The Yankees acquired some inspiration from an common supply Sunday. Down 0-3 within the American League Championship Sequence to the Astros, the Yankees confronted the monumental process of profitable 4 straight video games or going dwelling having missed the World Sequence for the thirteenth straight yr. Just one staff has ever come again from being down 0-3.
So Sunday morning, the Yankees discovered a 3 minute clip of their most bitter rivals, the Purple Sox, rallying from three down in opposition to the Bombers within the 2004 ALCS.
“We watched that video at the moment,” Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone stated earlier than the Bombers’ do-or-die Recreation 4 at Yankee Stadium. “We despatched it out to all our coaches and acquired it out to our gamers and stuff.”
The Yankees must attempt one thing, as a result of they’ve been dominated by the Astros pitching to date on this collection. The Yankees hitters, who led the American League in scoring and led baseball in dwelling runs, went into Recreation 4 having a 33.7% strikeout fee within the first three video games, the very best in postseason historical past (with a minimal of 200 plate appearances). They’ve been held to 6 hits or fewer of their final six playoff video games. It’s not simply the playoffs, the Astros have crushed them up all yr. The Bombers have solely led on the finish of two of their 91 innings in opposition to Houston this season. These two innings had been the ultimate innings of their walk-off wins on June 23 and June 26.
That is the fifth time within the Yankees’ historical past they’ve trailed a best-of-seven recreation collection 3-0 they usually have been swept in every of these collection, the final time was the 2012 ALCS.
It’s an uncommon scenario for this staff, which received 99 video games within the common season this yr. Boone reminded them that they’ll solely win one at-bat at time.
“Maintain it small, attempt to win the subsequent play. Exit and attempt to win pitches in that first inning and preserve the main target in that regard actual small understanding we acquired to win a recreation at the moment, after which we are able to transfer ahead from that,” Boone stated. “However simply concentrate on preparing. Clearly, we acquired one other powerful pitcher going in opposition to us. We get to ship Nestor to the mound, which we’re thrilled about. It’s a possibility to win a baseball recreation within the postseason.”
The dire scenario clearly referred to as for excessive motivation. The weird transfer of utilizing video that was one of the crucial devastating losses for Yankees followers was spearheaded by the Yankees’ director of psychological conditioning Chad Bohling. It appeared to create some controversy on-line amongst followers. Boone admitted it was a bit unusual that it was a clip in opposition to the Yankees, however he did draw some knowledge from it.
“I believe it was simply the idea that that they had. That they had a confidence,” Boone stated. “You see [Kevin] Millar saying ‘Don’t allow us to win one.’
“We nonetheless have time. Clearly now we’re as far up in opposition to it as you may be and never in a terrific spot however you may’t get forward of your self both,” Boone stated. “We simply acquired to exit and begin with the primary inning. Making an attempt to attempt to win pitches and attempting to in the end win a recreation and no less than put a bit stress on them after which begin to see what can occur.”
Boone acquired some recommendation from a kind of 2004 Purple Sox gamers too. Whereas assembly with the published crews, which every supervisor does earlier than every recreation, ESPN’s Eduardo Perez acquired David “Massive Papi” Ortiz on FaceTime. Boone stated Ortiz had some recommendation, however wished to maintain it non-public.
The Yankees had been up by a run within the ninth inning of Recreation 4 of the 2004 ALCS when now Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts stole second and scored on Invoice Mueller’s single off Mariano Rivera. Ortiz received it on a house run in additional innings.
The 2004 Purple Sox stay the one staff in MLB historical past to win a seven recreation collection after being down 3–0 and earlier than them no staff in MLB had compelled a Recreation 7 beneath these circumstances. The Astros are the one staff to do it since (in 2020), forcing the Rays to a Recreation 7 and shedding within the final recreation.
The Purple Sox went on to comb the Cardinals within the World Sequence in 2004, snapping the Curse of the Bambino.
()
