2017 New York Yankees season


The 2017 New York Yankees season was the 115th season of the New York Yankees franchise.
In their final season under manager Joe Girardi, the Yankees finished the regular season with 91 wins and 71 losses - their first since 2012 in which they won at least 90 games. They struggled to catch up to the defending American League East champions the Boston Red Sox after being in first place at the beginning of the season, but clinched a playoff berth - their sixth wild card berth and their third in seven seasons - after missing the playoffs the previous year.
They defeated the [2017 2017 Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins] 8–4 in the Wild Card Game and the [2017 2017 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians] in five games in the Division Series before losing to the [2017 2017 Houston Astros season|Houston Astros season|Houston Astros] in seven games in the 2017 American League Championship Series.
Notably, during the postseason the Yankees were 6–0 at home, yet 1–6 on the road, and played an ALCS series that saw every single game won by the home team. Also, it would be also notable for being the silver jubilee season for the long time Yankee broadcaster Michael Kay and the 15th anniversary season of the team's current cable channel, YES Network.
This was considered a breakout season for many players, including starting pitcher Luis Severino, who emerged as arguably the Yankees' best pitcher, and rookie outfielder Aaron Judge, who broke Mark McGwire's record for most home runs by a rookie in the regular season and led the American League with 52 home runs.

Offseason

Free agent acquisitions

  • December 7, 2016: Signed left fielder Matt Holliday for one year and $13 million.
  • December 15, 2016: Signed closer, Aroldis Chapman to a five-year, $86 million deal, the largest ever for a reliever.
  • February 16, 2017: Signed 1B/OF Chris Carter on a one-year, $3 million deal.

Trades

Spring training

The Yankees had one of their most successful spring training performances in recent memory, finishing with a 24-9-1 record - the best in the major leagues.
The team had many players participate in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, including shortstop Didi Gregorius and relievers Dellin Betances, Tyler Clippard, and Tommy Layne.
One of the most notable elements of Yankees camp in 2017 was the presence of top prospects. Infielders Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, Tyler Wade, and Jorge Mateo, outfielders Clint Frazier, Dustin Fowler, and Aaron Judge, and pitchers Chad Green, James Kaprielian, and Jordan Montgomery highlighted the Yankees' strong farm system's presence at spring training.
Another prominent story in the early going was the rotation battle, with six pitchers battling for the final two spots following Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, and CC Sabathia: Luis Cessa, Green, Bryan Mitchell, Montgomery, Luis Severino, and Adam Warren. Each pitcher performed well in the first few weeks of Spring Training, making manager Joe Girardi's decision a difficult one. In the end, Severino came away with the fourth starter role, with the team waiting until April 10 to announce that Montgomery had won the fifth starter job. He'd make his MLB debut on April 12 against Tampa Bay.
Other position battles in Tampa included that for the starting right field job, between former first-round pick Judge and fourth outfielder Aaron Hicks. Another key competition was an unforeseen battle for the Opening Day shortstop job, as Didi Gregorius was lost for the first month with a shoulder injury suffered in the WBC. Prospect Wade, non-roster invitees Pete Kozma and Ruben Tejada, and utility infielder Ronald Torreyes all competed for the job. Not included in the shuffle were top prospects Torres and Mateo, much to the chagrin of Yankees fans. The jobs were eventually awarded to Judge and Torreyes.
On March 17, three Yankees pitchers combined to no-hit the Detroit Tigers. Tanaka allowed two walks and an error over 4 1/3 innings, Chasen Shreve retired the two batters he faced, and Montgomery shut down Detroit's final 12 batters as the Yankees won, 3–0. It was the first no-hitter in Spring Training since the Atlanta Braves tied the Houston Astros in 2015, and the first for the Yankees since an 11–0 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983.

