After being swept by the Orioles and almost losing home-field-advantage for their wild-card playoff game against the Astros, the Yankees limped into the 2015 MLB playoffs. The 2015 Yankees are not a championship team. This became evident by watching their games against Toronto and other very good teams. In fact, I think the Yankees have overachieved in 2015. A lot of credit has to be given to their manager Joe Girardi. Girardi has been a wizard at dealing with the loss of key players such as Teixeira and Eovaldi for long periods of time as well as the loss of Ellsbury, Pineda, Sabathia, and Tanaka for short periods of time. Girardi has gotten the most out of his older players, A-Rod and Beltran, by giving them their needed rest. He also stuck with Didi Gregorius as Jeter’s replacement when many critics said giving up Shane Greene for Didi was a terrible trade. With his great second half of the season, Didi now looks like the Yankee shortstop for the future while Shane Greene has disappointed. Girardi also knows how to use his bullpen effectively. He has built a formidable seventh, eighth, and ninth inning trio in Wilson, Betances, and Miller. This being said I think the probability of the Yankees winning the 2015 WS is very small. The rest of this blog is meant to be a reminder of why the Yankees are considered the greatest professional franchise in American sports.
The Yankees 4-1 victory against the Red Sox on Thursday marked their 17,567th victory since their beginnings in 1901 (the year the AL was founded). This victory also was special in that it was the 10,000th victory in Yankee franchise history. The Yankees rank number 1 in the AL for career victories. However, there are seven NL teams with more wins (Cardinals, Pirates, Reds, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, and Giants). Of course, the NL was founded in 1876.
What about World Series (WS) wins? The Yankees have won 27 titles. Their first WS win was in 1923 and their last WS win was in 2009. Of the total of 110 WSs, the AL has won 63 and the NL has won 47. Thus, the Yankees have won 24.5% of the WSs. They also had an amazing 5-year WS winning streak (1949-1953). Behind the Yankees in WS wins are the St Louis Cardinals with 11 titles (first win 1926, last win 2011). Holding down third place are the Boson Red Sox with 8 (first win 1903, last win 2013).
The other eight 2015 playoff teams are listed in the form (total WS wins, year of first win, year of last win). The list is Los Angeles Dodgers (5, 1959, 1988), Pittsburgh Pirates (5, 1909, 1979), Chicago Cubs (2, 1907, 1908), NY Mets (2, 1969, 1986), Toronto Blue Jays (2, 1992, 1993), Kansas City Royals (1, 1985, 1985), Houston Astros (0), Texas Rangers (0).
How about the all-time Yankee player and manager win list?
Finally, where does Jeter rank in the all-time win list for players? The list below is based on all players since 1954.
This is another reason why many people consider Jeter the sixth greatest Yankee of all-time behind Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, and Berra.