Can History Repeat? Inside the Storied Playoff Past of New York vs. Cleveland
On Tuesday night, October 11th, the New York Yankees will begin their American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians.
It's the sixth time in history that these two franchises have met up in the playoffs. That said, it's the first time the teams will meet in the postseason with Cleveland playing under its new moniker, the Guardians, as they were the "Indians" during the first five match-ups.
Both teams bring a lot to the table ahead of this ALDS match-up. The Yankees were baseball's winningest team during the spring and early summer months, but hit a slide as July turned to August. They were able to right the ship during the regular season's final weeks, and were led by a historic performance by slugger Aaron Judge to a 99-win campaign when all was said and done.
It's the third time in the last five years that the team has reached at least 99 wins in a regular season.
The Guardians, meanwhile, were one of baseball's biggest surprises in 2022. The gradual dismantling of a team that reached the World Series in 2016 left fans in Cleveland without much hope for the future.
The losses of Kluber, Lindor, Carrasco and more were soon forgotten, however, as the arrivals of Kwan, McKenzie, Clase and a duo of former New York Mets (Gimenez and Rosario) brought fans to their feet all season long.
Led by Terry Francona, one of the best managers in the game, the upstart Guardians walked to an AL Central title, and find themselves in the ALDS via a sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card round.
Before we move forward into tonight's game, however, let's take a look back, and see which franchise might have history on its side. Here are the results from the five previous playoff match-ups between New York and Cleveland.