2021 Yankees

The 2021 New York Yankees didn't break your heart all at once -- they did it slowly, game by agonizing game, blown save by blown save, until October 5th at Fenway Park finished the job. Record: 92-70. Third place in the AL East. One-and-done in the Wild Card. And if you'd told me in March that a team with Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, and a $200-million-plus payroll would get bounced by the Red Sox in a single freakin' elimination game, I'd have believed you -- because deep down, we all saw it coming.

No More Excuses

This was supposed to be the year. Cole entering year two of his $324 million deal. Judge healthy. DJ LeMahieu locked up on a 6-year, $90 million extension. Giancarlo Stanton theoretically ready to mash alongside Judge. The "Baby Bombers" tag had expired -- these guys weren't young anymore. Judge was 29, Stanton 31, Gleyber Torres 24. The front office had built this roster to win NOW.

Instead, the club hit .236 with a .397 slugging percentage -- numbers you'd expect from the 2013 squad, not a supposed contender. They led the league in grounding into double plays at 0.98 per game (Tampa did it at 0.42, because of course the Rays did everything better). Their wRC+ with runners in scoring position sat at a miserable 82. They couldn't hit when it counted.

The pitching staff actually held up. Team ERA landed around 3.78, and the late-inning arms ranked among the better units in the league -- on paper. The offense let them down, which nobody saw coming from a lineup built around launching baseballs into the upper deck.

Bright Spots in the Darkness

Corey Kluber threw the Yankees' first no-hitter since David Cone's perfect game in 1999. May 19th against the Rangers -- 101 pitches, 9 strikeouts, 1 walk, average fastball of 90.4 mph. The man did it on craft alone, throwing slower than most fifth starters. Classic Klubot. Then he went to the injured list and basically vanished.

Judge carried everything. He played 148 games (his most since the 2017 Rookie of the Year season), slashing .287/.373/.544 with 39 homers and 98 RBI. Finished 4th in AL MVP voting. Won the Silver Slugger. Without him, this team doesn't sniff the postseason. It's that simple. He even called a players-only meeting during one of the rough stretches, trying to shake the clubhouse awake. It didn't work.

Cole put up solid numbers -- 16-8, 3.23 ERA, 243 strikeouts in 181.1 innings -- but the sticky-stuff controversy hung over everything. When MLB started enforcing the foreign substance ban on June 3rd, his spin rates dropped. Then came the June 15th press conference where a reporter asked him point-blank about Spider Tack: "I don't want to answer that without checking with the union and the team." That non-answer told you everything you needed to know.

A Season Defined by Collapses

I could list every gut-punch loss from 2021, but let's stick to the Hall of Shame highlights.

June 30th against the Angels: the Yankees chased Shohei Ohtani early, built an 8-4 lead, sat through a 90-minute rain delay, and then watched Aroldis Chapman surrender a walk-off grand slam. July 11th in Houston: up 7-2 in the ninth, one out from sweeping the Astros, and Jose Altuve (of course it was Altuve) hit a three-run walk-off homer. I hate the guy, but he always got the last laugh.

Then came August 12th -- the Field of Dreams Game in an Iowa cornfield, nationally televised, maximum drama. The Yankees trailed in the 9th. Judge went deep into the corn. Stanton followed with another bomb. The lead was theirs. For about four minutes. Then Zack Britton came in and gave it right back. What should've been one of the greatest Yankee moments of the decade turned into the worst loss of the year. On national television. In a cornfield.

(My only New Year's resolution that year was to leave the 2021 Yankees in 2021.)

October 5th: The End

The Wild Card Game at Fenway Park felt like a mercy killing. Cole got knocked around early. The offense did nothing -- again -- against a Red Sox team that had owned them all season. Final score: Red Sox 6, Yankees 2. Season over. One game. Done.

Aaron Boone got re-signed afterward for three more years. Make of that what you will.

Key Moments

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the 2021 Yankees record?

The 2021 Yankees finished 92-70 and placed third in the AL East behind the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. They qualified as the second AL Wild Card team and lost to Boston 6-2 in the Wild Card Game at Fenway Park on October 5, 2021.

Did the Yankees make the playoffs in 2021?

Yes, as the second AL Wild Card team. Their season ended on October 5, 2021 with a 6-2 loss to the Red Sox in the single-elimination Wild Card Game at Fenway Park. Gerrit Cole started and was knocked around early.

Did Gerrit Cole use Spider Tack in 2021?

Cole never admitted or denied using Spider Tack. When MLB began enforcing foreign substance rules on June 3, 2021, his spin rates dropped. At a June 15 press conference, he said: "I don't want to answer that without checking with the union and the team." He was never suspended or disciplined.

What happened at the 2021 Field of Dreams Game?

The Yankees and White Sox played MLB's Field of Dreams Game on August 12, 2021 in Dyersville, Iowa. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both hit home runs in the 9th inning to give the Yankees the lead, but reliever Zack Britton surrendered the lead immediately afterward and the Yankees lost.