Editor’s Note (LordTreeSap): It’s the end of the year so that only means one thing for JBD, time to reflect on another painful year of bad beats leaving the king of Shop Rite in the red. He’s got so many in the pipeline to sift through that we’re going to hone in on just the New York Yankees (Never bet the locals every night folks) for now.
Stay posted for the rest of Joey’s bad beats in the coming days before the ball drops on Dec. 31.
5. Yankees-Tigers 5/28:
The Yanks were huge favorites with Gerrit Cole on the bump. A tenth inning run put the Yanks up 2-1. Aroldis Chapman was lifted after pitching a scoreless ninth. Aaron Boone opted to bring in Justin Wilson instead of letting Chapman close it out. Wilson retired two men, and was one strike away from securing the victory. Of course, there was a runner on second base to start the inning. Wilson allowed a home run, and Detroit won 3-2. This increased the struggling Wilson’s ERA to 6.08.
4. Yankees-Orioles 9/16:
Once again it seemed like a Yankee reliever was on the verge of putting away an inferior opponent. Clay Holmes was one strike away from his first major league save. Holmes threw a wild pitch that got past catcher Gary Sanchez on a wet night.
Baltimore tied the game, and won it an inning later. Broadcaster John Sterling repeatedly expressed his frustrations before the game was even over, and the Yanks ended up falling in a meaningful late-season game that could have helped them secure a Wild Card game at Yankee Stadium. Closer Aroldis Chapman did not pitch because he was unavailable after working the previous three days.
3. Yankees-Red Sox 7/22:
Chad Green was an out away from saving a 3-1 victory at Fenway Park. Instead, he allowed a double that brought home two runs. The Yanks took a 4-3 lead in the tenth. Brooks Kriske came on to try and close things out. Kriske threw a record four wild pitches in his brief but disastrous stint, and Boston prevailed 5-4.
2. Yankees-Red Sox 7/25:
Domingo German tossed seven hitless innings. He allowed a hit to Boston’s first batter in the eighth, and was lifted after 93 pitches. A 4-0 lead for the Yanks quickly disappeared. Boston came away with a stunning 5-4 win. The Yankees had somehow suffered an even more painful loss than the bitter defeat just three days earlier. The common thread in numerous blown leads and heartbreaking defeats was Aaron Boone’s bullpen management.
1. Angels-Yankees 6/30:
All appeared calm as the Yankees were ahead by four runs in the ninth inning. A pair of rain delays resulted in the contest concluding nearly six hours after first pitch. Aroldis Chapman walked three men before surrendering a grand slam to tie it up. Before the inning was over, seven Angels had scored. When the ballgame finally ended, a shocked and soaked bunch of diehard fans (albeit far less than the original crowd) had witnessed an 11-8 Angels victory. A 7-2 first inning lead had slipped away.
Pitcher Shohei Ohtani didn’t survive a rough opening frame, and what had been a celebration from about 7:30 until after midnight somehow turned into what felt like a funeral. The Angels made history. They became the first team since at least 1900 to give up seven runs in the first inning and then score seven in the ninth to win.
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