Regular season

April

Going into the start of the regular season, the Yankees were a mystery to many analysts, as the team was not expected to do much while putting up historic numbers in spring training. Masahiro Tanaka, who had put up spectacular statistics during the spring, including having pitched in a combined no-hitter, was tagged to start Opening Day against the Tampa Bay Rays, in which he'd struggle greatly. CC Sabathia pitched the second game of the young season, pulling the team to a 1–1 record, but the rest of the rotation continued to struggle. Through the team's first five games the Yankees were 1–4. In the third game of the series against the Orioles, the Yankees came from behind to win the game, going into their first home stand of the season having gotten their second win.
This momentum would benefit the team greatly, as the Yankees would sweep the first 2 series at Yankee Stadium, and taking 2 of 3 against the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees would continue to maintain this momentum through the rest of April, finishing the month with a record of 15–8.
One of the main storylines of the early season were the series of injuries the Yankees suffered. The team started the season without their shortstop, Didi Gregorius, who had maintained an injury playing in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The team also lost rookie sensation catcher Gary Sanchez within the first five games, and Greg Bird, the first baseman who had missed the entire 2016 season, was performing abysmally, recording only six hits in his first 60 at bats. However, the team managed to work around these issues. Ronald Torreyes and Austin Romine, who were brought in to replace Gregorius and Sanchez, respectively, blew away the expectations placed on them and put up some of the best numbers for players at their positions. Aaron Hicks, who had struggled for much of the 2016 season played exceedingly well, Chase Headley put his lackluster performance in April of the previous season to shame, Starlin Castro hit well enough for the second-best batting average in the American League, and the rotation as a whole pitched amazingly, putting up some of the best numbers in the American League.
By far the biggest story of April, though, was rookie outfielder Aaron Judge. Having struggled in his debut season of 2016, Judge worked extensively over the offseason to adjust his mechanics, reducing his strikeouts and increasing contact rate, while honing his impressive natural power. The adjustments were wildly successful, as Judge dramatically reduced his strikeout rate, put up one of the best batting averages in the league, and tied the record for most home runs by a rookie in the month of April, with 10.
In a dramatic game, on Friday, April 28, 2017, the Yankees, at home facing the Orioles, struggled offensively to start the game, with starter Sabathia proving to be ineffective. At the middle of the 6th inning, the Orioles held a 9–1 lead over the Yankees. The Yankees then put up 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th, to which the Orioles responded by adding 2 more runs, making the game 11–4. The Yankees reduced the deficit with a Jacoby Ellsbury grand slam making it 11–8. The Yankees then scored a run in the 9th with an RBI groundout by Ellsbury, followed by a two-run shot by Castro to tie the game. Then, with one out in the bottom of the 10th, Matt Holliday won the game with a 3-run walk-off homerun, capping off an "impossible" comeback win. With it, the Yankees won their fourth come-from-behind game in which they were losing by 8-or-more runs since 2005, twice as many as the next best team.

May

The Yankees entered May tied with the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East with a 15–8 record, much better than their 8–15 23-game start in 2016. During the opening series of May, Jacoby Ellsbury sustained an injury that would sideline him for nearly a week after colliding into the Yankee Stadium center field wall in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. On May 2, first baseman Greg Bird was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a nagging ankle injury. The next day, right fielder Aaron Judge was named Rookie of the Month for April, 2017, beating out solid performances from Boston's Andrew Benintendi and Seattle's Mitch Haniger.
On May 7, the Yankees completed a sweep of the defending-champion Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago with an 18-inning 5–4 victory that extended deep into the night. After closer Aroldis Chapman blew his first save of the season by allowing three runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees' bullpen carried the team through another complete game's worth of extra innings. Of note in this game was that the Yankees and Cubs set the MLB record for strikeouts in a single game with 48. The Yankees also set a major-league record of seven pitchers with multiple strikeouts in their appearances. Following the victory, the Yankees held sole possession of the best record in the major leagues at 20–9.
The Yankees retired Derek Jeter's No.2 jersey and played a single-admission double-header on Mother's Day, May 12. The rest of the month would see the Yankees cool off, a result of struggles from Tanaka, a lower output by the offense in general, and a slow-down in the rate Judge hit homers, though he would still finish out the month with 17 homeruns on the season and the AL Rookie of the Month for May. The Yankees would compete with the Orioles for first place until the last week of the month, with the Orioles falling to third, being leapfrogged by the Red Sox. On May 31, the Yankees sat in first place with a record of 30–20, the Red Sox sitting at 29–23 and the Orioles at 27–24.

