Triumphs, Tribulations, and the Road Ahead

By Roma Garcia

The Yankees’ 2024 Season has been eventful, with Aaron Judge’s home runs, Ben Rice making Yankee rookie history, and a brawl breaking out in a match against the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees have a reputation as one of the best Major League teams in American professional baseball with 27 World Series titles, the most out of any team. However, many Yankees fans feel the team has fallen off, with their last World Series win being in 2009.

Fan favorite Aaron Judge continues to impress, scoring 34 home runs at the time of publishing. This number of home runs, extraordinary even for an entire season, is especially stunning considering the season isn’t even halfway over.

In 2022 all eyes were on Judge’s home runs as he was chasing the record number of home runs hit during a season, eventually setting the new record of 62 home runs. If we compare Judge’s current performance to where he was at this point during his 2022 record-breaking season, Judge is ahead in home runs (34-33) with better overall stats. With this record, it’s no wonder pitchers are afraid to even throw him a good ball! 

A breakout star for the season has been Ben Rice, who made Yankee rookie history by hitting at least three home runs in a single game, placing himself among greats such as Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle. This record, along with the game’s 14-4 win against the Boston Red Sox, gave fans something to cheer for after a devastating four-game losing streak.

Although Rice is only 25 years old, the Yankees have put him in important positions in the lineup: first as the opening player, or “leadoff,” for the team, and more recently batting in the fourth slot known as the “cleanup” position. Such a young player being trusted to be damage control for the team shows that Rice has incredible potential.

And damage control is vital, as the Yankees have struggled this season, with a notable slump in June. Seasoned sports writer Adam Gretz stated that a main flaw of the Yankees is their “over-reliance on Judge to carry the team,” while other players are unable to pick up the slack. Another hindrance is that key players Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo are on injury leave. While their absence may not be entirely to blame, it leaves a dent in the team’s overall ability. Judge can’t be the only one expected to score, especially with pitchers inclined to award him first base by pitching around him — also known as “walking” him. 

The chaos culminated in one of the more memorable games of the season thus far: in the opening game in the three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, July 12, a fight broke out in the bottom of the ninth inning. With the Yankees winning 4-1, and both teams competing for the top spot in the American League East, the Orioles were already tense. 

During the ninth inning, it began to rain and the Yankees pitcher, Clay Holmes, threw a 97 mph ball that unintentionally hit Oriole batter Heston Kjerstad in the face with enough force to knock his helmet off completely and throw him to the ground. It was a dramatic scene as doctors rushed to ensure he did not have a concussion, leading to Kjerstad exiting the field with the Orioles head athletic trainer. Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde then stormed to home plate and began yelling toward the Yankee dugout. It is unsure what he was yelling or to whom he was yelling. Nevertheless, both teams exited their dugouts to brawl it out at home plate. Hyde was then ejected for the remainder of the game.

After the game, the Yankees explained that the rain made it harder for both pitchers and batters to play. Kjerstad underwent testing and while he was initially ready to play the next game, he wasn’t feeling 100% and was placed on Concussion Injury Leave for 7 days.

Where we stand today, the Yankees are still competing with the Orioles to reach the top spot for the AL East with the Orioles having a slight lead. The Yankees are currently at 58 wins and 40 losses, while the Orioles have 58 wins and 38 losses at the time of writing.

Although the Yankees have been showing promise as of late, we still have a long way to go before the regular season ends to see whether or not the Yankees can make it to the playoffs in October. Until then, we will keep a close eye on the Yankees and whether they can beat the Orioles to compete in the playoffs.