Timeline - 2020s
2020: The Yankees¡¯ 2020 season will be remembered largely for its inconsistency. Surging to a 16-6 start in the pandemic-delayed campaign, manager Aaron Boone¡¯s squad then dropped 15 of 20 games, correcting the slide with a 10-game winning streak. That was followed by a limp to the finish, concluding with a 33-27 record that was good for second place in the American League East, seven games behind the division-leading Rays. Tampa Bay had the Bombers¡¯ number during the regular season, winning eight of 10 meetings.
Gerrit Cole enjoyed a strong first season in New York, pitching to a 7-3 record with a 2.84 ERA in 12 regular season starts. With an offense paced by American League batting leader DJ LeMahieu (.364) and home run leader Luke Voit (22), the Yankees swept the Indians in the AL Wild Card Series at Cleveland¡¯s Progressive Field, punching their ticket to the AL Division Series ¨C held at a neutral site, San Diego¡¯s Petco Park. New York took the ALDS to the limit against the Rays; Game 5 was decided by one run, produced when Aroldis Chapman surrendered a solo home run to Mike Brosseau.
2021: Powered in large part by Aaron Judge -- who paced the club in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, RBIs and walks -- the Yankees posted a 92-70 record to finish second in the American League East, securing the AL's top Wild Card spot before falling to the Red Sox in a one-game playoff at Fenway Park.
Judge and others described the season as a "rollercoaster," while general manager Brian Cashman saw his team put forth a "Jekyll and Hyde" performance. Manager Aaron Boone kept a steady hand despite 11 losses in 17 games (April 1-21), then 22 wins in 30 games (April 22-May 23), then 22 losses in 35 games (May 25-July 4). New York won 50 of its final 79 games, the fourth-best record in the Majors over that span.
Gerrit Cole (16-8, 3.23 ERA in 30 starts) finished second in voting for the AL's Cy Young Award; his 243 strikeouts were the second-most ever by a Yankee. Corey Kluber pitched the 12th no-hitter in franchise history, blanking the Rangers in a May 19 gem at Texas. The Yankees also turned a franchise-record three triple plays (May 21 vs. White Sox, June 17 at Toronto, June 20 vs. Oakland. Judge, Cole and Aroldis Chapman were selected as All-Stars.
2022: The Yankees won 99 games to claim the American League East in a season highlighted by Aaron Judge¡¯s pursuit of Roger Maris¡¯ single-season AL home run record, which had stood for 61 years. Judge surpassed Maris in the penultimate game of the regular season, slugging his 62nd home run on Oct. 4 off the Texas Rangers¡¯ Jes¨²s Tinoco at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
Judge led the Majors in runs (133), homers, RBIs (131), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS (1.111), OPS+ (211) and total bases (391), garnering 28 of 30 first-place votes as he was crowned the AL¡¯s Most Valuable Player.
New York¡¯s 30th consecutive winning season (since 1993) was powered by a torrid 58-21 (.734) start, the second-best 79-game start in franchise history, behind only the 1998 club. They enjoyed 16 walk-off wins, second-most in team history. Gerrit Cole led the Majors with 257 strikeouts, shattering Ron Guidry¡¯s single-season record of 248. Six Yankees were selected as All-Stars: Cole, Nestor Cortes, Clay Holmes, Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Trevino. Stanton was the All-Star Game MVP.
The Yankees defeated the Guardians in a five-game AL Division Series before being swept by the Astros in the AL Championship Series. Aaron Boone became the first manager in Major League history to reach the postseason in each of his first five seasons at the helm.
2023: Gerrit Cole unanimously claimed the American League¡¯s Cy Young Award, becoming the sixth Yankee to win the award and the first since Roger Clemens in 2001, but Cole¡¯s stellar performance (15-4 with an AL-best 2.63 ERA) was one of the few bright spots in a campaign that saw the Bombers notch just 82 victories while failing to qualify for Postseason play. The tenor of the season changed markedly on June 3, when Aaron Judge sustained a torn ligament in his right big toe while making a spectacular catch at Dodger Stadium. Judge missed 51 games and the Yanks¡¯ offense was unable to make up for his absence, with veterans DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo all struggling. Domingo German threw the 24th perfect game in Major League history on June 28. Anthony Volpe won the starting shortstop job with a strong spring and became the first Yankees rookie to win a Gold Glove Award, while also becoming the first Yankees rookie to record at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a season. The bullpen posted a Major League-best 3.34 ERA, a .221 opponent batting average and a .349 opponent slugging percentage.