June

From June 7–11, the Yankees scored 8 or more runs in 5 straight games for the first time since 1956.

July

On July 18 the Yankees acquired Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle in a 7-player trade with the Chicago White Sox.

August

Yankees-Tigers brawl

On August 24, 2017, at Comerica Park the Yankees and Detroit Tigers game broke into a brawl. The altercation led to several suspensions and fines for players on both teams, with the game being labeled as the "MLB's wildest game of the 2017 season."
With the Tigers up 6–3, Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman began to warm up in replacement for the ejected Kahnle. Yankees catcher Austin Romine and Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera were standing facing each other behind the plate, as Romine was due to catch and Cabrera was due to bat. With Torres' back turned facing them, the two exchanged phrases until Cabrera stepped towards Romine, leading Romine to take off his catcher's mask. Cabrera then shoved Romine in the chest. Romine tackled Cabrera to the ground, with the two throwing punches at each other. At this point, the benches on both sides cleared, and a fight formed in the center of the field. Gary Sánchez ran out from the dugout and landed punches on Cabrera and Tigers' third baseman Nicholas Castellanos before his teammate, injured Yankees' outfielder Clint Frazier, attempted to restrain Sánchez. Austin Romine ended up beside his brother, Tigers infielder Andrew Romine. As the fight cleared, both Austin Romine and Cabrera were ejected from the game for their roles in the fight.
In a postgame press conference, Girardi visibly expressed frustration with the umpiring crew for their mishandling of the situation. In particular, he cited the lack of warning given for Fulmer's hit on Sánchez, stating "If you can't see that Fulmer clearly hit Sánchez on purpose, there's something wrong I think it could have really been avoidable." He stressed the importance of the game due to the Yankees' playoff aspirations compared to the 4th-place Tigers, and cited an inconsistent strike zone at the end of the game. Regarding Romine's ejection, he said "Cabrera went after him and you're gonna throw my catcher out for protecting himself? I mean, pay attention. Somebody's gotta pay attention to what's going on in this game." He demanded additional discipline for Ausmus, rhetorically asking, "Brad Ausmus is going to say 'F-you' to one of my players? Come on, Brad. What is that?"
Romine claimed that Cabrera asked him, "You got a fucking problem with me?", then took off his mask and got shoved to the ground. "It felt like he wanted a confrontation there and I just tried to defend myself the best I could." Sánchez, who was seen throwing punches, stated through his interpreter that "At that moment, instinct just takes over, because you want to defend your teammate. That's your family out there."
Gardner, who was involved in altercations with Ausmus and Iglesias, said "I thought the way things were handled, things got out of hand in a hurry. You'd like to see that get squashed from the start. It's not good for the game... I think any time you go through some controversy, it can bring guys together." Todd Frazier, on getting hit by Wilson, said "I thought everything was done with. I just kept asking him, 'Did you do that on purpose?' He wouldn't say a word, just kept staring at me, and that's when I got pretty excited."
The next day, Major League Baseball announced discipline for the players involved in the brawl, including the suspensions of five players and managers and the finings of seven additional participants. Cabrera received the longest suspension at seven games, while Yankees catcher Sánchez received the longest suspension on his team at four games. All disciplined players had their suspensions reduced by one game following appeals.
The Yankees were swept at home by the American League-leading Cleveland team from August 28–30, after which Cleveland went on to record a historic 22-game win streak.

September

In September, Aaron Judge broke out of a prolonged slump and the Yankees pulled ahead in the American League wildcard race by winning 23 of their final 34 games. From September 11–13 a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays was relocated from Tropicana Field to Citi Field due to Hurricane Irma, marking the first time since 1998 that the Yankees played a game in Queens not against the Mets.
The Yankees clinched a post-season berth in Toronto on September 23. The Yankees continued their 6-man starting rotation throughout the month. Both relief pitchers Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman showed some struggles during this month.
On September 25 in a makeup game against the Kansas City Royals, Aaron Judge tied and broke the MLB rookie record for home runs hit in a single year. In doing so, he also became the youngest player to have 7 multi-home run games in Yankee history since Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle.

