What a difference a year can make. In 2023, the New York Yankees were one of baseball’s most disappointing teams. On the heels of a 99-win season which resulted in their sixth trip to the postseason in as many years, the Yankees finished 82-80 — their worst season since 1992 when they went 76-86 — and were fourth in the American League East.
On Wednesday night in Seattle, the Yankees won their 89th game and became the first team in the AL to clinch a playoff spot. With a five-game lead on the Baltimore Orioles with 10 games left to play, it is only a matter of time before New York clinches the East and a top-2 seed in the AL.
“A lot of things have come together. Probably better health overall. Definitely an added focus for guys that were coming off tough years, and simply put, we’re better,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “We weren’t a great team last year, and this team has a chance to do something special.”
In a 2-1 win over the Mariners, Nestor Cortes pitched six shutout innings and Anthony Rizzo knocked in both runs.
“Last year we were out of the playoffs. Sour feeling for us,” Cortes said. “Coming into spring training, we had one goal, and that’s to make the playoffs, and we’re here. Obviously, the ultimate goal for every team is to be in the World Series and win the World Series. But as of right now, we’re going to enjoy this moment.”
The Yankees have been led all season by the superstar duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Judge is pushing to win the Triple Crown as he leads the AL with 53 home runs, and 136 RBI and trails only Bobby Witt Jr. (.331) with a .321 BA. A free agent to be, Soto is second on the team with 40 HR, 103 RBI, a .288 BA and a .997 OPS.
“[It’ll] definitely be exciting, especially after the season we had last year missing out on the postseason,” Judge said. “That’s what we came into the season to do, get into the postseason and give ourselves an opportunity to go out there and win a World Series. That’ll be step one, but we’ve got to get there first.”
“Our goal is to win the division. That’s what we want to do,” Soto said. “We’re going to focus on that and try to finish the season strong.”
Following Thursday’s finale in Seattle, the Yankees will travel to Oakland for a three-game set before returning to the Bronx to wrap up the regular season with series against Baltimore and Pittsburgh, respectively.
