Expectations were high coming into the year. Everybody thought the New York Yankees would be among the strongest teams in baseball and one of the candidates to win it all come late October. However, once again, the team disappointed, and this time, they didn’t even made it to the Championship Series.
The Yankees lost the best-of-five Division Series 3-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays, culminating with a painful 2-1 loss at Petco Park on Friday night. Aroldis Chapman allowed the game-winning home run to Mike Brosseau after a 10-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning. The offense couldn’t back up a fantastic start on three days rest by Gerrit Cole.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was, naturally, disappointed at the way his team’s season ended.
“It’s awful,” Boone said. “The ending is cruel. It really is,” he said according to SNY. Because of a shallow bullpen, the Yankees’ skipper was forced to go to Chapman for a significant workload for the second night in a row.
The Yankees’ core will make another run in 2021
Boone is confident that he will be able to, eventually, lead the Yankees to their 28th World Series title.
The team has a strong core, especially in the position players’ side. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Gio Urshela, Luke Voit, Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres and company will return next season to give it another shot. Luis Severino will presumably regain his health at some point next year, but Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and James Paxton will be free agents, so the pitching will need some patching.
“We’re gonna get there,” Boone said. “I know it. It’s going to make it all the sweeter, but a lot of hurting people in that room right now.” The Yankees haven’t won a World Series title since 2009, making it eleven years now.