NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
The New York Yankees’ season ended in heartbreak for the 16th straight year Wednesday night, as they were eliminated from the American League Division Series playoffs.
The Toronto Blue Jays won the series in four games to advance to the American League Championship Series, wasting yet another peak season for Aaron Judge, who had, by far, his best postseason.
However, a perennial MVP candidate clearly isn’t enough to get over the hump, and three-time MVP and Yankees World Series champion Alex Rodriguez has torn his old ballclub apart because of the team they’ve built this season.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Former New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez at Yankee Stadium. (Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports)
RADIO HOST BOOMER ESIASON TAKES AN AIR JAB AT YANKEES BROADCAST SUZYN WALDMAN
“Aaron has been very stylish. We’ve all been very consistent with it. Honestly, out of the whole organization, he’s the guy I would surround with the least to blame. I mean, he’s got a lot of talent,” Rodriguez said. “But for me personally, it’s one of the worst roster constructions I’ve ever seen. You have three left-handed catchers, you have five DHs, you have a first baseman in and out. It’s just a very, very difficult hand to [manager Aaron] Boone. And honestly, they were exposed against a much better Jays team. »
The Yanks were once again built to outplay their opponents, but they were beaten to death by a thousand cuts from a Blue Jays team that had the best strikeout rate, highest batting average, and best on-base percentage in the league. Meanwhile, the Yankees had the second-highest strikeout rate of any team in the postseason, behind the Detroit Tigers.
Yariel Rodríguez of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts during Game 4 of the American League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, in New York, New York. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Trailing 2-1 in the top of the seventh, the Yankees got a tailor-made double play to get out of the inning, but it was robbed by Jazz Chisholm Jr. Two runs later scored, effectively putting the nail in the coffin for the Yankees. They brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth with Austin Wells, but he flied out on the first pitch he saw to end the inning.
The Blue Jays finished the game with 12 total hits to the Yankees’ six, and they used eight different pitchers to get the job done.
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman walks on the field before Game 3 of the 2024 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)
Judge, an MVP contender for the third time in four years, was 13-for-26 (.500) in the postseason, making it the most hits he’s ever had in bonus baseball. Among players with more than 15 at-bats, the second-highest average on the team was Wells’ .227.
