Yankees: What dictates a successful ending to the 2018 season?

Aaron Boone knew he was inheriting a Yankees team with championship aspirations when he took over Joe Girardi.

After all, it can be argued that Girardi should have been given at least one more year after getting his 2017 Yankees club within one game of the World Series.

Remember, that was a squad many predicted to finish towards the bottom of the AL East standings. However, with shrewd front office moves and a laser on-field focus, the Yanks surprised the baseball world, which only made this season’s expectations reach a fever pitch.

After clinching a playoff spot in the dreaded one-game Wild Card, the Bombers would still like to secure home-field advantage versus the upstart A’s. With eight games remaining and a 1.5 game lead, the easiest thing to do is to win out.

However, with four matchups left with the Rays, who have the best record in the majors since the All-Star break — and three on the road in Boston to end the season, securing Oct. 3rd’s action in the Bronx won’t be a simple task.

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It’s impressive that the Yankees have gone 95-59 this season (.617 win percentage) and still, have so much doubt about their fortunes headed into the Postseason. That’s what happens when you add the reigning NL MVP (Giancarlo Stanton) — who by the way has battled multiple cold spells this season to still lead the club with 36 home runs and 93 RBIs.

I guess nothing less than 50 long balls and 120 RBIs would have kept the faithful happy.

But this Yankee team has had so many unheralded players step up; it’s honestly been a joy to watch. The other Aaron — Hicks, clubbed his 25th homer on Saturday, making the Yankees just the sixth team in MLB history to reach 250 home runs in one season.

On pace to fall one round-tripper shy of the record set by the ’97 Mariners (264), the Bombers now own the record for 12 different players with at least 10 home runs in one season. They’ve also tied a franchise record with five players with at least 25 dingers.

It’s frustrating to think what if Aaron Judge hadn’t missed almost two months of action with a chipped fracture in his right wrist. He’d definitely have more than 26 homers. Had Gary Sanchez not spent time on the DL, twice, he’s undoubtedly have surpassed 16 by now. And if Greg Bird performed the way he did in last year’s ALDS versus Cleveland, we could be looking at a total of 300 long balls.

Alas, aside from having able-bodied bench players, you can’t plan for injuries. Considering Sanchez’s awful .182/.284/.393 slash line in 83 games, 16 home runs isn’t terrible. And if Bird did turn out to be “the left-handed power bat in the middle of the order,” general manager Brian Cashman would have never acquired Luke Voit and his 11 homers from the Cardinals.

No, the bullpen hasn’t been nearly as effective this season, injuries to closer Aroldis Chapman and the rollercoaster that is a sixth and seventh inning stopper has only placed more negative attention on an already questionable starting rotation.

But J.A. Happ has been terrific since being acquired from the Blue Jays, and perhaps, staff ace Luis Severino is now finding his footing at precisely the right time.

Surely, pitching will need to be addressed in the offseason; however, two positions that won’t are second and third base. The future is bright with Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar. Although both were top prospects entering this season, they’ve exceeded expectations, offensively.

While they certainly have room to grow with their gloves, their bats alone should see them finish one and two in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. Andujar leads the club with a .297 batting average and 160 hits, while Torres (who spent nearly three weeks on the DL) is sixth on the team with 23 home runs and fifth with 72 RBIs.

One week from the Wild Card Game and the season looks to be a success. That can and probably will change should the Yankees get bounced before the ALCS, but there’s a ton to build off of for 2019.

Clearly, we all want, nay, expect this team to get back to where they left off under Joe Girardi’s direction. But these Yankees have overcome a ton of obstacles already to secure a Postseason trip.

From Boone’s blunders with the bullpen to a number of high-caliber injuries and underperformers — all in all, these Yankees have had an excellent season. But it can still get better, and that means a trip to the World Series.