2011 Yankees

The 2011 Yankees won 97 games, had the best record in the American League, and got bounced in the ALDS by the Detroit Tigers. That's the cold summary. But this season wasn't about how it ended. This was the year Derek Jeter hit his 3,000th hit with a home run -- on a Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, off David Price, going 5-for-5 in the process. This was the year Mariano Rivera became baseball's all-time saves leader. This was the year Curtis Granderson turned into a monster nobody saw coming. If you were there for July 9, or September 19, or any of the 97 wins in between, you remember exactly where you were. Some seasons are defined by the ending. This one was defined by what happened along the way.

Jeter's 3,000th

July 9, 2011. Yankee Stadium. Tampa Bay Rays in town. Jeter came in needing two hits to reach 3,000, and he got the first one out of the way with a single in the first inning off David Price. Hit number 2,999.

Then came the third inning. Full count. Price threw a breaking ball, down and in, and the Captain crushed it to left-center field. Gone. Home run. 420 feet. Three thousand hits. He became only the second player in baseball history to homer for his 3,000th hit, after Wade Boggs in 1999. And he did it at home, in the Bronx, wearing pinstripes. Of course he did. Because Derek Jeter didn't do anything small.

He went 5-for-5 that day, tying a career high, and the game-winning hit was his fifth knock. The Stadium was electric -- genuinely, physically shaking. Grown men were crying in the upper deck. Christian Lopez, a 23-year-old fan with over $100,000 in student debt, caught the home run ball and gave it back to Jeter instead of selling it. (That decision told you everything about what Jeter meant to people -- a kid who could've changed his financial life chose to give the ball back because it felt like the right thing to do.)

The Grandy Man Emerges

Curtis Granderson turned into an absolute monster. He clubbed 41 home runs -- a number nobody saw coming from a guy the Yankees had gotten from Detroit just a year earlier -- drove in 119 runs (leading the AL), stole 25 bases, and scored 136 times. The Grandy Man was the engine of this offense. After hitting .247 with 24 homers in his first Yankee season, Granderson worked extensively with hitting coach Kevin Long during the offseason, and the results were staggering.

(The transformation was so dramatic that people wondered if he'd changed his approach, his swing, his breakfast cereal, or possibly his entire molecular structure. It was mostly Kevin Long. The man is a wizard with a bat.)

The Lineup Mashes

Robinson Cano continued his excellence with a .302 average and 28 homers. Mark Teixeira hit 39 long balls with 111 RBI. A-Rod was declining but still contributed 16 homers in 99 games before injuries slowed him. Jorge Posada had a rough final season -- the DH incident in May where he asked to be removed from the lineup after being dropped to ninth in the order caused a mini-crisis -- but he still gave us some clutch at-bats down the stretch.

On August 25, something happened that had never happened before in Major League Baseball history -- the Yankees hit three grand slams in one game. Cano, Russell Martin, and Granderson each launched one in a 22-9 demolition of the Oakland A's. Twenty-two runs. Three grand slams. In the same game. I still can't believe that's real.

The Pitching Staff

CC Sabathia was the ace again -- 19 wins, 3.00 ERA, 237.1 innings. The guy just ate innings like it was his job. (Well, it was his job, and he was the best at it.) Ivan Nova emerged as a legitimate starter out of nowhere, going 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA as a rookie. Freddy Garcia somehow pitched 25 starts and won 12 games despite throwing 87 mph -- proof that movement and location can beat velocity when the other stuff is working.

Rafael Soriano signed a three-year, $35 million deal to set up Rivera and promptly saved 29 games himself, which was either a luxury or a sign that the bullpen was being stretched too thin, depending on your perspective. A.J. Burnett continued his infuriating inconsistency.

And Rivera? The man saved 44 games with a 1.91 ERA at age 41. One pitch. One closer. Forty-one years old. Not human.

Rivera Breaks the Record

On September 19, Mariano Rivera recorded his 602nd career save against the Minnesota Twins, breaking Trevor Hoffman's all-time record of 601. Perfect ninth inning: Trevor Plouffe grounded out, Michael Cuddyer flew out, Chris Parmelee struck out. Three batters. Three outs. The greatest closer in baseball history stood alone. The achievement came during the stretch run as the Yankees pushed toward the AL East title, which they clinched two days later on September 21.

October Heartbreak

The ALDS against Detroit should've been our series to win. We had the better record, the better roster, the home-field advantage. But the Tigers had Justin Verlander, and they had Delmon Young, who hit three home runs in the series and became the most unlikely October hero since Jose Molina. Detroit won in five games, and 50,960 fans at Yankee Stadium watched Game 5 end with a 3-2 loss that felt like a gut punch.

It was Posada's last game as a Yankee. He'd played his entire career in the Bronx, caught more postseason games than anyone, and it ended with a quiet loss in October. No fanfare. No farewell tour. Just a handshake and a walk off the field.

Key Moments

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Derek Jeter get his 3,000th hit?

Derek Jeter recorded his 3,000th career hit on July 9, 2011, with a solo home run off Tampa Bay's David Price at Yankee Stadium. He went 5-for-5 that day, becoming the 28th player in MLB history to reach 3,000 hits and only the second to do it with a homer (after Wade Boggs in 1999).

When did Mariano Rivera break the all-time saves record?

Rivera broke Trevor Hoffman's record of 601 career saves on September 19, 2011, recording his 602nd save in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. He retired all three batters he faced in a perfect ninth inning and finished the season with 44 saves.

How many home runs did Curtis Granderson hit in 2011?

Granderson hit 41 home runs in 2011 -- a career high and the most by any Yankee that season. He also drove in 119 runs (leading the AL), scored 136 times, and stole 25 bases. The breakout season came after extensive work with hitting coach Kevin Long.

How did the 2011 Yankees season end?

The 2011 Yankees won 97 games and the AL East title but lost the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers in five games. Delmon Young hit three home runs in the series for Detroit, and the Tigers won Game 5 at Yankee Stadium 3-2. It was Jorge Posada's final game in pinstripes.