2013 Yankees

The 2013 Yankees were the end of everything we'd known. Mariano Rivera pitched his last season and left the mound in tears. Andy Pettitte retired for the second and final time. Derek Jeter played 17 games -- seventeen -- because his ankle wouldn't stop breaking. Alex Rodriguez got suspended for the entire 2014 season over the Biogenesis scandal. And Robinson Cano, the one guy who kept showing up every single day and actually performing like a star, left for Seattle in December. The roster went 85-77, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008, and snapped a streak of postseason appearances that had lasted 16 years. It was a funeral season dressed up as a baseball season.

The Walking Wounded

The injury list read like a medical textbook. Jeter's fractured ankle from the 2012 ALCS never properly healed. He suffered a small crack during winter rehabilitation, started the season on the disabled list, got activated on July 11, played one game, and immediately went back on the DL with a quad strain. A calf strain hit on August 5. By September 11, the Yankees shut him down entirely. Seventeen games. A .190 batting average. (Let that sink in -- the greatest Yankee shortstop since... well, since ever, hit .190 for an entire season.)

Curtis Granderson was out. Mark Teixeira was out. A-Rod was limited to 44 games before the suspension hammer fell. Brian Cashman filled the holes with names that made you squint at the roster: Travis Hafner, Brennan Boesch, Lyle Overbay, Kevin Youkilis. These weren't bad players, exactly, but they weren't the Core Four either. Not even close.

Robinson Cano Carries the Weight

In a season of wreckage, Cano was the only reason we could turn on the TV without wincing. He played 160 games -- 160! -- and hit .314 with 27 home runs and 107 RBI. On May 9, he collected his 1,500th career hit at Coors Field in a 3-1 win over Colorado. He was an All-Star again. He was the one constant in a lineup that changed daily based on who was and wasn't hurt.

The loneliness of Cano's excellence was the season's defining irony. Jeter was hitting .190 in 17 games. A-Rod was hitting .244 in 44 games. Granderson and Teixeira were on the couch. Cano was putting up MVP-caliber numbers with a supporting cast you'd find in Triple-A. (He probably should've won the award, honestly, but the voters don't reward losing teams.)

The Biogenesis Reckoning

On August 5, 2013, MLB announced Alex Rodriguez's 211-game suspension for his involvement with Biogenesis of America, the Coral Gables clinic that had been supplying HGH and other banned substances to players across the league. A-Rod's alleged usage spanned 2010-2012. Twelve other players were also suspended, including Jhonny Peralta and Nelson Cruz, but A-Rod's case was the headliner -- the longest non-lifetime ban in baseball history.

Rodriguez fought the suspension through an appeals process and kept playing through the rest of the 2013 season. He appeared in 44 games, hitting .244 with seven home runs and 19 RBI, mostly serving as an unwelcome sideshow to a season that already had enough drama. The arbitrator upheld the suspension later that year, and A-Rod would miss the entire 2014 campaign.

Mo's Perfect Goodbye

Mariano Rivera's final season was the one bright spot -- not because the team was good, but because watching Mo pitch one last time was a privilege that went beyond wins and losses. At 43 years old, he posted 44 saves, a 2.11 ERA, and a 6-2 record. He won the American League Comeback Player of the Year award, which felt like the baseball gods tipping their cap.

His final save came on September 18 in Toronto -- striking out J.P. Arencibia with the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Vintage Mo. Then came September 22, "Mariano Rivera Day," when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared it so and the Yankees held a 50-minute pregame tribute at Yankee Stadium. The ceremony ended with Jeter and Pettitte walking to the mound to remove Rivera from the game one final time. There wasn't a dry eye in the building. (There wasn't a dry eye in my living room, either.)

Rivera blew five saves in the final two months, including three consecutive blown saves for the first time in his career, because even legends have to wrestle with age. But his final game on September 26 against Tampa Bay felt like the closing chapter of a novel that had been running since 1995. When he walked off that mound, 19 years of excellence walked off with him.

The Streak Ends

The 85-77 record was the Yankees' worst since 1992. It ended a postseason streak that stretched back to 1997 -- 16 consecutive years of October baseball. The Red Sox won the AL East at 97-65, the Rays finished second at 92-70, and the Yankees tied Toronto for third. We went 6-13 against Boston, which tells you everything about the gap between these two teams in 2013. (The Red Sox went on to win the World Series. Of course they did.)

A Generation Departs

The aftermath was staggering. Rivera retired after 19 seasons and 652 career saves. Pettitte hung it up again, this time for good. Jeter announced on February 12, 2014, that the upcoming season would be his last. And Cano -- the one player who'd kept the whole thing afloat -- signed a 10-year, $240 million deal with Seattle in December 2013, taking the last piece of the present and walking it out the door.

The Core Four era was over. Not winding down, not fading -- over. Rivera, Jeter, Posada (retired 2011), Pettitte -- all gone within three years. The franchise that had defined American League baseball since 1996 suddenly had to figure out what it was without the players who'd built it.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the Yankees' postseason streak end?

The Yankees' streak of 16 consecutive postseason appearances (1997-2012) ended in 2013, when they finished 85-77 and tied for third in the AL East. It was their first playoff miss since 2008 and only the second since 1995.

What was Mariano Rivera's final season like?

Rivera's 2013 farewell season was remarkable. At 43 years old, he posted 44 saves with a 2.11 ERA and won the AL Comeback Player of the Year award. His final save came September 18 in Toronto. His last game was September 26 against Tampa Bay. The team held a 50-minute ceremony on September 22, ending with Jeter and Pettitte removing him from the mound.

How long was Alex Rodriguez suspended for the Biogenesis scandal?

Rodriguez received a 211-game suspension on August 5, 2013, for his involvement with the Biogenesis clinic in Coral Gables, Florida. The suspension covered the entire 2014 season. He'd been using banned substances during the 2010-2012 period. It was the longest non-lifetime ban in MLB history at the time.

How did Robinson Cano perform in his final Yankees season?

Cano hit .314 with 27 home runs and 107 RBI in 160 games during 2013 -- comfortably the team's best player while core teammates battled injuries and suspensions. He signed a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners in December 2013.