The New York Yankees have advanced to the American League Championship Series for the second time in three seasons and the fourth time in eight. New York is attempting to do something it hasn’t done in 15 years: win the AL pennant and the World Series championship. An ALDS victory over the Kansas City Royals is a terrific place to begin.
The Yankees closed out a tense series on the road Thursday night, securing their spot in the MLB playoffs’ final four. While they await their ALCS opponent, the Yankees and their fans can’t help but wonder if this is finally the year they win championship No. 28.
New York was perhaps the finest American League team all season, and the odds now make them the favourite to win it all. The Yankees are eight victories away from a championship, but it is likely that they will be the final team standing in 2024.
Baseball games will be played, and the ball may bounce in unexpected ways. The most unpredictable sport becomes wackier in the postseason, yet sometimes “on paper” wins out.
The Yankees have the tools to make it happen. Here’s why they should already be planning a march on Broadway.
Yankees bullpen has been untouchable
It is commonly believed that good pitching wins championships. Even though the ALDS was just four games long, calling the Yankees bullpen’s performance “good” would be an understatement.
New York’s relievers were totally dominant against Kansas City, pitching 15 2/3 scoreless innings. The Royals failed to score a run after the sixth inning in the whole series.
Furthermore, only one inherited runner crossed the plate against Yankees relievers. That came off Tim Hill in Game 1, which New York won 6-5 despite several lead changes.
Perhaps the most outstanding aspect of the Yankees’ bullpen is new closer Luke Weaver. Weaver, a lifetime starter until this season (though he did make 21 of his 22 appearances in relief in 2022), transformed himself into Aaron Boone’s go-to ninth-inning reliever. He delivered in his first MLB playoffs.
Weaver secured all three of New York’s ALDS victories, allowing only two of the 15 batters he faced to reach base safely. Those were two singles in the eighth inning of Game 3. Weaver got through the inning unharmed, then retired the Royals in order in the ninth for his third multi-inning save of the season.
A strong bullpen relieves the starting rotation’s workload. The Yankees relievers have picked up their starters in an emphatic way.
Emergence of Giancarlo Stanton
Oh, hi Giancarlo. It is good of you to join us.
After hitting.194 in September, the Yankees slugger was expected to have another miserable postseason. Instead, Giancarlo Stanton led New York’s offence throughout the ALDS, while Aaron Judge’s playoff struggles persisted.
Stanton recorded five hits in Games 3 and 4, including a double and home run in Game 3, where he contributed all three runs to the Yankees’ victory. He has scored at least one run in the last three games after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Game 1.
Stanton also demonstrated his speed by stealing a base in Game 3, his first since 2020.
The Yankees needed someone to come up and ignite the offence alongside Juan Soto, as Judge’s career playoff hitting average approaches the Mendoza line. Stanton, the 325 million dollar man, is a tremendous producer.
This might be Stanton’s legacy-defining postseason in Yankees uniform. The majority of his career has been hampered by injury and inconsistency at the plate, but one tremendous championship run with Stanton at the helm would put all of that to rest.
After a poor performance in the 2022 MLB playoffs, where Stanton hit.188 with a.666 OPS in nine games, this reversal is critical for him and the Yankees. He could be an unexpected MVP candidate for the ALCS or World Series.
The best club does not always win, especially in baseball, but it is difficult to overlook the talent gap between the Yankees and the rest of the American League field, as opposed to the three surviving National League teams.
That alone gives the Yankees an advantage in the Championship Series, but other indicators indicate that New York has a clear road to the World Series crown.
After winning the ALDS in four games, the Yankees will have three days off before playing two home games in the ALCS. New York posted winning records against Cleveland and Detroit, their two potential dance partners in the series.
The Yankees maintained their dominance against the Guardians, winning four of their six regular-season games with a +15 run difference. There is also recent postseason history between the two teams, with New York ending Cleveland’s season in 2022, 2020, and 2017.
The Tigers kept the game close against the Yankees, but history does not favour Detroit’s trip to the Bronx. The Yankees have an 11-1 record versus the Tigers at Yankee Stadium over the last four seasons.
The National League is a slugfest, with a surging Mets squad and the Padres/Dodgers battling it out. The ideal scenario for the Yankees would be a protracted NLCS with games like the Padres-Dodgers series, which has been filled with tension and furious confrontations.
That may set New York on the path to a less-than-difficult World Series appearance. The Yankees still need to make plays and score runs, but they are in the greatest position of any remaining MLB playoff club as the league semifinals approach next week.