Rivalry? What Rivalry?

Francis Lee

 

The New York Yankees were once known as the standard of success in sports. Their winning ways transcended just baseball and their brand become synonymous with winning after their run in the 90’s.  They were an organization with a long history of leaders and champions, from Babe Ruth all the way to Derek Jeter. They were also a team who took pride in their approach to their work on the field. Especially when the team on the other side of the lines was a fierce rival.

 

The Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is one of the premiere rivalries in all of sports and over the years it’s given us some of the more visceral memories we have as fans.

 

 

The New York Mets have also been a formidable opponent for years in a rivalry that has always felt natural due to the fact that the teams share the Big Apple. “Little Brother” has never backed down from the challenge of facing the mighty Bronx Bombers. Even in their down years, they always seem to get up for the matchup with the crosstown rival, so much so that the record is much closer than what most Yankees fans care to admit at 80-65 (in favor of the Yanks).

 

 

Then of course, there are teams like the Astros, who recently have seemed to become the bane of the Yankees’ existence. Houston eliminated the Yankees from the playoffs in 2015, 2017, 2019 and most recently in 2022 when they swept them in the ALCS. Use whatever rationale (excuse) you choose but Houston has been a problem.

 

 

Then you have the regular division rivals, which in the Yankees’ case seem to be that much more hated. After all, these are teams and fan bases that watched the Yankees dominance for years and now revel in the opportunity to knock them down a peg. I’m talking about your Tampa Bay Rays, your Toronto Blue Jays and most certainly the upstart Baltimore Orioles. You see these are teams that never really had an argument to go toe to toe with the Yankees when I was growing up but fast forward to now and they have plenty to talk about.

 

 

Here in big 2024 though, it doesn’t feel like the Yankees for their part, put much stock into the meaning of these rivalries. Now I could be being swayed by the fact that I am writing this after the Yankees completed being swept (0-4) this season by the Mets, but recent history says I have a case to make. after all I’m mainly speaking about Aaron Boone’s tenure here, so I’ll be focusing on 2018-present.

 

 

Since the Mets series is the most fresh, we’ll start with them.

 

Under Boone, the Yankees are 14-20 vs their crosstown rival. Now I’ll start by saying that it is true that the Mets are a NL team and thus for some; these games tend to mean a little less. I am inclined to disagree as the games still count toward the overall record and because these rivalry atmospheres provide a look into what the team will look like in the pressure situations of the Postseason. That aside, most if not all Yankees fans enjoy beating the Mets. It’s bragging rights that last for a year most of the time. Since Aaron took over, the Yankees have never held those bragging rights,  they’ve either split the series or lost it, and this year not only did they lose it but they were swept. 2 of those games were all out ass whoopings put on the Yankees by their “little brother,” including last night’s 12-3 laugher in the Bronx.

 

 

Here’s the thing, the Mets have gone through their fair share of hardship and still they’ve found a way to be competitive whenever they face the Bombers. Take this season for example, their rotation has been suspect, bullpen a nightmare and an offense that can’t seem to get out of it’s own way on some nights and yet they beat the Yankees in all of those aspects; 4 times this season. One could imagine, that the games mattered to them. They sure as hell played like it and now they have the results to show for it. Shouts out to Queens Baseball.

 

Let’s look at how the Yankees have fared against Houston now. If you just started watching baseball in 2024, you would think that Yanks owned the Astros because this season they are 6-1 against them but unfortunately that number doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story. Coming into this season, the Yankees under Aaron Boone had a 19-15 record against the Stros’ including the Playoffs. Speaking of October, the Yanks are 2-8 against Space City in the Post season and have lost both of their matchups in the ALCS.

 

Overall the Yankees are 25-16 against Houston while under Boonie’s tutelage, but those 8 losses in the Playoffs are what tell the real story. Whether the Yanks view it as a full fledged rivalry or not, the Astros have had their number when it matters most and for a team that set a standard based on Championships, that’s what really counts.

 

 

Moving on to the Tampa Bay Rays, this rivalry has been one of the more interesting ones for many reasons. For one, the Rays have historically been a penny-pinching franchise that relies heavily on pro scouting and one of the best Analytics departments in all of baseball to develop their team. In 2024, the Rays payroll doesn’t even eclipse $60 Million. For perspective, the Yankees are paying Carlos Rodon, DJ LeMahieu & Gleyber Torres pretty much the same amount that the Rays are paying for their whole Major League roster.

 

This has rarely been an obstacle for Tampa though, including Playoffs, the Yankees are 57-60 against the Rays. This includes the current season where the Yanks are 7-6 against the 4th place Rays. Much like the other teams I’ve mentioned, Tampa never seems to take a series with the Yankees lightly. They seem to kick it into another gear whenever the teams meet. Even on “down years” the Rays have proven to be a thorn in the Yankees’ side. The one time that the 2 teams met each other in the Postseason was during the Covid-Season for the ALDS. The Rays beat the Yankees in 5 games and danced on their grave afterwards.

 

As with any rivalry match up, the bragging and trash talk doesn’t just happen on the internet. There’s always something happening on the field also. With the Yankees though, they also seem to find ways to lose those battles. Whether it be Judge with his boombox at Fenway in 18′ or when Chapman hit Brousseau in 2020, whatever the Yanks do will almost certainly come back to bite them and make Yankees fans everywhere look pretty foolish.

