CLEVELAND — On May 15, 1903, the Cleveland Naps hosted the New York Highlanders at League Park in the Hough neighborhood, marking the two team's first meeting since the founding of the American League's New York franchise earlier that year. The Naps came from behind to win, 5-3, in part thanks to Cleveland native Gene Wright's complete game effort.
Fast forward through 121 years and name changes for both sides, and the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees are preparing to battle again, this time for the AL pennant. Monday's beginning of the AL Championship Series at Yankee Stadium will mark the start of the seventh postseason showdown between the two clubs, and the dawn of a new chapter in one of baseball's under-the-radar rivalries.
"Yankee Stadium's going to be rockin' tomorrow night," New York manager Aaron Boone, who spent time with both teams during his playing career, said Sunday. "Obviously, we have some history with a lot of guys over there in the playoffs, so I'm sure it'll be a great environment."
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Since the first expansion of the MLB playoffs beyond just the World Series in 1969, no two AL teams have faced each other more often in postseason play. In fact, on the Yankees and Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have played more times overall in the entire sport, meeting in 11 World Series from 1941-81.
All of the meetings between the Yankees and Guardians — known as the Indians from 1915-2021 — have occurred in baseball's wild-card era that began in 1995. Since then, the two franchises have combined for an impressive 10 pennants, but while the Yanks have also won five championships during that stretch, the Guards are still searching for their first World Series title since 1948.
Given the lopsided nature of their existences (as well as a payroll disparity of more than $200 million), you'd be hard pressed to find many who would call this a "rivalry." In truth, it can give more of a "David vs. Goliath" type of vibe.
"We know the Yankees are good," Cleveland skipper Stephen Vogt told reporters in the Bronx when asked about his group's "underdog" status. "This is a really good team we're about to go up against, but we're confident in who we are, and that's all we can control is us. So it's going to be a fun series, and we're really looking forward to it."
Rivalry or not (Andy Billman's documentary "War on the Diamond" makes a compelling case that it is, by the way), one can't deny the long, eventful, and even tense coexistence between the two squads.
An initial flashpoint came in 1920, when the Indians and Yankees were in the middle of a fierce pennant race. On Aug. 16 at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman took a fastball off the head from New York pitcher Carl Mays. Chapman died from his injuries a day later, and inspired by his memory, the Tribe rallied to win the pennant and eventually the World Series.
The Indians claimed championship glory before the Yankees did, but New York would soon establish itself as American sports' premiere club, winning 10 titles before the end of World War II. Their dominance only continued afterward, capturing the AL pennant in every season between 1947 and '58 — except for two.
As you might've guessed, it was the Tribe who stopped the Yanks from an unblemished run. The 1948 pennant resulted in Cleveland's second (and, to date, last) World Series victory, while the 1954 club won 111 games to beat out New York's 103, the most of legendary manager Casey Stengel's tenure. Still, during that same stretch, the Indians would finish second in the league behind the Yankees five times.
The Bombers continued winning into the 1960s as the Tribe fell into mediocrity, and in 1973, Cleveland native George Steinbrenner became the Yankees' new owner. Having previously been thwarted in his attempts to buy the Indians, he decided to instead ransack his hometown team for talent, with former Tribe stars like Chris Chambliss and Graig Nettles becoming key members of the Yanks' 1977 and '78 World Series winners.
In 1994, the Indians were finally free from the American League's East division, moving both to the Central and the friendly confines of Jacobs Field. At last, they had a roster loaded with young talent, but the Yankees were on the come up, too, and that's when this modern rivalry really kicked into high gear.
1997 ALDS - Slaying the dragon
The Indians were only two years removed from their magical 1995 run, but the team now had a much different look, and the wild-card Yankees were fresh off a World Series championship in '96. After blowing a 6-0 lead in Game 1, the Tribe found itself down 2-1 in the division series heading into Game 4 at the Jake.
Clinging to a one-run lead in the eighth, New York brought in a young Mariano Rivera to try and send them to the ALCS. With two out, Cleveland catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. took the most memorable swing of his life, and hit what would be just one of two home runs Rivera would give up in his iconic postseason career.
The Indians went on to win Game 4 on Omar Vizquel's walk-off single before snatching Game 5 and the series the next night. When the clinching out settled in left fielder Brian Giles' glove, those who were there would recall seeing men crying tears as, at last, they had finally beaten the mighty Yankees.
An unbelievable postseason would sadly end in bitter fashion, as Cleveland went on to lose a seven-game World Series to the Florida Marlins.
1998 ALCS - Dynasty
A rematch would come only a year later, this time for the American League championship. The Yankees had blown through all challengers with 114 wins during the regular season — breaking the Indians' AL record set 44 years prior.
Surprisingly, the Tribe got out to a 2-1 series lead, partly thanks to New York second baseman Chuck Knoblauch's mental gaffe in Game 2. For his lack of focus, the New York Daily News would fittingly dub him "Blauch Head."
But alas, the Bronx Bombers would live up to their name, overwhelming Cleveland both at the plate and on the mound over the next three matchups. After pulling away to win the pennant in Game 6, the Yanks swept the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
2007 ALDS - The 'Bug Game'
Nine years later, the rebuilt Indians would face a Yankee team making its 13th consecutive postseason appearance. This time, though, it was the Tribe gaining the early edge, blasting four home runs in a 12-3 Game 1 victory at Jacobs Field.
