Top ten moments of the Yankees' 2017 second half
The Yankees 2017 season was one for the history books, with almost every day producing memorable moments for the Bronx faithful. The Baby Bombers took over, sparking a deep postseason run that ended just one game shy of a World Series berth. This season was a wild ride that will be remembered for a long time, and as we wait for some big off-season moves, let’s look back at ten of the best moments of the second half of the season.
10. A-Arons shows off his power and arm as Yankees storm back against Boston
8/11: The Bombers were trying to climb back from a 3.5 game deficit to the Boston Red Sox, and found themselves down 3-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth at the Stadium. After Brett Gardner was plunked by Addison Reed, Aaron Hicks sent a rocket over the right field wall, rounding first the left fielder enthusiastically celebrates, sparking what would be a five-run inning for the Yanks. Later in the game, Hicks gunned down former Yankee Eduardo Nunez trying to tag up to third, which would end up persevering a 5-4 win for New York.
9. Brett Gardner walk-offs
7/27, 29: The Yankees were looking to stop the midseason skid, battling against the division rival Tampa Bay Rays the Bombers were able to force extra innings. Come the bottom of 11th, longtime Yankee outfielder Brett Gardner sent a frozen rope to right field, giving the Yankees a 6-5 win at home. Just two days later, Gardner gave the Yankees some more late-game heroics, driving home the winning run on an up the middle single to give the Yanks a 5-4 win. Yankee outfielder Clint Frazier even said about Brett Gardner, “He’s our captain, he’s got the clutch gene, man.”
8. Gary Double-Dinger day in Detroit
8/22: Gary Sanchez and the Yankees offense came alive in Detroit in late August, dropping 13 on the home team, punctuated by The Kraken’s two home runs, one measuring a colossal 493 ft. The Tigers players were pretty bitter after this beat down, because two days later….
7. The Brawl in Motown
8/24: The Tigers didn’t forget the chippy meeting in the Bronx in July and the last game of the Yankees trip to the motor city ended in fireworks. After Gary Sanchez practically became the new mayor of Detroit in this series, the Tigers sent a message to the Yankees catcher, beaning Sanchez in the fifth inning. The Yankees then fired back when Tommy Kahnle threw behind Detroit start Miguel Cabrera, ending in Kahnle and then Girardi, being ejected from the game. While Aroldis Chapman started to warm up, catcher Austin Romine and Cabrera started to exchange some less than kind words, resulting in the Detroit slugger throwing punches at Romine. The benches cleared and a full-blown brawl broke out, and that wouldn’t be the last time, as the benches cleared again later in the game. The Bombers would lose this game 6-3 and lose both their catchers for a couple of games later in the month.
6. The 16-inning battle in Boston
7/15: Coming off the All-Star break, the Yankees headed to Boston for a critical series in the battle for the AL East. The Bombers just came off heartbreaking collapse only the night before and were stymied by Red Sox ace Chris Sale heading into the 9th inning trailing 1-0 when DH Matt Holiday sent a moonball off stud Boston closer Craig Kimbrel to send the game to extra innings. The game lasted all the way to the 16th inning until a three-run outburst from the Yankee offense to win the game 4-1.
5. Thumbs down
9/11: The Yankees faced Tampa Bay in a not-so-away game at Citi Field during the height of the AL East Battle. The Bombers were up 2-1 in the fourth and were looking to close the game out early, and Todd Frazier was the man to do just that. The third baseman sent a three-run bomb to end any hope for a Rays comeback. However, that ended up becoming a side story when the YES camera crew found a George RR Martin lookalike in the stands showing his disapproval with a solemn thumbs down, and when the New York locker room got their hands on the video, it became a Yankee staple. The team changed from their usual finger guns celebrations to a thumbs down one, creating t-shirts and emoji craziness that helped define the Yankees postseason run.