 

 

Believe it or not, there was a time in recent memory where the Yankees owned Baltimore. So much so they went and built that atrocity in Left field. Overall the Boone era has a strong B-More chapter, their record is 69-40 against them but like the Houston numbers, this doesn’t tell the whole story. Many of those wins came against a completely different iteration of the O’s. One that saw Manny Machado get traded away, hell they even traded their closer to the Bronx. These days though, it’s a completely different story.

 

Since the start of last season (also the start of Baltimore’s current run) the Yankees are 10-13 against the Orioles. Before their recent series victory against the O’s, the Yanks hadn’t won a series against them since April of 2023, not good for a team you face as often as they do. Baltimore won the division last season and currently holds a slim 1.5 game lead over the Yankees this year. They have also played the Yankees as fearlessly as anybody in their meetings. Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman seem to show up every time, and they get just enough from the rest of the team to ensure victory.

 

These 2 juggernauts have yet to meet in the Playoffs while Boone has been manager but you can almost bank on it this year. Like Pete has said on many a Live, it’s likely going to come down to which team does more before next Tuesday’s deadline. That’s a far cry from the team that went 2-17 against the Yankees 5 years ago.

 

 

With the Jays, one could make the argument that Boonie’s Yankees have taken care of business against them. The record currently stands at 60-49. However this is one of those situations similar to Baltimore, where recently the tides seem to be heading in the other direction. Since the Covid Season, the Yanks are just 35-36 versus the Blue Jays. This includes performances like Manoah’s sheer domination of them in his debut or the Vladdy Jr. 3-HR game. Bassitt has had his way with this lineup more times than I care to mention and there is now a growing narrative that Yusei Kikuchi may be one of New York’s many “Daddys.”

 

However you look at it, the Jays are closing the gap on this rivalry. Even through their more difficult stretches, they’re another team that seems to have little to no problem waking up to face the Yankees. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. can’t seem to get enough of playing the Yanks. He’s done everything he can to make himself a villain in New York and whether we like it or not, his play backs it up. At least against our guys.

 

 

Finally, there’s Alex Cora’s Red Sox. Admittedly, the overall number favors the Yankees more than I though it would but once again, there’s more to this story. Overall, Boone has a 61-49 record against his team’s biggest rival. Not too shabby. BUT in the last 4 seasons, that record is 28-30. I imagine, you’re beginning to see my point here but wait, there’s more.

 

In the Postseason the Yankees (under Boone) are 1-4 against Boston. That record is comprised of their 2018 defeat in the ALDS that included a 16-1 bludgeoning that took place immediately after Aaron Judge decided it would be a good idea to play Frank Sinatra after the Yanks left Fenway with a split to open the series. Then there’s the 2021 Wildcard Game where the Sox would dismantle Gerrit Cole in Fenway. All in all, October baseball versus the Red Sox hasn’t been kind to the boys from the Bronx since Aaron Boone hit that homerun in 2003.

 

Boston has seen stars like Mookie Betts, JD Martinez,  Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber all leave at one point or another and yet they continue to prove that they are a more than formidable opponent for Boone’s Yankees. Credit to Alex Cora, who almost never makes excuses for his team and continues to find ways to motivate his guys to play for him and more importantly; their fans.

 

 

The most infuriating part about all of this as a fan is that the Yankees seem unfazed by their play in these games. Boone always seems to have some silver lining no matter how bad his team looks out there. The players for their part sound like their manager a lot of the time. “We have to be better” “we’re close” “we played well today just didn’t get the result we wanted…” We’ve heard these quotes time and time again and for fans that grew up with guys like Jeter and Jorge, it’s almost impossible to listen to.

 

Many times the Yankees of old made similar statements but the tone, the tone was WAY different. You could see Jeter seething as he fielded questions after a tough loss to Boston. Today we have Aaron Judge smiling through post game pressers while his team has the 2nd-worst record in the Majors since mid-June. Now Judge for his part, is producing at a Hall of Fame level, but I bring up his comments because he is the captain and one would assume the default leader of the clubhouse. If he’s smiling through these losses, then one could also assume the tenor throughout the clubhouse is pretty relaxed.

 

Boone’s Yankees play their rivals (most of the time) as if it’s just another game and as fans we get it. It is just a game to many players. Yankees fans however, are just not used to our guys seeming ‘ok’ with losing games/series to our rivals. In all honesty, we’re never ok with losing but it just hits different when its Boston or the Mets; high-fiving on the diamond while Frank Sinatra plays through the speakers at the stadium. Lately, this is happening far too often.

 

A lot of fans have bought into the Cashman/Steinbrenner/Boone philosophy that the team is always one game away from “turning the corner.” I imagine that there are even some who can also see whatever it is that Aaron sees when he says “its right in front of us.” It’s been in front of us for 6 seasons Booney, when the hell are we going to touch it? Whenever they do finally turn that corner is there a going to be a Championship Trophy there?

 

I’ll finish with this, many on X (formerly Twitter) love to argue back and say “well what do you want them to say?” My response is simple; the truth. We watch these games, living and dying with every pitch, stop pissing on us and telling us its rain. Sometimes its not even about what you’re saying but the tone in which you say it or the demeanor you have while delivering the message. For a team that often tells us how much they pride themselves on communication, they sure do a poor job of it.

 

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