Hours before the Yankees held a light workout in the Bronx this past Tuesday, Aaron Boone was asked if he had a rooting interest when it came to the wild card matchup between the Orioles and Royals.
“I really don’t,” the manager insisted with his Bombers awaiting the winner in the ALDS. “I’m always, ‘Careful what you wish for.’ I tell that to coaches all the time. Like we may be in June watching a game, and you’re watching a division rival play another team, and you’re pulling for the other team. I’m like, ‘Careful what you wish for. That team may knock us out.’ So I’m always just like, ‘Let it play out.’”
It didn’t take long for things to play out, as the Royals made quick work of a Baltimore team that pestered the Yankees all season. Kansas City, led by MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr., only scored three runs in its two-game series, but it held the O’s to one.
Now the Yankees get to play a Royals team that it went 5-2 against during the regular season. With the ALDS starting Saturday night, the Bombers will have homefield advantage. They will maintain that at least until the World Series, should they make it that far.
On the other side of the American League playoff bracket, the Yankees can take comfort in the fact that their season can’t end in Houston like it has so often in the past several years.
The red-hot Tigers, a problem in their own right, swept the Astros. That means if the Yankees advance to the ALCS, they will play someone other than Houston in that round for the first time since 2012.
With their rivals eliminated, the Yankees are now looking at a bracket full of AL Central teams. The division produced the worst team in big league history this season, the White Sox, but the Royals, Tigers and Guardians — the other remaining squad — all pose threats as the pinstripers look to end a championship drought that dates back to 2009.
While the Yankees had a winning record against the Royals this year, K.C. put up a fight when it visited Yankee Stadium in early September. New York took 2-of-3 in that series, but an extra-inning effort was required and Royals starters held the Yanks to five earned runs. Ex-Met and first-time All-Star Seth Lugo was especially dominant in the Royals’ lone win, allowing three hits and zero walks while striking out 10 over seven innings on Sept. 10.
Kansas City also didn’t have Vinnie Pasquantino for that series.
The Tigers, meanwhile, went 2-4 against the Yankees this season. However, Detroit played like two different teams in the first and second halves. The Yankees swept the seemingly-rebuilding club at home back in May, but the upstart Tigers then took 2-of-3, including the Little League Classic, in mid-August.
The Yankees also went 4-2 against Cleveland, though the Guardians fought them down to the wire for the American League’s best record.
While all of the remaining teams shouldn’t be underestimated, the Yankees have experience and star power on their side. That won’t guarantee them anything, but it should help them on their path to a potential World Series appearance.
A few Yankees have already said they’re the team to beat, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. recently added, “We’re not stopping until we get that ring.”
Now the Yankees have a favorable field as they look to make that a reality.
