The Yankees’ stretch of dominance over the Minnesota Twins is sufficiently old to legally drink alcohol.
There isn’t any proof to counsel it received’t proceed on for an additional three years — till the age of renting a automobile with out a youth surcharge.
Or one other 13 years — till the age of eligibility to run for president of the US.
Possibly it nonetheless might be ongoing in 2064 and attain the age to gather Social Safety.
For 22 years and counting, the Yankees have beat up on the Twins to the tune of a 106-42 regular-season report (plus 16-2 within the playoffs).
In that point, the Yankees have totally outscored (811-590 in runs), outhit (.824 to .700 in OPS) and outpitched (3.74 to five.30 in ERA) the Twins (numbers have been going into Wednesday night time, a 9-5 victory led by Aaron Decide’s 5 RBIs and Carlos Rodon’s 9 strikeouts).
It has been occurring for therefore lengthy that the Yankees lineup throughout the first win within the stretch, on Might 10, 2002, included this forgettable backside half of the lineup: Shane Spencer, Robin Ventura, Ron Coomer (pinch-hit for by John Vander Wal) and Rondell White.
Who’s most answerable for making this collection so lopsided? Sports activities+ determined to determine the largest Twin killers, with assist from Baseball Reference’s Stathead and FanGraphs (all stats going into Wednesday):
Batting common (minimal 40 plate appearances)
1. Francisco Cervelli (.410); 2. Bobby Abreu (.403); 3. Mark Teixeira (.376)
Shock! A light-weight-hitting backup catcher and a two-plus-year rental prime the checklist forward of all of the big-name stars. What’s unusual is Cervelli might be most remembered in a Yankees-Twins sport for committing a walk-off throwing error in a 2014 loss.
On-base proportion (minimal 40 plate appearances)
1. Aaron Decide (.476); 2. Abreu (.452); 3. Teixeira (.451)
Decide concluded probably the greatest months in Yankees historical past in Might and went proper into going through the Twins this week. Abreu’s total numbers with the Yankees have been higher than you assume — however he left one yr earlier than their final World Collection win.
Residence runs
1. Alex Rodriguez (23); 2. Decide (11); 3. Teixeira (10)
Rodriguez hit extra house runs towards the Twins in his MLB profession (51) than towards any non-division rival, and he used them in 2009 to show round his career-long struggles within the postseason. Decide and Teixeira have remarkably comparable offensive numbers throughout the board within the collection with virtually the identical variety of at-bats. Solely two (Decide and Giancarlo Stanton) of the highest 16 are lively Yankees.
Runs scored
1. Derek Jeter (54); 2. Rodriguez (43); 3. Brett Gardner (40)
Jeter hasn’t performed towards the Twins since July 6, 2014, when, in fact, he scored a run. Brett Gardner spent numerous time atop numerous high-scoring lineups.
RBIs
1. Rodriguez (61); 2. Robinson Cano (41); 3. Didi Gregorius (35)
A-Rod and Cano wanted 67 and 64 video games, respectively, to be that productive. Gregorius? He averaged greater than an RBI per sport (29) — and that’s not together with his turning-point house run within the 2017 AL Wild Card sport or his grand slam in Sport 2 of the 2019 ALDS.
Win likelihood added
1. Mariano Rivera (2.534); 2. Rodriguez (2.322); 3. Decide (2.265)
Rivera had the higher hand on the Twins from the start, together with a superb six-inning begin in 1995 and 4 of his seven profession regular-season reduction appearances of not less than three innings. All 4 have been in 1996. The mashers take the following two spots. Keep in mind, Decide made his MLB debut on the day after Rodriguez’s closing sport.
Wins
1. CC Sabathia (8-2); 2. Andy Pettitte (7-0); T-3: Mike Mussina (5-4), Masahiro Tanaka (5-0)
All 4 fronted the Yankees’ workers at one level or one other throughout this stretch. Sabathia’s two hundredth win was towards the Twins. Pettitte was 5-5 towards the Twins outdoors of this timeframe with the Yankees. Tanaka was unbeaten towards the Mariners (8-0) and Twins amongst AL opponents.
