“25th Anniversary of the Dominant 1998 New York Yankees MLB Team”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest teams in MLB history. With 114 regular series wins, an 11-2 playoff record, and a +309 run differential, the 1998 New York Yankees dominated the opposition.

Under the tutelage of the ever even-tempered Joe Torre, that team suffered a painful setback in the 1997 Division Series against the Cleveland Indians. Mariano Rivera, in his first year as a closer, allowed a home run to Sandy Alomar, Jr. that marked the fate of that series.

That loss provided additional motivation for the Yankees’ collection of tremendous competitors, from Derek Jeter to Paul O’Neill to Tino Martinez to Bernie Williams to David Cone and others.

When the 1998 season began, the Bronx began by losing four of their first five games, which set off alarm bells. Torre summoned his players to a “meeting” and from then on the dominance was absolute.

They ended the month of April by winning 15 of their last 17 meetings and have not looked back. Excluding the pandemic season, only three teams have managed to win more than 70% of their regular season games in nearly seven decades. The Yankees are one of them.

How they did it? All nine regulars had an OBP of .350 or higher. The lineup was as deep as it was diverse, with the ability to take long at-bats and overwork opposing pitchers. Jeter, Williams, Martinez and O’Neill were especially productive that season. Down the stretch, they got a shot from Shane Spencer, who hit 10 home runs in 27 games.

The rotation featured three top-tier aces: Cone, Andy Pettitte and David Wells. At the beginning of June, El Duque Hernández joined the group and even Hideki Irabu won 13 matches.

Rivera had one of his best seasons, heading a bullpen that included Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton, Ramiro Mendoza and Graeme Lloyd, among others.

From the bench came Tim Raines, Darryl Strawberry, Joe Girardi and others.

There were simply no holes, and that was demonstrated in the playoffs. The Yankees swept Texas in the first round, avenged last year’s loss to Cleveland in the ALCS and easily swept San Diego in the World Series.