The Yankees have 27 World Series titles, but that greatness has sometimes become a setup for failed seasons. We came up with best (or worst) of them.
Time after time, the New York Yankees have been World Series favorites. Of course, despite their 27 rings, the Bronx Bombers have come up short more than they have won it all, but that doesn’t take away from the heartbreak.
With MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, and huge acquisitions came big expectations, and sometimes, the Yankees fell short.
Here are 10 times the Yankees had high expectations that they did not meet.
Honorable mentions: 1994, 1959, 1997
Before we get going in earnest, a few honorable mentions. 1994 was not at all an underpformance, but we’re labeling it disappointing because of the strike. If anything, this team way overperformed. At the time of the strike, the Yankees were 70-43 and leading the American League East by 6.5 games. They were in line for their first postseason performance since 1981, but now, we can only help but wonder what would have happened.
In 1959, the Yankees were coming off their fourth-consecutive World Series appearance. From 1949-1958, the Yankees played in nine World Series, and won seven. However they went just 79-75-1 in ’59. They wound up making the next five World Series. To put that in perspective, from 1949-1964, the Yankees played in 14 out of a possible 16 World Series. Pure dominance.
1997 did not crack the top 10, solely because they won the World Series the year prior. Of course, the Yankees went on to win the next three titles, so a five-peat would have been awesome. And while it was disappointing to be upset by the Indians in the Division Series, they would have had to face Baltimore if they won that series, who finished ahead of them in the AL East. They would have had a tough go no matter the case.