Saves
1. Mariano Rivera (24); 2. Aroldis Chapman (11); 3. David Robertson (4)
Rivera surpassed Trevor Hoffman as MLB’s all-time saves chief with No. 602 on the Twins’ expense on Sept. 19, 2011. Chapman’s saves got here with a shaky 4.85 ERA.
ERA (minimal 10 innings)
1. Roger Clemens (0.82); 2. David Wells (1.09); 3. Dellin Betances (1.20)
Clemens was 3-0 over 22 innings in that span. Wells’ domination of the Twins didn’t cease along with his good sport in 1998. It’s straightforward to neglect now, however there was a time when Betances was unhittable.
Strikeouts
1. Sabathia (75); 2. Mussina (63); T-3: Domingo German, Gerrit Cole and Robertson (42)
Sabathia moved into third-place all-time amongst left-handed pitchers with a strikeout towards the Twins in 2017. German struck out a career-high 11 batters towards the Twins in 2023, throughout a controversial sport with sticky fingers. Cole missed the complete season collection towards Minnesota this yr.
Some Twins culprits
SP Kyle Gibson: 1-6 with a 6.75 ERA and 25 walks in 50 ⅔ innings over 10 begins.
SP Rick Reed: 0-3 with an 11.12 ERA and 9 house runs allowed in 17 innings over 4 begins.
RP Brian Duensing: 1-4 with a 7.99 ERA in 32 ⅔ innings over 18 appearances.
INF Nick Punto: .160 batting common in 98 at-bats over 31 video games.
OF Michael Cuddyer: .289 on-base proportion and .669 OPS in 174 at-bats over 47 video games.
OF Torii Hunter: 42 strikeouts and simply 19 RBIs in 154 at-bats over 42 video games.
Right this moment’s again web page
Observe the leaders
The Jets are envious.
The Giants don’t need to be left singing the blues.
The heartbeat of this championship-starved sports activities metropolis was racing throughout April and Might because of the simultaneous deep playoff runs made by the Rangers and Knicks. Each groups fell wanting profitable a championship, however they succeeded in sending a message to New York’s different skilled athletes about how profitable strikes up a love affair with followers.
“Clearly, that is the best place to win, proper?” Jets tight finish Tyler Conklin mentioned. “Profitable with this fan base, on this market, this metropolis, we received a glimpse of that this yr with the Rangers and the Knicks. It makes you hungry. It makes you need to exit and make a protracted playoff run.”
Giants move rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux was sitting courtside in a sold-out Madison Sq. Backyard — shut sufficient for OG Anunoby to dive into him and his feminine companion whereas going for a free ball — throughout a number of of the Knicks’ house playoff video games.
Jets defensive starters Jermaine Johnson, Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood additionally joined Knicks followers.
“They went additional than lots of people anticipated on the surface,” Thibodeaux mentioned, as if channeling the sunshine expectations forward for his Giants. “They put in numerous work. If you see the guts they play with, it damage me [to see them lose]. Now individuals see me [and say,] ‘You’re subsequent, you’re up.’ If you’re as much as the plate, we have now to maintain placing the work in so we are able to present up on Sundays.”
Technically, the Yankees — who maintain an American League-best report of 44-19 report — are subsequent. By the point the MLB playoffs roll round, followers may have a clearer learn on prospects for the Giants and Jets.
However now, within the preseason of optimism, Jets security Chuck Clark repped the Yankees by carrying their hat after Tuesday’s apply.
Whereas profitable could be new to a lot of the Jets — the franchise’s 13-season playoff drought is tied with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres for the longest lively streak throughout North America’s conventional large 4 sports activities leagues — Clark was a part of 5 profitable seasons (out of six) with the Ravens. The massive prize — a Tremendous Bowl — nonetheless eludes him.
“I’d adore it,” Clark mentioned. “Having been in a special place and profitable there, simply seeing if we win right here on this media market, it might imply the whole lot. Attempting to do the whole lot to win right here, for actual.”
