The 2018 ALDS deficit against the Boston Red Sox is a chance for the New York Yankees to conjure a new Curse of the Bambino.
Real New York Yankees fans long for the days when Boston fans offered beers at Babe Ruth‘s grave, begging for an end to the Curse of the Bambino.
It’s been too long since chants of “nineteen-eighteen, nineteen-eighteen” rang out from the bleachers at the Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees have faced 14 long years since Boston shook off the curse, winning their first title since 1918. Since then, the Red Sox have added two more championships, while the Yanks have just one.
That one came in the first year of the new Yankee Stadium, and Alex Rodriguez tainted it with his steroids. This new Yankee home is in serious need of some legitimate history.
Sure, this Yankee Stadium is where Derek Jeter got his epic 3000th hit and his final walk-off. But those are mere regular season accomplishments.
Championships are all that matters in Yankee land.
Maybe—just maybe—now is the time to start a new era of postseason dominance and fill the latest iteration of Yankee Stadium with winning tradition.
New York has legends-in-the-making like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Luis Severino. The farm system is packed, and Brian Cashman has the incentive to throw crazy money at free agents.
The ingredients are there. They just need mixing into the latest pinstripe dynasty, putting a new curse on the Red Sox. With the Yankees down two games to one in the 2018 ALDS, it’s the perfect time to get things started.
Nothing says “cursed” like losing to an underdog
The Red Sox are supposed to win this series.
They tore through the regular season this year, winning a team-record 108 games. The Yankees also won triple digits, but they spent the entire second half planning for the Wild Card game, thanks to Boston’s dominance.
If New York can come back to complete an ALDS upset, they can initiate the Curse of the Bambino 2.0.
The Red Sox and their fans will have a difficult time fending off thoughts of their 86-year title drought. Every Sox error will trigger Boston’s memory of the routine ground ball that trickled through Bill Buckner’s legs in 1986.
Counting down the Top 10 Greatest Moments In MLB Post Season History.
1: Mets win Game 6 of the 1986 World Series on Mookie Wilson's grounder that goes through Bill Buckner's legs. pic.twitter.com/8kx649ql3A
— Dugout Legends (@DugoutLegends) October 4, 2018
That’s what the curse is really about—getting in the heads of the Red Sox just enough to make them beat themselves in critical moments.
The Aaron “Bleeping” Boone factor
Aaron Boone provided the last instance of the Babe’s curse over Boston, a walk-off home run in game seven of the 2003 ALCS. That swing of the bat earned Boone a dirty new middle name, a permanent place in Yankees’ history, and possibly his job as Bombers manager.
Counting down the Top 10 Greatest Moments In MLB Post Season History!
10: Aaron Boone walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. pic.twitter.com/I7iew9InUS
— Dugout Legends (@DugoutLegends) October 3, 2018
When Boone reappeared on the scene as skipper, he brought the winning energy of his 15 minutes of Yankees fame with him. He’s already guided his team to their first 100-win season since 2009.
The Red Sox burying the Yankees in second place just after the All-Star break overshadowed Boone’s success, but now it’s October. The slate is wiped clean, and it’s time for some of that 2003 Aaron Boone magic to rub off on the Baby Bombers.
If Boone can steer his team past the Red Sox, Cashman might as well start drawing up a contract extension.
If the Yankees’ rookie manager can put the franchise’s 28th World Series championship on the board, go ahead and give the man a lifetime contract.
Keep the Curse of Aaron “Bleeping” Boone going as long as possible.
2013 is the new 1918
It’s really more about building a juggernaut to block Boston’s success than the superstition of a supposed curse. And a dynasty does seem to be taking shape.
The Yankees have the core of young talent necessary to counter the Red Sox for a long time, and those youngsters are demonstrating a penchant for postseason production.
Just look at 2017, when the team went from the wild card to nearly knocking off the eventual World Champion Houston Astros.
Aaron Judge, in particular, has shown the potential to be all-time special in the postseason. He homered in each of the Bombers’ first three games this postseason, bringing his total to seven in only 17 career playoff games.
If he keeps mashing, Judge will soon have an expletive for a middle name when he visits Boston. Maybe a few other Yankees can earn nicknames from distraught Sox fans as well.
(Just as long as there’s no Gary “Swiss Cheese” Sanchez involved.)
Give this group a decade or so, and you might hear taunts of “twenty-thirteen, twenty-thirteen,” when Boston is in town.
Maybe this time around the curse can last 100 years.
