Mariano Rivera pitched in Saturday’s Old-Timers’ Day in The Bronx.
He was also on the mound the last time the Yankees won a World Series.
“It’s been hard,’’ Rivera said of the franchise’s World Series drought, which extends back to that 2009 Fall Classic.
The Yankees have been stuck at 27 championships ever since.
“It’s unbelievable, but it’s the truth,’’ Rivera said. “Hopefully, this year is the year. It’s not easy. Winning championships is not easy; it’s hard.”
Rivera was among the Yankee greats who still can’t fathom how long it’s been since the franchise won it all in 2009, when Rivera closed out the Phillies in six games.
“They’ve been close,” Jorge Posada said of the Yankees, who lost to the Dodgers in the 2024 World Series.
“They haven’t been able to put it all together,’’ Posada said. “It’s about being hot at the right moment, especially in October. Every year, it seems they run into a team that plays better, whether it’s the Dodgers, Houston [or] Toronto.”
Before the Yankees can threaten to end the streak, they must get to the playoffs.
That seemed like a foregone conclusion not too long ago, and they are still in a good spot as they battle the Red Sox for the American League’s top wild-card spot.
“Some teams find ways to lose games late,’’ Tino Martinez said. “You can do that in July and August and still make the playoffs. You can’t do that in October.”
Of course, most of their struggles have come with Aaron Judge sidelined for over two months with a fractured rib.
Until Judge returns, questions will remain.
“They need to get healthy,’’ Posada said.
“Hopefully, the big boy comes back, and everyone does their job,’’ Rivera said of Judge.
Bernie Williams has a better idea than most of what Judge is going through, having dealt with a rib injury late in the 2000 season.
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“Judge has to feel good, and it’s tricky whenever you have anything with the rib,’’ Williams said. “You can’t do anything about it. You have to just let it heal.”
In the meantime, they have to find a way to win without him.
“Guys have to take it upon themselves to manufacture runs,” Martinez said. “Missing Judge is big, but now’s the time to figure out how to do that. In 1998, when we won all those games, we didn’t blow people out. We did the little things, too.”
They also had excellent pitching, which is why Williams believes this team can end the streak.
“It’s been a while since it happened, and I know every year, the mandate of this organization is to go to the World Series,’’ Williams said. “As frustrated as all the fans are that they haven’t won it, I know the players are, too. I think this year they have a good chance because of [Gerrit] Cole and [Max] Fried. Every championship team I’ve ever known has had that 1-2 punch, plus [Carlos] Rodón will be back. Pitching is going to be an important part of it.”
But as anyone who has watched the Yankees in recent weeks knows, without Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton, the lineup hasn’t been able to score nearly enough runs to win in the playoffs.