October

The Yankees faced the Minnesota Twins for the AL Wild Card Game, in which they won 8–4. The Twins took a 3–0 lead on Yankees star pitcher Luis Severino in the first inning, but New York responded quick and the Twins would be unable to take back the lead.
Following the victory, the team traveled to Cleveland to face the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. New York fell to 0–2 in the series, putting them one loss away from elimination. However, upon returning to the Bronx, the Yankees took 2 games. The Yankees won the series in Game 5, in which fan-favorite shortstop Didi Gregorius pulled two home runs to right field. The Yankees final record of the ALDS was 3–2.
After reaching the ALCS, the American League Championship Series, the Yankees fell 0–2 against the Houston Astros in Houston. Game 2 was particularly stinging for the team, as it came on a walk-off hit. From games 3–5, the Yankees offense lit up and took the series lead of 3–2. This can be attributed to the home field advantage the Yankees held. The Yankees traveled to Houston once again in hopes to win the AL pennant, shocking the baseball world. Unfortunately for the team, they were unable to win games 6-7 and were eliminated. The Houston Astros went on to win the World Series, but the authenticity of their championship is questioned due to their recent cheating scandal. The Yankees final record of the ALCS was 3–4.
Joe Girardi, the Yankees manager, was promptly fired following elimination. His replacement would be 2003 ALCS Yankees hero Aaron Boone.

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
PlayerGABRH2B3BHRRBISBBBAVGSLG
Brett Gardner1515949615726421632372.264.428
Aaron Judge155542128154243521149127.284.627
Didi Gregorius136534731532702587325.287.478
Chase Headley147512771403011261960.273.406
Gary Sánchez122471791312003390240.278.531
Starlin Castro112443661331811663223.300.454
Matt Holliday10537350861801964146.231.432
Jacoby Ellsbury11235665942047392241.264.402
Ronald Torreyes1083153592151336211.292.375
Aaron Hicks88301548018015521051.266.475
Austin Romine80229195091221016.218.293
Todd Frazier661943343411132035.222.423
Chris Carter62184203751826020.201.370
Greg Bird48147202870928019.190.422
Clint Frazier3913416319441717.231.448
Tyler Wade305879400215.155.224
Garrett Cooper1343314510601.326.488
Tyler Austin204049202804.225.425
Rob Refsnyder203735110023.135.216
Kyle Higashioka91820000002.000.000
Mason Williams51634000121.250.250
Ji-man Choi61524102502.267.733
Pete Kozma11921000001.111.111
Miguel Andújar5704200411.571.857
Eric Kratz42021002001.0001.500
Dustin Fowler1000000000.---.---
Pitcher totals1622012000003.100.100
Team totals162559485814632662324182190616.262.447

Source:

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerWLERAGGSSVIPHRERBBSO
Luis Severino1462.9831310193.1150736451230
Masahiro Tanaka13124.7430300178.01801009441194
Jordan Montgomery973.8829290155.1140726751144
CC Sabathia1453.6927270148.2139646150120
Michael Pineda844.391717096.110355472192
Chad Green501.83401069.034141417103
Sonny Gray473.721111065.15531272759
Dellin Betances362.876601059.229201944100
Adam Warren322.35460157.13519151554
Aroldis Chapman433.225202250.13720182069
Chasen Shreve413.77440045.13520192558
Jonathan Holder113.89370039.1451717840
Jaime García034.8288037.14125202037
Tyler Clippard154.95400136.12821201942
Luis Cessa034.75105036.03621191730
David Robertson501.03300135.014441251
Bryan Mitchell115.79201132.24224211317
Tommy Kahnle112.70320026.225881036
Giovanny Gallegos014.87160020.1211211522
Caleb Smith017.7192018.22116161018
Domingo Germán013.1470014.11165418
Tommy Layne007.62190013.016121189
Ben Heller100.8290011.051169
Tyler Webb004.507006.033345
Ronald Herrera016.002003.032213
Team totals91713.72162162361448.212486605995041560

Source:

Postseason

Postseason rosters