NEW YORK – Disappointment washed over the New York Yankees’ locker room as players packed their belongings and said their goodbyes for the winter. Both manager Aaron Boone and star Aaron Judge believed 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, nor even the American League Championship Series. Their season ended 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 get the job done, we didn’t accomplish the goal. We had a special group here, a lot of special players that made this year fun, but we didn’t get the ultimate prize, so we fell short. The Yankees’ path to the championship was blocked by the team that prevented them from winning the American League East Division 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 direct pass to the next round, as both teams finished with an identical 94-68 record, the best in the American League. Despite how poorly the first two games of the series went for the Yankees, Toronto outscored them 23-8 at the Rogers Centre, the team showed up on Wednesday with confidence, fueled by Judge’s monumental three-run homer in Game 3 that 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, facing a series of familiar relievers in the 21st encounter between division rivals. Win, and the pressure would shift to the Blue Jays to avoid a collapse in Game 5 at home.
Schlittler didn’t 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, managing only two runs on six hits. They left two runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, and left the bases loaded in the eighth.The Blue Jays accumulated 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 games with multiple hits to finish 9-for-14 in the series. Center fielder Daulton Varsho hit 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 increased 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 hit .338 with an OPS of .974 in the series.It’s brutal. I’m in shock.
Anthony Volpe
They didn’t fail and scored, it seemed, every time they had a man in scoring position. They did what 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 club consolidated and victories piled up, Boone did not 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 took it from 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 any way, at any moment. Baseball favors no one.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