Just like the Knicks and Rangers, the Jets and Giants share a house constructing. Whereas MSG was a nightly hotspot this spring, MetLife Stadium has hosted one playoff sport (2011 Wild Card win by the Giants) since opening its doorways in 2010.
Thibodeaux received a style of how champions are cherished in New York final month when he attended the Dexter Lawrence Superstar Softball Sport alongside present teammates and Giants legends from their previous three Tremendous Bowl-winning groups (1990, 2007, 2011).
Jets head coach Robert Saleh’s job is to navigate the journey from now till electrical playoff atmospheres.
“Profitable in New York is like nothing else,” Saleh mentioned. “We felt it — we’ve had our spurts right here within the final three years — however to get that feeling, you bought to concentrate on the second.”
The second handed for the Knicks and Rangers. NFL season is across the nook.
King Cole
How excited are Yankees followers for the approaching return of reigning Cy Younger Award winner Gerrit Cole?
Right here is one technique to measure it: Throughout the first two hours of Cole’s first rehab begin of the season at Double-A being introduced, the Somerset Patriots offered roughly 800 further tickets, a staff spokesperson informed Sports activities+. Inside 5 hours, the quantity jumped to 2,000. Inside 24 hours, it was 4,600.
The top end result Tuesday was a report crowd of 8,260 at TD Financial institution Ballpark — the very best the Patriots have drawn since turning into a Yankees affiliate in 2021 — to look at Cole strike out 5 throughout 3 ⅓ shutout innings. A median Tuesday night time crowd presently of yr — prior to highschool letting out for the summer time — is about 4,000.
The Patriots beforehand surpassed 8,260 followers throughout a July 4 fireworks celebration throughout their 20 years as an unbiased minor league staff, however that was previous to ballpark renovations to accommodate the Yankees that decreased capability by taking away a whole bunch of lawn-seating tickets.
Eli or Aaron? Simply an appetizer
Props to Texans second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud for answering a no-win query when he was requested whether or not he would fairly have Eli Manning’s profession or Aaron Rodgers’ profession.
In different phrases, are you selecting two Tremendous Bowl rings and big-game MVPs over one championship ring and 4 regular-season MVPs?
“You need the rings, canine,” Stroud mentioned throughout an look on the “Million Dollaz Value Of Sport” podcast.
Disgrace on everybody who has ripped Stroud for his opinion (and thus inspired a scared tradition of vanilla interviews). Double disgrace on anybody who has questioned Stroud’s sanity for selecting Manning over Rodgers, however beforehand espoused athletes valuing staff success over particular person success.
The talk is a pleasant launching level for New York sports activities speak with Giants followers clinging to the previous glory introduced by the now-retired Manning within the 2007 and 2011 seasons whereas Jets followers eagerly await the longer term prospects with a 40-year-old Rodgers.
It additionally serves as an appetizer for the controversy to return in Feb. 2025.
That’s when Manning might be eligible for the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame for the primary time, and his candidacy might be polarizing amongst voters. Some will see the 2 nice championship runs — the second of which got here at Rodgers’ expense within the playoffs — and others will concentrate on his 117-117 regular-season report.
Manning’s first yr on the poll is essential as a result of it’s the one time he received’t be in comparison with contemporaries resembling Drew Brees and Philip Rivers (each eligible in 2026), Ben Roethlisberger and Cam Newton (2027), and Tom Brady and Matt Ryan (2028).
If there are numerous Stroud-like thinkers on the panel, Manning’s enshrinement might come immediately. If not, Manning’s wait might final just a few years.
Prospect of the day
Ryan Clifford lastly may be discovering his stroke.
The Mets first base prospect homered Wednesday for the second time in three video games for Double-A Binghamton. Clifford’s solo shot was his third within the Jap League since his Might 13 promotion.
The 20-year-old additionally walked twice in a 6-5 loss as he boosted his Double-A OPS to .710.
— Andrew Battifarano
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