Seven years later, Yankees can use Guardians as steppingstone all over again
Somehow, it has been seven years.When we talk about this present arc of Yankee achievement, it’s best to go back to October 2017, because that’s when they began to rise once more as perennial contenders.
It’s best to go back to another postseason encounter with the team they face now in the ALCS, the Cleveland Guardians (who were still known as Indians then).The four years prior to 2017, the Yankees participated in only one postseason game, a one-and-done wild-card loss to the Astros.They’d missed the playoffs entirely in three of those four years.
As much as the Yankees can ever be in a rebuilding phase, the Yankees were in a rebuilding phase.That 2017 season had dawned without much expectation.“We started to learn to win as we went along,” a rookie outfielder named Aaron Judge said at the dawn of those playoffs.
“That was fun.”Pat Riley had once dubbed such seasons “the innocent climb.” Judge arrived and swatted 52 home runs, then a rookie record.Luis Severino blossomed, winning 14 games, pitching to a 2.98 ERA, striking out 230.
The Yankees won 91 games, made the playoffs as a wild card, beat the Twins in the wild-card game, and it felt like they’d reached their ceiling, especially after falling behind 0-2 to Cleveland in the best-of-five Division Series.Then, in the sixth inning of a scoreless Game 3, another rookie surely destined for greatness, Greg Bird, hit a home run off lefty killer Andrew Miller.They won that game 1-0.
They won Game 4.Didi Gregorius hit two homers in Game 5 back in Cleveland.
The Indians had won 102 games that year.Didn’t matter.
In the joyous aftermath, a fresh Yankees era was officially born.“It’s a great mixture of youth and veteran players that are leading the way,” the Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, said, squinting through eyes burning from champagne that night at Progressive Field, on Oct.11, 2017.
“And it’s hard to believe, because we just beat a really, really good team.”Two weeks later, ...