Yankees: The Last Time NYY Brought Home the 4 Major MLB Awards

The last four Yankees to win the four major MLB awards.

Over the course of their history, the New York Yankees have had countless players take home awards and recognized for their play on the field. And just think about he many others who were robbed!

There are four major awards handed out each November by Major League Baseball. The MVP Award, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year are announced by MLB prior to Thanksgiving. The Yankees are no stranger to such accolades, but it’s been quite some time since a Bomber took home a few of these.

Can someone take home more hardware after the truncated 2020 season? Let’s take a look at who last won these awards for the NYY and determine which ones the franchise needs to bring back to the Bronx.

Most Valuable Player: Alex Rodriguez (2007)

Alex Rodriguez had his most impressive season in Pinstripes.

For the second time in two years and third time five, the former Yankees third basemen took home the MVP Award for his offensive explosion in 2007. He led the American League in six offensive categories and became the first player in MLB history to have at least 35 home runs, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored for 10 straight seasons.

He clubbed 54 home runs, including his 500th career shot on Aug. 4 against the Kansas City Royals, drove in 156 runs and had 85 extra-base hits. He had a slash line of .314/.422/.610 with a career-high 1.067 OPS. He also finished with a 9.4 WAR.

Rodriguez started hot that season and never looked back. He had 14 home runs in the Yankees first 18 games and he hit is 150th home run in Pinstripes in July.

Prior to the season, he lost significant weight, changed his stance and became the league’s most dangerous hitter. His regular-season success did not carry over to the playoffs, however, as he went 4-for-15 in the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, which the Yankees lost in four games.

Rodriguez received 26 out of 28 of the first-place votes for MVP to beat out Magglio Ordonez of the Chicago White Sox by a landslide. He also took home the Silver Slugger Award.

Months later, the Yankees and A-Rod agreed to a 10-year, $275 million contract and he would never hit more than 35 home runs in a single campaign again in his career, making 2007 his most productive regular season as a Yankee.

Cy Young Award: Roger Clemens (2001)

Roger Clemens anchored the Yankees rotation in impressive fashion.

The Rocket was acquired in 1999 from the Toronto Blue Jays and won two rings with the Yankees. He was a top-of-the-rotation starter during his time in the Bronx, with 2001 serving as his best season with the team.

He won 20 of his first 21 decisions, with his only loss in the span coming to the Seattle Mariners in May. He won his next 16 decisions and didn’t lose again until Sept. 25 at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Devils Rays. His stats during the summer run in 2001 are just mind-blowing.

After the loss to the Mariners, he pitched another 132 innings over the next four months allowing 46 earned runs, 125 hits, maintaining a 3.14 ERA, and striking out 129 batters. He beat every AL East team at least once and every AL Central team, except the Minnesota Twins, who he shut out with eight scoreless innings in April that year.

He finished the season at 20-3 with a 3.52 ERA and 213 strikeouts in 220.1 innings pitched and had a 5.7 WAR. He was a runaway winner for the award as he cruised by Mark Mulder of the Oakland Athletics with 21 of the 28 first-place votes.

In the 2001 ALDS, Mulder out-dueled Clemens in Game 1, but Clemens and Yankees won a deciding Game 5. He had a no-decision in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Mariners, before winning Game 3 of the World Series over the Arizona Diamondbacks, before getting a no-decision in a Game 7 loss on the road.

Coming up short in the postseason hurts, especially with what the country went through that September, but it doesn’t take away from the ridiculous regular-season Clemens had in the Bronx that summer.

Manager of the Year: Joe Torre (1998)

Joe Torre led the Yankees to 114 regular-season wins to capture his second award in three years.

In 12 seasons as manager of the Yankees, Torre compiled an 1173-767 record, but the 1998 season was out of this world. New York won 114 games, captured the AL East by 22 games over the Boston Red Sox, and took home their first of three straight World Series titles.

Torre had an everyday lineup that could mash and each player hit at least 10 home runs that season. Tino Martinez led the Yankees with 28 homers and 123 RBI. Derek Jeter led the team with 203 hits and Bernie Williams had the highest average at .339. Filling out the lineup card every day was one of the easiest things Torre had to do.

The rotation consisted of Orlando Hernandez, David Wells, David Cone, Hideki Irabu and Andy Pettitte. Wells, Cone and Pettitte pitched had at least 30 starts and went over 200 innings, while Irabu (173) and Hernandez (141) each had over 20 starts. The bullpen was anchored by Mariano Rivera, who had 36 saves in 54 appearances.

Torre was hired by George Steinbrenner in 1996 after Buck Showalter was fired. After managing the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves for a combined 14 season from 1977-1995, his only postseason appearance was with the ’82 Braves.

But he brought a calm presence to the Bronx and installed a tension defusing attitude that allowed his teams to go out and get the job done.

The Yankees rolled through the playoffs that season. They swept the Texas Rangers in Divisional Round and then took down the Cleveland Indians in six games in the ALCS. They finished their record-breaking season with a four-game sweep of the San Diego Padres in the World Series.

Torre had the best job in baseball in 1998, whether it was writing out the lineup card on a nightly basis or just sitting back and watching his talented team roll their way through an unforgettable summer.

Side note: how did Aaron Boone not earn Manager of the Year after taking a decimated Yankees team with 30 injured players in 2019 to 103 wins and the ALCS. Come on, MLB.