Then came Game 2, and with it one of the most bizarre scene that has even been documented on a baseball diamond. With New York leading 1-0 in the eighth, tens of thousands of midges suddenly descended on the stadium, causing amusement for fans but difficulty for players in both dugouts. So uncomfortable was Yanks reliever Joba Chamberlain that he spiked a pitch to the backstop, allowing Grady Sizemore to sprint home with the tying run.
The Yankees would later protest that the game should've been stopped, but for what its worth, Cleveland starter Roberto Hernández (then known as Fausto Carmona, but go figure) managed to strike out Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez in similar conditions in the ninth. In the 11th, Travis Hafner sent the crowd at the "Bug Game" home happy, and sent the Indians to the Bronx up 2-0.
The Tribe would prevail in four games, and the fallout was seismic: Less than two weeks later, the Yankees and future Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre parted ways, their relationship finally fractured after a third straight early playoff exit. The Indians rode the momentum into the ALCS, but couldn't maintain a 3-1 series lead, falling to the eventual world champion Boston Red Sox in seven.
2017 ALDS - A missed opportunity
A decade had passed, and the tables had turned. This time, the Indians were considered the juggernaut, having claimed the AL pennant the previous year and won a league-best 102 games. On the other side, the up-and-coming Yankees were oozing with young talent, but most felt the "Baby Bombers" were still a year or so away from truly being contenders.
The script went as planned from the jump, as Cleveland took the first two at Progressive Field. Game 2 was an instant classic, with the Tribe fighting back from an 8-3 deficit to stun the Yanks 9-8 in 13 innings. It was Yan Gomes who delivered the walk-off single, but most remember Francisco Lindor's pulsating grand slam that closed the gap to one in the sixth.
The series shifted to Yankee Stadium with Cleveland on the verge of advancing, but things shifted on a dime. The turning point came in Game 3, when 6-foot-7 rookie Aaron Judge robbed Lindor of what would've been a two-run homer.
Greg Bird's solo blast wound up giving the Yanks a 1-0 victory in Game 3, and in Game 4, the Tribe's fundamentals collapsed with four errors in a 7-3 defeat, including two by third baseman Gio Urshela. Game 5 back in Cleveland featured three more defensive lapses, and after Cy Young winner Corey Kluber surrendered a pair of homers to Didi Gregorius, fans could only watch in dismay as New York pulled off a shocking ALDS comeback with a 5-2 win.
The Yankees would lose a seven-game ALCS in a matchup that was, in hindsight, tainted by the Houston Astros cheating scandal. As for the Indians, they wasted perhaps their best chance at a World Series in the Terry Francona era, as everything that could've gone wrong did.
2020 ALWC - End of an era
The Indians' championship window was rapidly closing by 2020, but that was far from the minds of most Americans. In the midst of a season shortened by a global health crisis, the Tribe earned the AL's fourth seed, and would host the 5-seed Yankees in the first-ever AL Wild Card Series.
No fans were allowed inside Progressive Field, and New York cruised to a 12-3 win in Game 1. Cleveland punched back in Game 2 and took a 4-0 lead, but that was soon erased by old friend Gio Urshela's grand slam in the fourth.
A back-and-forth battle ensued with the Tribe ultimately leading 9-8 heading into the ninth. MLB saves leader Brad Hand then walked a man, gave up a single, and partly misplayed a ball hit back to him to load the bases before the Yanks tied the game on a sacrifice fly and took the lead on DJ LeMahieu's two-out hit. Aroldis Chapman then did his job in the bottom of the inning, completing the two-game sweep.
The Yankees would lose to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, but the major shakeup came on the shores of Lake Erie, as Hand took the blame for the loss and had his contract option declined. The Indians would also say goodbye to fan favorite Carlos Santana, and in January, Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco were traded away to the New York Mets, officially marking the end of a run that saw the Tribe achieve its greatest success since the 1990s but still fall short of a World Series title.
2022 ALDS - 'SpongeBob' and a critical decision
Heading into the 2022 season, most of the talk in Cleveland surrounded not the baseball team's on-field prospects, but a change to the name Guardians after 107 years. The new moniker somewhat divided the fanbase, but that chatter was soon put to rest when the Guards pulled off a surprise AL Central championship before sweeping Tampa Bay in the wild-card round.
The heavily favored Yankees awaited again in the division series, but Cleveland held its own by splitting the first pair in the Bronx. Trailing 5-3 headed to the bottom of the ninth in Game 3, Terry Francona's bunch rallied to cut the deficit to one when cult hero Oscar Gonzalez came up with the bases loaded.
Down to his final strike, "SpongeBob" sent a line drive up the middle, bringing Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario around to score. The dumbfounding win put the Guardians up 2-1 in the series, and sent the city into delirium.
But the Yankees took Game 4 (during which Josh Naylor called Gerrit Cole his "son'), and after a rainout pushed Game 5 back a day, Francona decided to stick with the struggling Aaron Civale rather than start ace Shane Bieber on short rest. The move was disastrous, as Civale was tagged for three runs before being pulled in the first inning, with New York cruising to a 5-1 win.
The Yanks would be swept by the Astros in the ALCS, while the Guards' dubious losing streak in winner-take-all postseason games grew to eight since 1997. That streak was finally put to rest this year in the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers, setting up yet another showdown with the Bronx Bombers.
The next chapter is about to be written, and it might be the greatest yet.
