The Yankees are getting set to host an ALDS series for the second time in three years after clinching the AL East title last week.
The last time the Yanks were in the division series, it took a decisive fifth game to take down the Guardians in the Bronx and advance to the ALCS, as Giancarlo Stanton’s three-run home run proved to be the difference.
It was a thrilling win in an elimination game, but didn’t reach the pantheon of ALDS wins in franchise history. We’ll see if any games in the upcoming series will be memorable enough to reach that level, but until then, here are the top five, from unforgettable flip plays to iconic walk-off home runs:
5: 2017 Game Three, Yankees win 1-0
The Yankees’ out-of-nowhere season appeared to be coming to a frustrating end after dropping the first two games to Cleveland, a 102-win team that snatched game two thanks to a Francisco Lindor grand slam that helped erase an 8-7 Yankee lead.
But up against the ropes in game three, Masahiro Tanaka delivered his biggest Yankee moment to date, tossing seven shutout innings and striking out seven, outdueling Carlos Carrasco to keep the Yankees’ season alive.
Greg Bird provided the lone run of the game with a dramatic upper-deck blast in the seventh inning off of Andrew Miller, and Aaron Judge robbed Francisco Lindor in the sixth on a play that likely prevented elimination. The Yanks rode that win to an improbable series comeback, winning game five in Cleveland.
4: 2009 Game Two, Yankees win 4-3 (11)
The beginning of the Alex Rodriguez October redemption tour, the Yankee slugger belted a game-tying, two-run homer off Joe Nathan in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, where Mark Teixeira had his first big playoff moment in pinstripes, lining a ball down the line that hit off the top of the wall and into the seats for a walk-off homer in the 11th.
The homer gave the Yanks a commanding 2-0 series lead over their personal punching bag in the Minnesota Twins, and they completed the sweep in game three, eventually winning their last World Series to date.
3: 2012 Game Three, Yankees win 3-2 (12)
Joe Girardi made the shocking decision to send in Raul Ibanez as a pinch hitter for Alex Rodriguez with the Yankees trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, and Ibanez rewarded the decision immediately, smacking a game-tying home run to right center off of Orioles closer Jim Johnson, who led the league with 51 saves that season.
Ibanez took a curtain call after the dramatic home run, then sent the Yankee Stadium crowd into an even bigger frenzy three innings later, crushing the first pitch of the bottom of the 12th into the second deck in right field for a walk-off home run, sending the Yankees to a thrilling win and a 2-1 series lead.
The Bombers would win the series in five games, and Ibanez wasn’t done with his October magic, hitting a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against the Tigers in game one of the ALCS.
2: 1995 Game Two, Yankees win 7-5 (15)
Regarded by an entire generation of fans as the loudest they had ever heard Yankee Stadium, Don Mattingly made the most of his only postseason appearance, blasting a home run into the right field seats right after Ruben Sierra had crushed one of his own. Mattingly’s homer, over a decade in the making, gave the Yanks a 3-2 lead in the sixth in what would be a wild back-and-forth contest culminating in walk-off win.
Paul O’Neill tied the game in the seventh after the Mariners came back to take the lead in the top half of the inning, and the Yanks tied it again in the bottom of the 12th.
The Bombers finally ended it on a two-run homer by Jim Leyritz through the rain in the 15th inning.
Leyritz would hit an even bigger homer for the Yanks a year later, but the story in 1995 was the Mattingly home run, a signature moment for one of the most beloved players in franchise history.
1: 2001 Game Three, Yankees win 1-0
The top spot goes to one of the greatest defensive plays in Yankee history, the iconic flip play by Derek Jeter to save the season.
The Bombers arrived in Oakland down 2-0 and looking to become the first team to lose the first two games of a division series at home and come back to win, and were clinging to a 1-0 lead when Terrence Long yanked a double down the right field line off of Mike Mussina in the seventh inning, leading to a play at the plate where Jeter alertly darted to the first base line, fielded Shane Spencer’s throw from right field after it missed both cutoff men, and flipped the ball to Jorge Posada at home to nab Jeremy Giambi at the plate. It is arguably the most memorable play of Jeter’s Hall of Fame career, and kept the Yankees’ hopes of a four-peat alive, at least for now.