Staff Writer
As the 2010s came into reality, so did the potential for the New York Yankees. With players like Alex Rodriguez being caught for steroids and veterans like Andy Pettite, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter leaving the sport of baseball, the New York Yankees started to be a forgotten team. They were remembered for their glory days in the late 90s and early 2000s for their dominance on the diamond with Hall of Fame-caliber players on the field every night. However, this viewpoint of the once great ball club changed after their 2017 season.
With the rise of players like Aaron Judge, who hit fifty-two home runs in his rookie season, and Gary Sanchez, a catcher with an incredible arm and thirty-three home runs at the plate, they became a force to reckon with. The Yankees became the dominant team that they were remembered for being through a strong pitching staff and an offense with unbelievable power. As they barely made the playoffs last year, they did not take the opportunity to play October baseball carelessly. Underdogs throughout the entire postseason, they proved all the critics wrong, first by beating the phenomenal pitching staff of the Cleveland Indians, coming back from a two-game deficit to win the series three games to two. They then went on to take the Houston Astros, who later won the World Series in to seven games, losing in Game Seven in a back and forth battle in Texas.
Once the offseason began and critics started to make predictions about who would be next year’s champions, and the Yankees finally started to become noticed as a organization with a legitimate shot at the title. Then, as trades between teams were starting to go through, the Yankees acquired one of the biggest trades in recent history. New York received Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, for some of their players including second baseman Starlin Castro. With Stanton, who hit 59 home runs last season, the Yankees offensive lineup went from great to terrifying.
The current status of the New York Yankees this season has only proved everyone right about their power team, leading the Major League with the most home runs with 87. The Yankees also hold the second best record in the Major Leagues, at 35 wins and 17 losses, with the addition of promising rookies in their lineup like Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andújar. Their performances against the top teams only forecast the success that they will have in the postseason, with five wins in seven games against the reigning World Series Champion Houston Astros.
So, when you look at all the factors of the Yankees, the only thing that they lack is an amazing pitching staff. However, they still have some of the best relievers in the game including Aroldis Chapman and a possible Cy Young Award winning starter in Luis Severino. With solid starts by these men on the mound when the championship is on the line, the offense will be able to dominate any challengers that come to face them, and win the World Series.
