The Yankees won 103 games this regular season. They were odds-on favorites to win the World Series at many sites, like Betonline. Yet, they were crushed 4-2 by the Astros in the ALCS.
It looked like the Bronx Bombers were unstoppable, especially after thrashing the Minnesota Twins in a 3-0 sweep in the American League Division Series. So, is 2019 one of the most disappointing ends to a playoff season in Yankee history?
No. Far from it.
The 2004 ALCS
The year was 2004, and the Yankees were leading the Boston Red Soxs three games to none in the American League Champion Series. But somehow, they manage to become the first team in the history of the MLB to lose a series after going up 3-0. Not only is this a horrendous New York Yankees choke … it’s considered by many to be one of the biggest chokes in sports history. It’s right up there with Steve Bartman reaching for that catchable foul ball at Wrigley in 2003, where the Cubs were on their way to the World Series … up three to nothing in the game … then the Marlins put up 8 runs to win the game and push to the series to Game 7.In this series the Bronx Bombers bombed. Not in a good way. Game 3 was one of legend. The Yanks put up 19 runs in Fenway… only to turn around a lose 4 to 6 in 12 innings in Game 4. Then they let it go 14 innings in Game 5 … losing 5 to 4. But hey, that’s ok. We’re going back home to the Bronx … Nope. Game 6 the Sox took by a score of 4 to 2. And what put the punctuation mark on this as such significant choke … was the fact that Game 7 at Yankee Stadium was a 10 to 3 blow out in the normal allotted nine innings.
2001 Fall Classic
It’s hard to call losing 4-3 in the World Series, ‘choking.’ But, Mariano Rivera did just that. The guys is a machine. In my opinion, one of the best pitchers to ever play the game. But that 0-1 pitch in the ninth got away from him and Luis Gonzalez (Arizona Diamondbacks) crushed it. Bam … two runs score and the Yankees lose. This one was a tough pill to swallow. Especially because people outside of NY tend to root against the Yankees, they see them as the MLB’s evil empire … a dynasty. But on this night, much of the world was rooting for the Yanks. And with that loss, there was a collective sigh that was felt across the nation.2012 ALDS
Jeter blows out his ankle in the 12th inning of Game 1. But this isn’t what killed the Yanks against the Tigers. Game 3 is what killed the Yanks. A-Rod and Nick Swisher both benched … and Curtis Granderson. Ok. We get it but time and place, man. Do you do that after you just lost Jeter? It was an unprecedented decision. And the Yankee were swept 4-0. It was also a record-breaking bad performance. The Yankees batting average that post-season was just .188. Talk about having a great regular-season then completely choking in the Playoffs. Cano was 0 for 29 A-Rod (before being benched) was .120, Swisher a dismal, .167, Granderson a horrible, .100 and a normally reliable Russell Martin batted just .161.In my mind, this was one of the worst Yankee chokes in history. It’s right up there with getting swept by the Reds in ‘76.
