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Yankees: 3 strangest Septembers in modern NYY history

By Adam Weinrib |
New York Yankees Derek Jeter looks up at the scoreboard in the ninth inning, 28 September 2000, as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Yankees 11-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. AFP PHOTO/PETER MUHLY (Photo by PETER MUHLY / AFP) (Photo credit should read PETER MUHLY/AFP via Getty Images)
New York Yankees Derek Jeter looks up at the scoreboard in the ninth inning, 28 September 2000, as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Yankees 11-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. AFP PHOTO/PETER MUHLY (Photo by PETER MUHLY / AFP) (Photo credit should read PETER MUHLY/AFP via Getty Images)
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The New York Yankees have faced some wild September stretch runs over the years.

In terms of overall strangeness, no season’s got anything on 2020 for the Yankees — a pandemic’ll do that to you.

So will eight (8!) playoff teams per league, and a three-game Wild Card round … for everyone!

But even though Yankee fans have felt the roller coaster significantly in recent weeks, weathering five- and seven-game losing streaks, we’re here to remind you that the nail-biting can get far more frequent, and much stranger.

Does September matter in the grand scheme of things? YES! A tough September can derail a promising season. But can a team shrug off September doldrums and ride on to victory in October, regardless? Can a hot final month quickly be doused by something even hotter when the calendar turns? You bet.

Though ’20 is giving all of these a run for their money, we think these three Septembers are the outright strangest for the modern Yankees.

Randy Johnson #41 (L) and manager Joe Torre celebrate in the locker room after the New York Yankees clinched the AL East division title by defeating the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on October 1, 2005 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Yankees won the game 8-4. (Photo by Elise Amendola-Pool/Getty Images)
Randy Johnson #41 (L) and manager Joe Torre celebrate in the locker room after the New York Yankees clinched the AL East division title by defeating the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on October 1, 2005 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Yankees won the game 8-4. (Photo by Elise Amendola-Pool/Getty Images) /

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3. 2005 Yankees

An exceedingly tight pennant race, coming down to the wire, and culminating with the Yankees and Red Sox tussling for first place at Fenway Park to wrap up the season!

And it didn’t matter at all!

After a crazy-tight September, the Yanks and Sox met one year after their epic (sorry, “disastrous”) ALCS battle to run things back at the Fens to decide AL East supremacy. Only one issue: The series’ loser was guaranteed the Wild Card, and a date with the Chicago White Sox, while the winner would head to Los Angeles to battle the Angels. Both series would start on the road, and neither was particularly favorable. Let the … something begin? Strange vibes all around.

The Yankees woke up on Sept. 1 2.5 games back of the Sox, and proceeded to lose the month’s first two games. But then, the run began, mostly fueled by dominance of the Devil Rays and Blue Jays.

By the time Friday, Sept. 30 came around, the two teams were tied, but by virtue of tiebreakers, all the Yanks needed to do was win once to secure their AL East title. That series opener featured David Wells in a Sox uni out-dueling Chien-Ming Wang 5-3. The pressure was then on — well, faux-pressure. Remember, both of these teams were headed to the promised land!

That Saturday, Randy Johnson delivered (seriously, what a forgettable era), throwing 7.1 three-run inning to top Tim Wakefield 8-4, giving the Yanks the “coveted” crown.

Why didn’t this matter more? It’s such a shame. At least both teams got what they wanted, Division Series-wise; they were both bounced in the first round! Strange, strange, strange.

Outfielder Juan Gonzalez #19 of the Texas Rangers bats against the New York Yankees during an Major League Baseball game circa 1995 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Gonzalez played for the Rangers from 1989-99 and 2002-2003. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Outfielder Juan Gonzalez #19 of the Texas Rangers bats against the New York Yankees during an Major League Baseball game circa 1995 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Gonzalez played for the Rangers from 1989-99 and 2002-2003. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

2. 1995 Yankees

After play on Aug. 31, the Yankees were half-heartedly chasing this newfangled thing called the “Wild Card,” but couldn’t be too enthusiastic about their chances of rallying for their captain, Don Mattingly, looking for his first career playoff appearance.

At 57-59, they had no reason to be optimistic, especially since they were bunched behind Seattle, Texas, KC, Milwaukee, and Oakland, all within two games of the additional postseason berth, introduced before the campaign kicked off.

Also of note? The California Angels, leading the AL West at 67-50. Big lead! Surely, that wouldn’t come into play.

By the end of September, everything had changed. The Yankees went 21-6 in the month, then tacked an extra victory on to finish out the season on Oct. 1. When their season ended, they were somehow at least five games clear of all those bunched-up competitors, except Seattle, which had now vaulted into the AL West lead!

When the M’s defeated the Angels in a one-game, winner-take-all tiebreaker for the West crown, that placed California one game in back of the Yanks, and firmly on the couch for the wild, generation-defining ’95 ALDS, which fueled the Yankees’ fire for their domination for the remainder of the decade.

Two six-game win streaks (including a sweep of the AL East champion Red Sox), and a new lease on life. What a wild ride, indeed.

Umpire Dana DeMuth calls the third strike on Paul O’Neill of the New York Yankees during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on May 14, 2000 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)
Umpire Dana DeMuth calls the third strike on Paul O’Neill of the New York Yankees during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on May 14, 2000 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images) /

1. 2000 Yankees

For the rest of time, whenever a Yankees team struggles in the month of September, fans will always cite the 2000 team. And their struggles were so disastrous that they absolutely earned that designation.

The glory that followed was also worth the fall.

The Yanks went 13-17 in the month overall, but September began with an 8-2 stretch. Seriously. Following a 6-3 win over Cleveland on the 16th, the team lost 12 of 14, adding an extra loss in October. Their division lead dwindled to 2.5 games — it was a nine-gamer on Sept. 13.

Not only did these losses keep on coming, but they truly felt like avalanches. A mere sampling of the destruction: 15-4 blowouts by Cleveland and a decrepit Detroit team, a 16-3 Toronto win, Tampa Bay going 11-1 and 11-3 back-to-back after a 2-1 walk-off, and 13-2 and 9-1 O’s wins at the tail end of the slide. Those last five were consecutive. Imagine watching that every day?

Well, we kind of just did. But imagine watching that every day in fully-packed ballparks?!

But did it matter? Only if you prefer “AL’s Best Team in September” banners to World Series flags, which very much fly forever.

The Yanks triumphed that October once again, as Mike Piazza’s fly ball settled in Bernie Williams’ glove to send the Mets home losers (a rare occurrence). But don’t let anyone ever tell you it was easy. In fact, if you stuck around for all of that September swoon, you deserve a little something extra for your troubles.

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