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The New York Yankees have not won a pennant or World Series since 2009, making this the longest drought the franchise has faced since the ’80s. (The Yankees lost in the 1981 World Series and didn’t reach the Fall Classic again until they won it in 1996.) General Manager Brian Cashman believes that fact, if not an asterisk, should at least be given some context that’s deeper dives into the matter The Yankees’ 2017 American League Championship Series loss to the Houston Astros.
“The only thing that stopped (us) was something that was so illegal and horrific,” Cashman told The Athletic’s Andy McCullough. “So I’m offended when I start hearing that we haven’t been to the World Series since ’09. Because I’m like, ‘Well, I think we actually got it right.’ Pulled it down, brought it up again. Well designed, well acted, well developed, well signed. The only thing that threw us off track was a fraudulent circumstance that threw us off track.
Cashman is, of course, referring to the Astros’ sign-theft scandal. The Astros cracked opposing teams’ signs with a live feed of the game, then relayed the signs to their racquet by smashing a trash can in the clubhouse tunnel during at least the 2017 season. Major League Baseball later punished the Astros by stripping them of draft picks, fined them, and suspended GM Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch. (The Astros then fired both individuals.)
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The Yankees led 3-2 in this 2017 ALCS. They then lost back-to-back games in Houston by an aggregate score of 11-1 to see their season ending.
It should be noted that the Yankees have had their own encounters with technological misconduct over the years, although not to the extreme of the Astros. A judge recently ruled that a letter from Commissioner Rob Manfred to Cashman should be unsealed. This letter was originally written following a dispute between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox over the illegal use of Apple Watches.