Did Early Struggles Help New York Yankees Historic Winning Streak?
If you have ever watched old World War II movies, there is usually some 5 star General bellowing, "we may have lost the battle but we will win the war." All year long, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone preached to his team and to the media, to paraphrase, "the offense will come around. We're close". He was right. Boone may have been more correct than even he knew.
MLB.com's Bryn Hoch caught up with the Yankee skipper after last night's game. “It hasn’t always been easy or perfect, but these guys are really good at competing,” said manager Aaron Boone, who was ejected in the second inning for arguing balls and strikes. “Especially when the game’s in the balance … we’re playing well, we’re playing for a lot and it’s a lot of fun to be part of this team.”
The Yankees won their 12th straight game last night against the Oakland A's, after blowing a 6 run lead. Remember what was happening in early July when the Yankees were blowing big leads? They learned from their battles and that's what great teams do. Aaron Judge delivered the go ahead single in the top of the 9th to lead the Bronx Bombers a 7-6 victory.
Hoch also talked with Aaron Judge after the victory, “It’s a testament to this team and what we’re made of,” Judge said. “Throughout the whole year, we’ve been battling. At times things don’t go our way, but everybody in this clubhouse has each other. We continue to fight for each other and go out there expecting to win every single game.”
The 12 game winning streak is the New York Yankees longest in 60 years. That was a pretty good lineup with Hall of Famers: Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, along with a home run hitter named Roger Maris. That team only won 109 games that year...oh yeah and the World Series. Hmmm. Good things to come!