Yankees Legends Make Bold Claims About Path to World Series

As if there wasn’t already enough pressure for postseason success, a pair of New York Yankees legends just added some more.

On Sunday, Fox MLB analysts and former New York Yankees greats Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were discussing the team’s road to the World Series.

“You never want to say you have an easy road to the World Series”, Jeter said, “but if the Yankees could pick and choose their opponents, I think they got the two they would pick and choose because of the success they’ve had against the AL Central.”

The former captain is referring to the fact that the Yankees had the AL Central’s number this year; they went a dominant 24-7 against AL Central teams, including a 4-2 record against the Cleveland Guardians, the division winner and the Yankees’ opponent in the ALCS.

But it was Alex Rodriguez’s comments that provided the Guardians with some bulletin board material ahead of Game 1 on Monday night. 

“You don’t have to say it, I’ll say it,” A-Rod replied to Jeter. “They have an easy road to the World Series.” A-Rod and Jeter, who won a World Series with the Yankees together in 2009, laughed before Rodriguez clarified his statement. “Look, it’s never easy, but this is the clearest path [they’ve had] in 20 years.”

New York managed to avoid playing two teams that have given them trouble both in the past and this season. One of them is the Baltimore Orioles, who had an 8-5 record against the Yankees this season; the other is the Houston Astros, who had eliminated the Yankees in the ALCS three times in the past eight years (most recently in 2022).

In sharp contrast, the AL Central was easily the weakest division in MLB last year, with four of the five teams finishing with losing records. While all three playoff teams from the division this year made it to the ALDS, the Yankees’ aforementioned dominance against them makes these matchups more favorable than facing Baltimore or Houston.

That “easy” path continues on Monday night in the Bronx, when Carlos Rodon takes the mound for Game 1 against Cleveland’s Alex Cobb.