In the closing of Wednesday’s day and the first hours of Thursday, while the club members packed their belongings and said goodbye for the winter, a feeling of disbelief took hold of the New York Yankees.From manager Aaron Boone to superstar Aaron Judge, the Yankees were convinced that this team had more talent, was more complete, and better prepared for October than the team that reached the World Series the previous year.However, the 2025 Yankees will not reach the World Series. They won’t even make it to the American League Championship Series. Their season concluded Wednesday night with a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 4 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium, extending their championship drought to 16 seasons, the third-longest in franchise history.It’s hard to describe. We didn’t do our job, we didn’t achieve the goal. We had a special group here, many special players who made this year fun, but we didn’t get the final prize, so we fell short.The team that stood in the way of the Yankees’ path to the championship series was the one that prevented them from winning the American League East title. Toronto had an 8-5 record against the Yankees during the regular season, securing the tiebreaker that proved to be the difference in obtaining a wild card berth, as both teams finished with identical 94-68 records, the best in the American League.
Despite how poorly the first two games of the series went for the Yankees, where Toronto outscored them 23-8 at Rogers Centre, the team arrived on Wednesday with confidence, fueled by Judge’s three-run homer in Game 3, which helped extend their season.
On paper, they had the advantage in pitching: rookie Cam Schlittler, after a historic eight-inning performance in the wild card series, faced a group of familiar relievers in the 21st meeting of the year between division rivals. Win, and the pressure would fall on the Blue Jays to avoid a collapse in Game 5 at home.
Schlittler did not resemble the dominant force that held the Boston Red Sox scoreless in an elimination game the previous week, but he pitched well enough to give New York a chance to avoid elimination. However, the Yankees squandered the opportunity, scoring only two runs on six hits. They left two runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, and loaded bases in the eighth.The Blue Jays connected 12 more hits to finish with 50 in the series and outscored New York 34-19 to reach the ALCS for the first time since 2016. The 34 runs were the fourth-most scored in a team’s first four postseason games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led the way, batting 9-for-17 with three home runs and nine RBIs, to counter Judge, who batted 13-for-26 in the postseason to become the sixth all-time player to hit at least .500 in a single postseason.The difference was in the supporting casts. Toronto utility player Ernie Clement recorded three consecutive multi-hit games to finish 9-for-14 in the series. Center fielder Daulton Varsho went 7-for-16. Catcher Alejandro Kirk hit two home runs. In Game 4, Addison Barger recorded three hits. Nathan Lukes added two, including a two-run single that extended Toronto’s lead to 4-1 in the seventh inning. And Myles Straw came off the bench to drive in the final run with a single in the eighth. As a team, the Blue Jays batted .338 with an OPS of .974 in the series.It’s brutal. I’m in a state of shock.
Anthony Volpe
They didn’t miss and scored, it seemed, every time they had a player in a scoring position. They did everything they could to put the ball in play. And they were ready. They were on it from the first at-bat. It was impressive.
Austin Wells
During the last month of the regular season, as his team took shape and the wins piled up, Boone didn’t hesitate to share that he believed this year’s team was the most talented in his eight seasons in charge. It had power, speed, improved defense, a solid rotation, and a bullpen with several proven veterans. He envisioned a path to the World Series. He wasn’t the only one.They dominated us in this series.
Boone
We all thought we were the team to win the World Series, but baseball is baseball. We all know that baseball can take a turn at any moment. Baseball favors no one.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