4. Judge puts exclamation point(s) on historic rookie season
9/25: You could make a whole list of just the larger than life Baby Bomber’s accolades in 2017, but his two home run day in late September will be the ones we all remember. The right fielder sent homers number 49 and 50 to break the MLB rookie homerun record set by Mark McGwire in 1986. The soft-spoken slugger would end up winning a unanimous AL ROY award and finish second to Jose Altuve in the AL MVP race.
3. ALCS Game Four
10/16: The Bombers were in a similar spot, down 2-1 to an AL juggernaut trying to hold down the fort in the Bronx. Facing an insurmountable 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, rookie slugger Aaron Judge sent a no-doubter into monument park for a solo shot, cutting the Astro lead to two. The next inning resulted in even more fireworks, a Brett Gardner RBI groundout, Judge RBI double, and go ahead double by Gary Sanchez gave the Yankees enough to seal a 6-4 win, tying the series at 2-2.
2.ALDS Game Five
10/11: Once again facing elimination, the Yankees were on the cusp of pulling off a gargantuan upset over the reigning AL Champion Cleveland Indians after trailing 2-0 to start the series. Didi Gregorius continued his postseason heroics homering in back to back at-bats to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead going into the fifth; the Indians roared back scoring two to cut the lead to just one. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Brett Gardner battled in a 12-pitch at-bat before scorching an RBI double to score two to give the Yankees some breathing room before closer Aroldis Chapman shut the door and sent the Yanks to the ALCS with a 5-2 win in Cleveland.
1. AL Wild Card Game
10/3: The game started with about the worst case scenario with ace Luis Severino only lasting a third of the inning, allowing three runs in the first. Chad Green put out the fire to close out the first inning, and Didi Gregorius started his historic postseason with a stadium rocking three-run shot to tie the game at three. Green, Robertson, Khanle, and Chapman continued a stellar relief effort to give the Yankees 8 2/3 innings of one-run baseball, punctuated by home runs by Judge and Gardner gave the Yankees an incredible 8-4 win.
Article by: Maxx Hotton
Follow @getinhottonhere
Follow @bronxbomberball
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| ESPN |
10. A-Arons shows off his power and arm as Yankees storm back against Boston
8/11: The Bombers were trying to climb back from a 3.5 game deficit to the Boston Red Sox, and found themselves down 3-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth at the Stadium. After Brett Gardner was plunked by Addison Reed, Aaron Hicks sent a rocket over the right field wall, rounding first the left fielder enthusiastically celebrates, sparking what would be a five-run inning for the Yanks. Later in the game, Hicks gunned down former Yankee Eduardo Nunez trying to tag up to third, which would end up persevering a 5-4 win for New York.
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| YES Network |
9. Brett Gardner walk-offs
7/27, 29: The Yankees were looking to stop the midseason skid, battling against the division rival Tampa Bay Rays the Bombers were able to force extra innings. Come the bottom of 11th, longtime Yankee outfielder Brett Gardner sent a frozen rope to right field, giving the Yankees a 6-5 win at home. Just two days later, Gardner gave the Yankees some more late-game heroics, driving home the winning run on an up the middle single to give the Yanks a 5-4 win. Yankee outfielder Clint Frazier even said about Brett Gardner, “He’s our captain, he’s got the clutch gene, man.”
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| Andy Marlin/USA TODAY Sports |
8. Gary Double-Dinger day in Detroit
8/22: Gary Sanchez and the Yankees offense came alive in Detroit in late August, dropping 13 on the home team, punctuated by The Kraken’s two home runs, one measuring a colossal 493 ft. The Tigers players were pretty bitter after this beat down, because two days later….
