It’s not yet mid-October, but the Yankees have already been dismissed from contention for the 2026 World Series trophy after being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series. We can try to find explanations and think about what could have been, but the reality is that there’s a long winter (and spring, in all likelihood) ahead for New York.
In the meantime, it’s time to reflect on the season that just ended, for them, at least. Here are the five worst moments of the year for the Yankees
and their fans, in no particular order, and some honorable mentions, too.
ALDS Game 2, fifth (and first) inning
Monday was a sad day for Yankee fandom. The team got outmaneuvered and outplayed by the Rays and fell into a 0-2 hole in the AL Division Series, in a game in which New York’s defense committed not one, two, or three, but four errors. There were even more misplays that weren’t scored errors, too.
It was a nightmare from the jump, with both Ryan McMahon and Jazz Chisholm Jr. committing ghastly errors within the first few Rays at-bats of the day. The Yankees had hoped to tie the series with their ace on the mound in Cam Schlittler, but the future Cy Young Award winner was all but helpless to stop the scoring behind him. (Austin Wells also committed a catcher’s interference error.)
The fifth inning was particularly brutal as well. Schlittler had buckled down and limited the damage, allowing the Yankees to come back and tie it up at 1-1. Jonathan Aranda opened things with a single to right that Spencer Jones got an awful jump on, rendering it uncatchable. He moved to third on Junior Caminero’s double.
Aranda scored on Liam Hicks’ groundout, and then Caminero crossed home plate after George Lombard Jr. couldn’t handle Chandler Simpson’s slow grounder. It was originally scored an error but was ruled a fielder’s choice.
Brent Headrick entered the game and struck out Victor Mesa Jr., then Jonny DeLuca reached on a throwing error by Lombard.
DeLuca stole second, and Richie Palacios singled to bring in two. Just like that, the game went from 1-1 to 5-1, Rays. It felt like the Yankees were bleeding out slowly, but steadily, and the series got away after that inning, which proved to be even more damning than the embarrassing opening salvo.
Aaron Judge’s season-ending calf injury
If Aaron Judge’s rib injury in May wasn’t brutal enough, fate would have another physical ailment in store for him, just as the Yankees geared up for the postseason. In mid-September, he suffered a significant calf strain that ruled him out for the rest of the season. Notably, Judge went against the Yankees and eschewed any rehab games before returning from the broken rib, also chafing at being removed early in a few of his first games back. It’s in the eye of the beholder whether this rush back perhaps led to the calf ailment, or if this might have very well happened on a rehab assignment regardless.
The captain carried some hope that he would be part of the AL Wild Card series or Division Series roster, but he simply wasn’t ready. He was, essentially, trying to rehab an injury that usually takes 4-6 weeks in just 14-21 days.
Just as it happens in life, it’s the hope that kills you (sometimes). Yankees fans dreamed of the prospect of having Judge back for the series vs. Boston, and then the one against the Rays, but there was no way he would have been 100 percent ready. The offense struggled without Judge for much of the year, and though they pounded the Red Sox bullpen in the first round, they took it on the chin against Tampa Bay.
Yet another summer swoon
On July 1st, the Yankees were swept at home by a mediocre Tigers team. It wasn’t just the sweep per se: it marked their seventh consecutive loss, since the Red Sox also took out the brooms on them in the previous series while resurrecting their own 2026 season.
Over a stretch from June 18th to July 8th, the Yankees lost 15 of 20 games. It was rough, and it was awful in many ways. They looked like a minor league team, and while they had to navigate a series of injuries, it’s no excuse to play the way they did.
Wells’ ALDS Game 1 baserunning blunder
We must, unfortunately, return to that awful ALDS at the hands of the Rays. The Yankees were down 1-0 in Game 1 of the Division Series against Tampa Bay. They were being no-hit by Rays ace Drew Rasmussen. With two outs in the eighth, Austin Wells hit a well-struck ball near the right field line that looked like a double. At minimum, the no-hitter was snapped and the Yankees would have a real shot at tying the game with a man in scoring position
Regrettably, Wells didn’t hit the brakes at second like 95 percent of other catchers in the league would. He didn’t see third base coach Luis Rojas’ stop sign and tried to stretch it into a triple, and got tagged out. It was the only hit of the night for the Yankees, and they couldn’t do anything because the same batter-runner produced an out on the basepaths. The biggest insult of all? It wasn’t even a close play. Victor Mesa Jr. has a good arm and Taylor Walls is a highly capable defender, and they burned Wells with ease.
Early-April sweep at the Trop
Is it fitting that three of these worst moments came against the Rays? It was early in the season, but being swept at Tropicana Field from April 10th through the 12th sure was a bad omen knowing what the season turned out to be.
It was also the Yankees’ fifth consecutive loss back then, and sixth in their last seven games. That April 12th defeat in the series finale allowed the Rays to tie New York at the top of the AL East. It’s easy to forget that in 2025, Tampa Bay finished under .500 and not much was expected of them this year. But early on, they made their statement, and it was one that had lasting impact.
(Dis)honorable mentions
- Fan interference erases Anthony Volpe homer in ALDS Game 3
- Junior Caminero “sweeping” at Yankee Stadium
- Subway Series disaster at the hands of Tyrone Taylor
- Four-game sweep at Fenway
- August 25th bullpen meltdown vs. Astros
- Division hopes slip away with walk-off losses in Arizona and Minnesota
- Giancarlo Stanton injures calf walking to second base
- Max Fried hits the injured list with elbow injury on May 16th
- Aaron Judge’s right rib stress fracture in late May (goes hand-in-hand with the calf injury, honestly)
