Yankees playoffs: The Bronx Beast has Awoken in the ALCS

It Means Dimaggio and Berra and 27 World Championships

At the same time the baby bombers were reminding the Astros about their past playoff ignominy, they were reminding the world of what it means when the Yankees rise.

And start hitting big home runs deep in the Bronx night in front of blood-thirsty Yankees fans.

Not only do the Yankees players seem to become bigger than they are, but also, you, the fans rise. The players uplift you with their play, and you lift them up with your wild and unbridled exuberance; the fauves of baseball fandom.

And only when all of that happens do the Yankees Ghosts awaken. When the players begin to perform legendary feats, and the fans shake the rafters, then the spirits of Yankees past glory rise.

They help the Yankees players believe they can do the impossible, and the opponents that only doom is to be found between those innocous white lines. They whisper to the opposing players, as they exit the visiting clubhouse to take the field, “Remember, today you must face the Yankees.”

Think that’s an exaggeration? Listen to the message that the Astros sent to the rest of the league, after their epic beatdown in the Bronx:

"Yankee Stadium got to Dallas Keuchel. A day after saying he relished pitching in the hostile ballpark in the Bronx, the Astros lefty admitted the pinstriped patrons made his night tougher. “New York is no joke. Yankee Stadium is a tough place to play,” said Keuchel, the Astros ace who couldn’t get out of the fifth inning of Game 5. “And it was rocking these three games…”"

Silent, but Deadly

It’s not just that a group of talented players is exceeding expectations; it’s that the specter of a new Yankees dynasty has appeared on the horizon. Whether it happens or not, the fear of it is already spreading throughout the baseball landscape.

And Yankees stadium is the symbol of the hope that is rapidly rising in Yankees universe, as well as a silent, austere message of certain doom.

That is what it has become, thanks to the players and the fans. Watch the video of Sanchez seventh inning home run in game five. The Astros outfielder hung his head in defeat before the ball finished passing over grass. He knew it was gone before it left.

Just like he knew the Yankees were going to win that game. His teammates knew it, too. Before the last out, before even the last inning, everyone in the stadium knew the Yankees were destined to win that game.

That’s imposing your will. That’s how you beat your opponents before you even take the field.