Sunday, September 20

Welcome to this edition of the Yankees Beat newsletter. Bryan Hoch has covered the Yankees for MLB.com since 2007.

NEW YORK -- The Yankees were 2-0 when they called their first team meeting of 2026.

It was still late March, the seal on the new season barely cracked, when Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt and Giancarlo Stanton were among those who spoke in the visiting clubhouse at San Francisco’s Oracle Park. 

The message delivered that afternoon was simple, according to Judge: “Every game matters.”

They didn’t need much convincing. A divisional tiebreaker had forced them into an extra playoff round the previous October, and when the club exited too early, the winter was filled with questions about whether a “run it back” roster would produce a different result.

Six months later, very little about the Yankees’ season has unfolded according to plan. Judge missed most of the summer, Stanton even more than that and the offense struggled mightily in their absence. Kept afloat by excellent pitching, they’ve arrived one win away from securing another chance.  

Sunday’s 2-0 win over the Mets at Yankee Stadium reduced the magic number for a postseason berth to one. Consider this a heads-up to the visiting clubhouse staff at Target Field: The Yankees intend to celebrate when that number hits zero.

The party will likely be muted compared to the ones they hope to throw a few weeks from now, but there will be beer and bubbly, more of it worn than consumed. Judge believes that’s how it should be.

“Of course. What are we talking about here?” Judge said. “We’re here for a World Series. We’re here to win. It’s about getting into the postseason and giving ourselves a chance. If you don’t get in, you can’t win a World Series, right? So you’ve got to celebrate that.” 

The Yankees still have business to handle in the American League East, where they continue to chase the Rays. But manager Aaron Boone agrees that a playoff clinch is an achievement worth toasting. 

“I think we’re always going to celebrate when we can, if we can,” Boone said. “I think it’s important in a long, long season. When you have the opportunity to celebrate small successes, big successes -- we try and do that.” 

Boone said his team seems to be picking it up at the right time, having won nine of 12 going into the Twins series. With Judge back, Ben Rice boasting a career-high 38 homers and Luis García Jr. looking like a wise pickup, the lineup is beginning to resemble the group they pictured months ago.

“Offensively, we’re starting to get back to where we’re capable of being,” Boone said. “Obviously we’ve gotten some guys back in the mix and Aaron back the last few days. So, offensively I feel like that potential around who we think we could be has definitely moved in a good direction.”

A clinch would secure the 61st playoff appearance in franchise history, the most of any Major League club. It would be the Yankees’ 10th trip in the last 11 years (since 2017) and their 28th trip to the postseason in the last 32 years (since 1995). 

Those numbers help explain why no one in the clubhouse will pretend that qualifying is enough.

“The expectation is to make the playoffs, and the expectation is to win a championship,” said Cam Schlittler, the AL’s Cy Young Award frontrunner. “We’re in a good spot. I feel like if we keep playing the way we’re playing, we’re going to be heading in the right direction come October.”

As the standings sit now, there is a realistic chance that the Yankees could find themselves exactly where they were last year: Hosting the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series.

The goal is to make sure the similarities end there -- the AL Division Series loss to the Blue Jays remained fresh enough for Judge and others to address it before the first week of the season was even complete.

It’s also why, when the Yankees secure their place, Judge wants his teammates to enjoy the moment without mistaking it for a finish line.

“There are a lot of guys in this room that are going to wear this pinstriped jersey one time, and might not ever have an opportunity to make it to a postseason,” Judge said. “So you’ve got to celebrate that.

“At the end of the day, you work your butt off in Spring Training all season long to get an opportunity to go out there and win a World Series. Clinching a playoff berth, you’re getting an opportunity to go win a World Series, and that’s what we do here.”  

The Yankees will celebrate CC Sabathia Night at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 26. Sabathia’s No. 52 will be listed alongside 22 previously retired numbers, honoring 23 players and managers. Which was the most recent?

A. Paul O’Neill, No. 21

B. Andy Pettitte, No. 46

C. Jorge Posada, No. 20

D. Bernie Williams, No. 51

• We all know that Cam Schlittler is the frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award. Should he also be considered for the AL’s Most Valuable Player? Read more >>

• Derek Jeter was among the 2001 Yankees who returned to the Bronx for a stirring ceremony to honor those affected by the Sept. 11 attacks. It provided an opportunity to reunite with Brielle Saracini. Read more >>

• Clarke Schmidt showed up at Yankee Stadium on Sunday morning with his bags packed for a flight to Minneapolis. Here’s how he might contribute to the pitching staff. Read more >>

Sept. 14, 1999: The Yankees hit a pair of grand slams to defeat the Blue Jays, 10-6, at SkyDome. Bernie Williams hit the first slam in the eighth to tie the game, and Paul O’Neill’s slam in the ninth won it.

A. O’Neill

Sabathia’s No. 52 will be the first number retired by the Yankees since “The Warrior” saw No. 21 taken out of circulation on Aug. 21, 2022.

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