2024 New York Yankees

2024 New York Yankees / Franchise: New York Yankees / BR Team Page

Record: 94-68, Finished 1st in AL Eastern Division (2024 AL)

Won AL Pennant

Managed by Aaron Boone

Coaches: Brad Ausmus, Matt Blake, Travis Chapman, Desi Druschel, Casey Dykes, Mike Harkey, Pat Roessler, Luis Rojas, James Rowson and Tanner Swanson

Ballpark: New Yankee Stadium

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2024 New York Yankees returned to the postseason after missing out in 2023, confirming at least a wild card spot on September 18th, although at that time they were looking for a lot more as the holders of the best record in the American League. They had made one major move during the off-season, which was to trade for slugging outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. They were able to do so without surrendering any of their top prospects, as Soto was heading into the final year of his contract and had already rejected a contract extension offer from the Padres, who had little choice but to deal him. He also made it clear to the Yankees that he intended to test the free agent waters at the end of his contract, so his stay in pinstripes could well be brief; on the other hand, this was additional motivation for him to have a top-notch season.

From the get-go, the combination of Aaron Judge and Soto in the middle of the Yankees' batting order was a winner. Soto's outstanding ability to draw walks just made it even harder for pitchers to deal with him, knowing that Judge was coming up behind him, and Judge was healthy all season in contrast to the previous year, when a prolonged absence had coincided with the Yankees falling deep into the standings, as their offense completely revolved around his ability to hit home runs. The two teammates became the third pair in franchise history to hit 40 or more homers each. Preceding them had been Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (in 1927, 1930 and 1931) and Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. As a result, the Yankees were able to withstand injuries to other players such as DH Giancarlo Stanton, 1B Anthony Rizzo and IF D.J. LeMahieu. They were also able to overcome their trouble in finding a true leadoff hitter, with Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres and others getting a turn at the position without ever being fully convincing.

The Yankees clinched a division title with a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on September 26th. The two teams had been neck-and-neck for most of the seasons, but the Orioles had run into trouble in late August and had fallen off the pace, allowing the Yankees to pull free of them. In the clinching game, Judge hit a homer for a fifth straight game, bringing his season's total to 58, and his seventh in 12 games, as he was back to being unstoppable after an uncharacteristic 16-game homerless drought in late August and early September. The division title also ensured that the yankees would get a bye for the first round of the Postseason.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Clay Holmes, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto
• MLB All-Rookie Team: Austin Wells (C)

Further Reading

• Bryan Hoch: "Boone: Yankees 'hell-bent on being a champion': Manager lays out hopes, expectations at opening Spring Training news conference", mlb.com, February 14, 2024. [1]
• Bryan Hoch: "The Judge-Soto bromance is real at Yankees camp", mlb.com, March 4, 2024. [2]
• Bryan Hoch: "Postseason spot secured, Yanks want more: 'The job's not finished': New York wins a thriller in Seattle, securing 59th trip to playoffs in franchise history", mlb.com, September 19, 2024. [3]
• Bryan Hoch: "Yankees crush O's to clinch AL East: 'We're battle-tested for what's ahead': Stanton leads charge with HR, 4 RBIs; Judge (58) homers in 5th straight game", mlb.com, September 27, 2024. [4]
• Bryan Hoch: "'Soul searching' and daring moves: How Yanks put it together to win pennant", mlb.com, October 21, 2024. [5]
• Mike Lupica: "With Judge, Cole in their primes, it's now or never for Yanks", mlb.com, January 26, 2024. [6]
• Bill Madden (New York Daily News): "Yankees’ fatal flaws exposed in World Series loss to Dodgers", Yahoo! Sports, November 3, 2024. [7]
• Mike Petriello: "Why the 2024 Yankees might be better than you think", mlb.com, February 2, 2024. [8]
• Andrew Simon: "Best duo ever? Judge-Soto rising to great heights", mlb.com, August 24, 2024. [9]

2024 MLB season by team