The Yanks have been officially eliminated from the postseason for the first time since 1993. It's been a great run, I grew up in an era where we never made the playoffs(though if we had the WC back then we would have made it a few times). I was too young to remember the '81 playoffs so I never really experienced a postseason until 1995. You could see something special building early in the 90s after we bottomed out from '89-'91 we hired Buck to manage the team, Stick was running the show and thankfully George was banned from baseball. The last year we missed the postseason,1993, we got paul O'Neill from the reds, signed Wade Boggs and Jimmy Key and saw Bernie become an every day player. That's the 1st year we contended since '88 and it felt great competing again. The PA would blare Twisted Sister's "We're not gonna take it" after wins instead of "New York, New York"(as far as I know the only season NY, NY wasn't played) and the Yankees were back on the radar. In '94 we had a GOOD team that was beginning to fade around the time of the strike but we still had a big enough lead that we would have made the postseason but that was put on hold another year. In '95 we got off to a brutal start when everyone picked us to win but a midseason trade for David Cone help, the emergence of youngsters Mariano Rivera(who started early in the year) and Andy Pettitte plus the acqusition of John Wetteland helped the Yanks go on a tear to end '95 as they clinched the AL's first ever Wild Card. What a series that first postseason was in 1995. I was at game 1 and the atmosphere was unbelievable from the Boggs HR that put us on top early to the deafening silence of a majestic Ken griffey HR off the facing of the upper deck in RF. It got so quiet after he hit it that sitting on the 3B side I could hear the ball bounce off the upper deck. The Yanks would put that game away late and win that great extra inning game the next night then hop on a plane and travel to the Kingdome needing just 1 win. We knew Game 3 was going to be near impossible facng Randy Johnson who owned us back then but thought we could get Game 4 and when Scott Kaminiecki was handed a 5-0 lead things looked great but he blew that lead quickly and it was on to game 5 where we witnessed one of the greatest and most painful games of all time. Cone pitched his heart out and his arm out(had we won he may not have been able to pitch in the ALCS) and we took the lead off of Randy Johnson in relief but it wasn't meant to be as Seattle won it in the bottom of the 11th. After '95 we thought we were on our way but soon after Buck was gone and Torre was in, Stanley was gone and Girardi was in and we started to question but we all know what happened from '96 on. It was a great run that I truly appreciated and hopefully we can start a new one next year.
It was defintely a great run, one of the best I have ever seen in any sport. I hope you guys have good memories though as the future doesn't look very bright for the Yanks or their fans.
jeez, the Yanks have been in the playoffs basically my whole adult life (much to my dismay) which I consider having begun when I graduated from college.........but I guess it's even more a big deal for the youngsters who've never seen the playoffs without them
I think it looks pretty bright. A few signings this offseason in addition to what ever youth we end up keeping for the rotation. the lineup will be solid.
This season had a strange feel to it. Much as I hate the Yankees, the baseball world is right and proper when the Red Sox have the Yankees there to hate.
True...I'm 21 and all through Elementary, Middle and High school the Yankees have been in the post-season. Now they're gone? It's just very hard to believe. It makes you put in perspective the runs that Atlanta and New York had, even though the Yanks cashed in a helluva lot more. I appreciate the run...But their is still an empty feeling when I'll be watching the playoffs.
We aren't a bad team, the Yanks are likely going to win over 90 games. If we were in the NL we'd be tied for the WC lead right now. W/ good health, good decisions and some younger guys developing we should be alot better next year.
This is indeed odd. Although it's fun for a Sox fan to hate the Yankees, it really isn't the same without them in the playoffs. It's no coincidence that the best two playoff series of this decade (and IMO two of the best ever) were between Boston and New York. Although,with the help of Hank Steinbrenner, this thread just might become an annual event.
I still can't believe Torre wasn't at least included in a recorded speech. The way the Steinbrenners treated Joe is just despicable. I wish I could personally thank the Steinbrenners for alienating Joe to LA and making us relevant again.
