2007 Yankees

The 2007 Yankees were a 94-win team, and somehow that's not what anyone remembers. What we remember is bugs. We remember A-Rod opting out of his contract during the World Series like he was trying to set a personal record for bad timing. We remember Joe Torre walking away from the only job that ever seemed to fit him. And we remember a kid named Joba Chamberlain throwing 100 mph and making us believe the future was going to be electric.

It was the end of one era and the messy, complicated transition to the next. And man, it hurt to watch.

A-Rod's Monster Year

Let's give credit where it's due. A-Rod was unreal in 2007. Fifty-four home runs. 156 RBI. A .314 average. The unanimous AL MVP award. He reached his 500th career home run on August 4 against Kansas City -- the youngest player in history to reach that milestone at 32 years and 8 days old. For six months, he was the best player on the planet, and it wasn't particularly close.

And then October happened, and A-Rod went 4-for-15 with one RBI in the ALDS loss to Cleveland. Torre dropped him from the cleanup spot to eighth in the lineup during the series -- eighth! -- and the back pages went nuclear. The regular season numbers were historic. The October numbers were the only ones anyone wanted to talk about. (Welcome to New York, where an MVP season gets overshadowed by eight days of bad baseball and one agent's terrible timing.)

The Rotation Crisis

The 2007 pitching staff was held together with duct tape and prayers for the first three months. Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang were sidelined with injuries early, forcing Carl Pavano -- who hadn't pitched in 2006 -- into the Opening Day start. Pavano lasted two starts before getting hurt again, because of course he did. The Yankees used 10 different starting pitchers in their first 30 games, including six rookies -- a major league record that nobody wanted to own.

Phil Hughes debuted on April 26 and pitched 6.1 hitless innings against the Rangers on May 1 before pulling his hamstring. Jeff Karstens got drilled by a line drive off his very first pitch. Kei Igawa -- the $46 million Japanese import who was supposed to be the rotation savior -- allowed 26 earned runs in six appearances and got demoted to Single-A. Single-A. For $46 million. That's not a baseball transaction, that's a punchline.

Andy Pettitte returned from his Houston exile and went 15-9 in 34 starts, leading the AL in starts and providing the veteran anchor the rotation desperately needed. Wang won 19 games again. Roger Clemens came out of retirement in May, announcing his return over the PA system at Yankee Stadium mid-game like he was the baseball equivalent of a surprise album drop. The Yankees gave him a prorated $28 million deal. He went 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA -- not terrible, not worth $28 million.

Joba Rules

Joba Chamberlain got called up on August 7 and immediately became the most exciting thing in the Bronx. The kid threw 100 mph, had a slider that made hitters look foolish, and pitched with the kind of fearless intensity that reminded people of a young Mariano Rivera. In 19 appearances, he posted a 0.38 ERA -- that's not a typo -- striking out 34 batters in 24 innings while allowing exactly one earned run.

The "Joba Rules" -- innings limits and usage restrictions designed to protect his arm -- became a constant topic of debate. But for those two months, nobody cared about the rules. They just wanted to watch him pitch. He was electric. The Stadium would buzz the second he started warming up in the bullpen. Along with Hughes and Ian Kennedy, he formed the "Big Three" -- the first wave of homegrown pitching talent the organization had developed in a decade.

(We weren't watching the next great Yankee arm. But for a while, the dream was beautiful.)

The Wild Card Push

The season looked dead in the water at the All-Star break. The Yankees were 42-43 -- under .500 for the first time since 1995 at the break -- sitting 10 games behind Boston. Then the rookie cavalry arrived, the offense kept mashing (968 runs, tops in the AL), and the second half turned into a furious sprint. Jorge Posada had the best offensive season of his career -- .338 average, 20 home runs, 90 RBI. Robinson Cano hit .306 with 19 homers. Hideki Matsui drove in 103 runs. Rivera recovered from early struggles to post 30 saves.

They didn't catch Boston in the East, but they clinched the wild card on September 27, extending their postseason streak to 13 consecutive years. On paper, it was a successful season. But this team had World Series aspirations, not "successful season" aspirations.

The Bug Game

October 5, 2007. Jacobs Field. ALDS Game 2. Bottom of the eighth inning. The Bug Game is the single strangest postseason game I've ever watched, and I don't expect anything to top it. Joba entered with a 1-0 lead, and then Lake Erie's tiniest residents invaded. Midges -- thousands of them -- swarmed the field and attached themselves to Chamberlain's neck, arms, and face. He threw 12 of 25 pitches for strikes. He walked Grady Sizemore. He threw two wild pitches. Cleveland tied the game without getting a hit off him. The Indians won in the 11th.

The Yankees lost the series in four games. Game 4 at Yankee Stadium was the last postseason game ever played at the original Stadium. It went out not with a bang, but with a thud -- and an 85-year-old building deserved better.

Torre's Exit and the Opt-Out

The end of the Torre era happened the way nobody wanted it to. After the ALDS loss, the Yankees offered Torre a one-year, $5 million deal -- a pay cut from his $7.5 million salary -- with incentive bonuses tied to postseason advancement. It was, by any reasonable interpretation, a contract designed to be rejected. Torre turned it down on October 18 and walked away after 12 years, four World Series titles, and six pennants. Joe Girardi was named his replacement on November 1.

Then came the A-Rod opt-out. On October 28 -- during Game 4 of the World Series between Boston and Colorado -- Scott Boras announced Rodriguez was opting out of his contract. During the World Series. On national television. The Yankees were furious. MLB was furious. Everyone was furious. A-Rod eventually came back, negotiating directly with the Yankees (without Boras) and signing a 10-year, $275 million deal in December. But the damage to his already shaky reputation was done.

Key Moments

Frequently Asked Questions

What was A-Rod's stat line for his 2007 MVP season?

Alex Rodriguez hit .314 with 54 home runs and 156 RBI, winning the unanimous AL MVP award. He also hit his 500th career home run on August 4 against Kansas City, becoming the youngest player in MLB history to reach that milestone at 32 years and 8 days old.

What happened during the 2007 Bug Game?

During Game 2 of the ALDS at Jacobs Field on October 5, a swarm of Lake Erie midges invaded the field and targeted Joba Chamberlain on the mound. Chamberlain, protecting a 1-0 lead, threw just 12 of 25 pitches for strikes, walked Grady Sizemore, and threw two wild pitches. The Indians tied the game without getting a hit and won 2-1 in 11 innings.

Why did Joe Torre leave the Yankees after 2007?

After the ALDS loss to Cleveland, the Yankees offered Torre a one-year, $5 million contract -- a significant pay cut from his $7.5 million salary -- with incentive bonuses. Torre viewed it as an insulting offer designed to be rejected. He declined on October 18, 2007, ending a 12-year tenure that produced four World Series titles and six AL pennants. Joe Girardi replaced him on November 1.

When did A-Rod opt out of his Yankees contract in 2007?

On October 28, 2007, during Game 4 of the World Series between Boston and Colorado, agent Scott Boras announced that Rodriguez was opting out of his 10-year, $252 million contract. The timing generated enormous backlash. After weeks of drama, Rodriguez negotiated directly with the Yankees and re-signed on December 13 for a new 10-year, $275 million deal.