off to rookie running back Sony Michel, who found the end zone for the only touchdown of the game.

The Rams were nearing the end zone themselves on the following drive, but quarterback Jared Goff’s throw on second down was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Another Gostkowski field goal with 1:16 to play put the game out of reach.

New England’s sixth Lombardi Trophy ties the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in NFL history. Head coach Bill Belichick, Brady, and the rest of the team will celebrate with a duck boat parade in Boston on Tuesday, starting at 11 a.m.