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| MLB.com |
7. The Brawl in Motown
8/24: The Tigers didn’t forget the chippy meeting in the Bronx in July and the last game of the Yankees trip to the motor city ended in fireworks. After Gary Sanchez practically became the new mayor of Detroit in this series, the Tigers sent a message to the Yankees catcher, beaning Sanchez in the fifth inning. The Yankees then fired back when Tommy Kahnle threw behind Detroit start Miguel Cabrera, ending in Kahnle and then Girardi, being ejected from the game. While Aroldis Chapman started to warm up, catcher Austin Romine and Cabrera started to exchange some less than kind words, resulting in the Detroit slugger throwing punches at Romine. The benches cleared and a full-blown brawl broke out, and that wouldn’t be the last time, as the benches cleared again later in the game. The Bombers would lose this game 6-3 and lose both their catchers for a couple of games later in the month.
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| SI.com |
6. The 16-inning battle in Boston
7/15: Coming off the All-Star break, the Yankees headed to Boston for a critical series in the battle for the AL East. The Bombers just came off heartbreaking collapse only the night before and were stymied by Red Sox ace Chris Sale heading into the 9th inning trailing 1-0 when DH Matt Holiday sent a moonball off stud Boston closer Craig Kimbrel to send the game to extra innings. The game lasted all the way to the 16th inning until a three-run outburst from the Yankee offense to win the game 4-1.
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| Joe Wilcox |
5. Thumbs down
9/11: The Yankees faced Tampa Bay in a not-so-away game at Citi Field during the height of the AL East Battle. The Bombers were up 2-1 in the fourth and were looking to close the game out early, and Todd Frazier was the man to do just that. The third baseman sent a three-run bomb to end any hope for a Rays comeback. However, that ended up becoming a side story when the YES camera crew found a George RR Martin lookalike in the stands showing his disapproval with a solemn thumbs down, and when the New York locker room got their hands on the video, it became a Yankee staple. The team changed from their usual finger guns celebrations to a thumbs down one, creating t-shirts and emoji craziness that helped define the Yankees postseason run.
 |
| SI.com |
4. Judge puts exclamation point(s) on historic rookie season
9/25: You could make a whole list of just the larger than life Baby Bomber’s accolades in 2017, but his two home run day in late September will be the ones we all remember. The right fielder sent homers number 49 and 50 to break the MLB rookie homerun record set by Mark McGwire in 1986. The soft-spoken slugger would end up winning a unanimous AL ROY award and finish second to Jose Altuve in the AL MVP race.
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| Adam Hunger/Getty Images |
3. ALCS Game Four
10/16: The Bombers were in a similar spot, down 2-1 to an AL juggernaut trying to hold down the fort in the Bronx. Facing an insurmountable 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, rookie slugger Aaron Judge sent a no-doubter into monument park for a solo shot, cutting the Astro lead to two. The next inning resulted in even more fireworks, a Brett Gardner RBI groundout, Judge RBI double, and go ahead double by Gary Sanchez gave the Yankees enough to seal a 6-4 win, tying the series at 2-2.
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| Getty Images |
2.ALDS Game Five
10/11: Once again facing elimination, the Yankees were on the cusp of pulling off a gargantuan upset over the reigning AL Champion Cleveland Indians after trailing 2-0 to start the series. Didi Gregorius continued his postseason heroics homering in back to back at-bats to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead going into the fifth; the Indians roared back scoring two to cut the lead to just one. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Brett Gardner battled in a 12-pitch at-bat before scorching an RBI double to score two to give the Yankees some breathing room before closer Aroldis Chapman shut the door and sent the Yanks to the ALCS with a 5-2 win in Cleveland.
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| Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post |
1. AL Wild Card Game
10/3: The game started with about the worst case scenario with ace Luis Severino only lasting a third of the inning, allowing three runs in the first. Chad Green put out the fire to close out the first inning, and Didi Gregorius started his historic postseason with a stadium rocking three-run shot to tie the game at three. Green, Robertson, Khanle, and Chapman continued a stellar relief effort to give the Yankees 8 2/3 innings of one-run baseball, punctuated by home runs by Judge and Gardner gave the Yankees an incredible 8-4 win.
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| Ben Solomon/The New York Times |
Article by: Maxx Hotton
Follow @getinhottonhere
Follow @bronxbomberball
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