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Houston Astros vs Yankees ALCS 2017: Why it’s a generational battle

By Kenneth Cline

HOUSTON, TX - JULY 01: Didi Gregorius
HOUSTON, TX - JULY 01: Didi Gregorius /
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The Club of Good or Bad

Some of baseball’s best moments involve the Yankees winning. But then again, some of baseball’s best moments involve the Yankees.

I did some research on every team that played the Yankees in an important postseason series and wanted to see where everyone stacked up at. It came down to two clubs.

  1. The Club of Yankee Killers: This club involves teams who defeated the Yankees and earned the right to this club.
  2. The Club of Yankee Doodlers: This club involves teams who couldn’t defeat the Yankees in a big series.

Let’s start with a list of teams who made the Yankee Killers club. Keep in mind, some of these teams also lost to the Yankees in a postseason series, but they still earned the right to be there.

The Yankee Killers Club

  • New York/San Francisco Giants – 1921, 1922
  • St. Louis Cardinals – 1926, 1942, 1964
  • Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers – 1955, 1963, 1981
  • Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves – 1957
  • Pittsburgh Pirates – 1960
  • Cincinnati Reds – 1976
  • Kansas City Royals – 1980
  • Seattle Mariners – 1995
  • Cleveland Indians – 1997, 2007
  • Arizona Diamondbacks – 2001
  • Anaheim Angels – 2002, 2005
  • Florida Marlins – 2003
  • Boston Red Sox – 2004
  • Detroit Tigers – 2006, 2011, 2012
  • Texas Rangers – 2010
  • Houston Astros – 2015*

As you might have noticed, the Houston Astros has an asterisk by their year. I hate to do this, but in a way, we only beat the Yankees in a one-game playoff. Everyone else has either won three or four games in a series with them. I think if we do win the series, then the asterisk is gone and we will officially be a member of the club.

Now let’s see the Yankee Doodlers Club.

The Yankee Doodlers Club

  • Chicago Cubs – 1932, 1938
  • Philadelphia Phillies – 1950, 2009
  • Milwaukee Brewers – 1981
  • Oakland Athletics – 1981, 2000, 2001
  • Baltimore Orioles – 1996, 2012
  • San Diego Padres – 1998
  • New York Mets – 2000
  • Minnesota Twins – 2003, 2004, 2009

Now for those waiting in line for evaluation.

The Line Outside

  • Chicago White Sox
  • Colorado Rockies
  • Tampa Bay Rays
  • Toronto Blue Jays
  • Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals

So this is the status of the 29 teams in the league. 16 teams, including the Houston Astros can say they have beaten the Yankees in a playoff round. Eight teams had their chances to win, but couldn’t do the job while the other five are still waiting in line.

But right now, we have more to worry aside from trying to beat the Yankees.

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