As Aaron Boone prepared for the potential chaos that Game 162 could unleash on his club and Major League Baseball, the manager appeared calm and collected while he spoke to reporters before the regular season finale.
The Yankees entered Sunday in search of two outcomes: a win over the Orioles and a Blue Jays loss to the Rays. That combination would have secured the American League East for the Bombers, given them a first-round bye in the postseason, and locked them in as the No. 1 seed in the American League.
“It’ll be an exciting day,” Boone said beforehand. “There’s obviously a few things to sort out. But at the risk of sounding boring, it’s ‘we’re trying to win today,’ and that’s kind of how we look at it.
“We’ll be paying attention to what’s going on around the league, but obviously, those things are out of our control.”
Those last words rang true, as the pinstripers could only look at Yankee Stadium’s out-of-town scoreboard with a sense of helplessness as the Jays beat the Rays, 13-4, earning all that the Yankees had strived for. Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk, known as a Yankee killer, helped make that happen, as he hit a grand slam and a two-run homer on Sunday.
The Yankees won their own game, 3-2, thanks in part to two solo homers from Ben Rice. The victory ended their regular season with a season-high eight-game winning streak and a 94-68 record, the same as last year’s club, which made it to but lost the World Series.
Despite the triumphant finish, the Yankees will nonetheless begin their postseason at home against the Red Sox in the Wild Card round on Tuesday.
“A little bit,” Rice said when asked if missing out on an AL East title felt bittersweet. “Obviously, it was a good way to close out the year with all those wins. Fell short of the goal to win the division, but now we’re just on to the postseason and focused on the series.”
While this was hardly an unsuccessful regular season — the Yankees are still in the playoffs, after all — it’s hard not to see the final standings and think that the team was capable of more.
The team led the AL East by seven games on May 28, but an ensuing summer swoon — which has become an annual occurrence under Boone — helped the Jays take control of the division in early July. Toronto held the tiebreaker over New York thanks to an 8-5 record in head-to-head play, and the Yankees barely finished above .500 against the AL East.
A few other lost series — including ones against the Marlins and Angels — and several bullpen implosions also hurt the Yankees’ record.
“I try not to,” Aaron Judge, fresh off his first batting title, said of harping on those missed opportunities. “There’s nothing we can do about it now besides turn the page and get locked in on October.”
On the flip side, the Yankees suffered some tough breaks, as Gerrit Cole was lost to Tommy John surgery in spring training. Clarke Schmidt followed midseason, and Luis Gil, who allowed two solo homers over five innings on Sunday, was limited to 11 starts thanks to a lat injury. Giancarlo Stanton missed two months with tennis elbows, and injuries ravaged the bullpen as it struggled.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. spent a month on the injured list before the swoon, while Judge missed 10 games with a right flexor strain. His arm strength will be something to watch in the playoffs.
Unable to change the past, the Yankees are fortunate to have found their groove at the right time, as they went a major league-best 34-14 over their last 48 games.
“A month and a half ago, we were teetering on, when it wasn’t going great, even being out of the [playoff] picture a little bit,” Boone said. “So to right the ship and then really solidify our position and then have a real shot at the East here all the way to the last day, hopefully it’s something that serves us well, has kept us sharp, has kept us really locked in. I think that’s a good thing.”
While Sunday did not go the way the Yankees wanted, sometimes a hot hand is all you need to win in October. It’s not like they are short on talent, either.
“I feel as good about this team as I have any team that I’ve had here at this point in the season, so there’s some comfort in that,” Boone said.
When asked why he felt that way, he had a few reasons ready to go.
“This is probably the healthiest we’ve been, probably the most balanced we’ve been,” Boone said, adding that he liked the progress his pen has made recently. “Obviously, last year we got to the World Series and had a really, really good club, but we were still a little short or flawed in certain areas. This team can beat you in a lot of different ways.”
That said, the Yankees will have their work cut out for them against the rival Red Sox.
While New York won its last series against Boston earlier this month, the Sox are 9-4 against the Yanks this season. They’ll also have Garrett Crochet pitching opposite of fellow left-handed ace Max Fried in Game 1.
Boone called Crochet “one of the game’s best,” but he is hoping the Yankees’ familiarity with the southpaw “serves us well.” Crochet has a 3.29 ERA over four starts against the Yankees this season, totaling 10 earned runs, four walks and 39 strikeouts over 27.1 innings.
“He can run it up to 100 miles an hour,” said Judge, who is 2-for-13 with two homers against Crochet this season. “Works all of his pitches in the zone when he needs to. He’s a tough matchup. It’s probably why he’s, if not one of the best, the best pitcher in the game right now and probably on his way to a Cy Young. It’s impressive what he’s done so far this year, and I’m looking forward to facing him.”
All eyes will be on Judge throughout the Yankees’ playoff run, however long it may last, as he is looking to improve on a .205 career postseason average. He has eight homers over his last 31 playoff games, but also a .160 average and a .648 OPS.
With a chance to boost those numbers, the captain is simply looking forward to the atmosphere that will accompany a new chapter in baseball’s oldest rivalry for now.
“We got a rowdy crowd out there, a rowdy group that’s been there behind us all year long, even in our tough times in the summer,” Judge said. “They’re definitely going to be excited for a Yankees-Red Sox postseason matchup, that’s for sure. So I’m expecting the stadium to be loud here on Tuesday.”
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