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The New York Yankees are taking a step back, and few fans are happy about it.
Sure, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to retain a large majority of a 94-win team that only lost the division due to a head-to-head tiebreaker.
However, the Yankees’ title drought reached 16 seasons after being embarrassed by the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series, and the calls for change were louder than ever.
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Derek Jeter holds his plaque with Hal Steinbrenner during his No. 2 jersey retirement ceremony at Yankee Stadium on May 14, 2017 in New York. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
But these changes did not occur.
The Yankees added just one person to their 40-man roster, left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers, while relievers Devin Williams and Luke Weaver went to their crosstown rival, the New York Mets. Everything else is the same.
For Yankees legend Derek Jeter, however, it’s all about warming up at the right time.
“It’s a long season. I used to say it when I was playing — and people got tired of me saying it — the best teams make it to the playoffs and the hottest team wins. The teams that get there, the team that’s hottest can win a World Series,” Jeter told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview. “They had a successful regular season, but it didn’t end the way they wanted, but I’m sure things change. Trade deadlines, injuries, a lot of things happen. So, they obviously like the position they’re in, and we’ll see what happens.”
Does he like the position they are in?
Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees jumps after hitting the game-winning single against the Baltimore Orioles during the ninth inning of a baseball game in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, file)
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“It’s all about the trade deadline, man. Teams change drastically at the trade deadline,” Jeter added.
As the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers break payroll records and add Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker, Hal Steinbrenner is public enemy No. 1 in the Bronx, but Jeter has come to his defense, as he did a few years ago when Steinbrenner was booed by the Yankee fan base, and Jeter urged them to applaud.
“Yankees fans have high expectations. They’ve always had high expectations. To them, if you don’t win the World Series, it’s a failure. In that sense, I have the same mindset. So I feel frustration,” Jeter said. “But I’m sure Hal is frustrated, too. Hal has been willing to go out and get players and put the Yankees in a position to win. But at the end of the day, you have to go out there and perform.”
Ironically, the Yankees have gone 32-12 in their last 44 games, including winning each of their last eight. So being the hottest team didn’t work for the Yankees.
Derek Jeter looks on before the 93rd MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at T-Mobile Park on July 11, 2023, in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Either way, it would be a surprise to see the Yankees not play baseball in October – but it wasn’t surprising to see failures that month.
