Nearly every sporting league has it and if they don’t, it’s usually not a league you pay attention to. The dominant sports league in the states, the NFL, has been lucky enough to have that ‘it’ team for three decades. In the 90’s, it was the Dallas Cowboys and in the two decades since, it’s been the New England Patriots. In the MLB, however, it is rarely ever transferred from one team, the 27 time champion New York Yankees.
After championship lull in the 80’s, the Yankees added four rings to the tally in the late 90’s. They played in three more in the 2000’s going 1-2. It was a bit of a dry spell by their standards but the average fan continued to hate them as they signed almost every single high impact free agent in the decade. After there last championship in 2009 and long owner George Steinbrenner’s death in 2010, the team fell into a little bit of a funk.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the Yankees were and continue to be relevant and they’ve been to five of seven postseasons this decade but they lacked something. They weren’t World Series favorites in any of those years and the controversies that came with Alex Rodriguez and the aging, flawed, mega contracts they acquired in the 2000’s began to wear on them and MLB. Fans no longer flocked to the stadiums to watch their favorite teams try and beat the hated enemy. Instead, they stayed away from the New York circus.
With only one playoff game, a loss, from 2013 to 2016, 2017 was supposed to be a full rebuilding year. It’s unfathomable, rebuilding just wasn’t the word uttered in the Bronx. The Baby Bombers had other ideas as they went 91-71 and returned to the ALCS for the first time in five years. They hit a league leading 241 home runs last year and they added the reigning NL MVP who had 59 home runs of his own in Giancarlo Stanton.
The Yankees expect to challenge the single season home run record of 264 set by the 1996 Seattle Mariners and with the addition of Stanton, some believe 300 might be attainable. One thing is for sure; the team you love to hate is back. The Evil Empire is back.
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Nice post, thats one terrifying lineup for opposing pitchers.
I completely disagree. Yes, in regards to being in the news, the Yankees are back, but as a legit contender? The evil empire has stretched itself too thin. If one looks at their starting pitching, and any player outside of Stanton, Judge, and Sanchez (this not even mentioning the injury concerns of Stanton and Sanchez), the lineup isn't nearly as daunting as it seems. The likes of Neil Walker, Brandon Drury, and Aaron Hicks aren't not the sort of names terrorizing the hearts and minds of MLB pitchers.
To better explain my injury concerns, I'll quote myself,
"During Stanton’s eight year career, he’s played in over 120 games only four times, while reaching 140 only three times. If I were Aaron Boone, I’d be more than happy to get 130 games out of him this season. Adding to this, Gary Sanchez is a catcher. Let alone that his highest game total is 122 for a season, and I know he's young, but I’m just saying, if a team is playing a catcher, especially of Sanchez’s pedigree more than a 140 games in a season, they’re being stupid. Look at the examples of Buster Posey and Joe Mauer. You’ve got to consistently give those knees a rest. Judge is fine. But suddenly you’re looking at second year player—one who didn’t completely tank at the end of last year, I mean he batted .228 with 99 strikeouts—dealing with the New York Yankees and all that comes with being a Yankee, the burden of the franchise on his shoulders, if one of two really volatile players suddenly finds themselves on the DL."
These are more than a few of the issues the Yankees have this year. All the hype about Stanton is good for baseball, but the cracks in the Yankees team are too prominent to ignore.
Anyways, here's a link to my article about how the Yankees won't make the playoffs, if you'd like to read it.
https://steemit.com/sports/@lettherebewrite/why-the-yankees-won-t-make-the-playoffs
https://steemit.com/sports/@jos3lider/los-angeles-dodgers-vs-san-francisco-giants look at my free bet yesterday