New York Yankees: The 2010s in review (2010-2014)

2014

Manager-Joe Girardi;

Record- 84-78, 2nd in the AL East

Key Acquisitions: Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Masahiro Tanaka, Carlos Beltran, Brian Roberts, Brandon McCarthy, Stephen Drew, Chase Headley, Martin Prado

Key Departures: Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson

Hoping to avoid the drama that they had endured the year prior, the Yankees went right to work to reconstruct the team. In addition to losing Pettitte and Rivera, Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, both departed via free agency. The Yankees again pursued veterans in the offseason and obtained outfielder and former Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury, signing him to a whopping 7-year $153 million deal.

The team also signed slugging veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran and catcher Brian McCann. They also looked abroad and brought in Japanese pitching sensation, Masahiro Tanaka, from the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Tanaka had come off of a season in which he went undefeated at 24-0, with an unreal ERA of 1.27. Despite the moves, the season would mostly be remembered for being Derek Jeter’s final season.

The Yankees never really got on any sort of roll in 2014. If they went on a five-game winning streak, they’d then go on a five-game losing streak. If their pitching was top-notch, then their hitting was lackluster. If their hitting was good, the pitching would go bad. Tanaka was living up to expectations and started the year out strong.

However, he suffered an injury midway through the year and wouldn’t return until the end of the season. Although players and fans around the league celebrated Jeter’s career throughout the season, the Captain himself was having the worst full season of his career. He hit just .256, with just 4 home runs and 50 runs batted in.

The Yankees were treading water for much of the season. They never really got into the mix of teams who had a legitimate shot at making a run in the playoffs. They would fail to qualify for the postseason for the second straight year. However, as he had done so much throughout his career, Jeter provided one of the memorable moments in franchise history by hitting a walk-off single in his final at-bat at Yankee Stadium against the Orioles on September 25.

Analysis: Asides from this being Jeter’s last season,  there really isn’t anything all that positive about this season. It wasn’t a bad season for the fans thanks to the lasting memories the Captain provided, but it certainly wasn’t a great season. It’s just…there.