The New York Yankees marked the 77th Old-Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 2000 World Series championship. The occasion brought together former players and staff, including Joe Torre, who managed the title-winning team.
The event took place before the Yankees secured a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros. Currently, the club has a 20-30 record since June 13 and sits in third place in the American League East. After Saturday’s game, they trailed the Toronto Blue Jays by six games and held onto the third AL Wild Card spot by one game ahead of Cleveland.
Joe Torre remains in regular contact with current manager Aaron Boone about the team’s recent performance. “Joe and I have actually been in contact a lot the last couple of weeks. He is hanging on everything with us,” Boone said. “We’ve had a lot of contact back and forth – text messages, things like that.
“[I was reminded] of that 2000 team that ended up losing 15 out of 18 [to close the regular season], won [87 games] and caught fire and went on a run. Certainly, we are hoping for that kind of run. It has been a tough couple of months for us. I still maintain that we have guys capable of going on a really good run, but again, at this point, it’s all talk.”
Torre pointed out similarities between this year’s squad and his own experience in 2000, when doubts surrounded their postseason prospects after inconsistent play during much of the season followed by a slump late in September and October.
“There are plenty of games left,” Torre said. “Boonie knows what he has here and knows he is going to get a run out of these guys. The pressure involved with putting on the pinstripes, it’s hard to put into words because it’s so different.”
Jorge Posada, catcher for the championship team in 2000, also expressed optimism about this year’s roster: “It looks like they are in a little funk, and they are right in it. They are about to come out of [the slump]. It’s early enough where they can get into the playoffs and move forward.”
The Yankees’ recent performance places them at risk as teams behind them compete for playoff spots later Saturday.
