Cleveland Indians: Reliving past postseason series against the Yankees

Ahead of the Cleveland Indians Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees, we relive the postseason history between the two clubs.

The Cleveland Indians made a run at the end of the season that secured them the fourth seed in the American League postseason picture, but with that comes facing the New York Yankees in the Wild Card round.

The Indians have been known for their pitching while the big bats of the Bronx Bombers are the headlines for the Yankees, making for an interesting matchup that will be fun to watch.

Each team has their fair share of postseason history, good or bad, but this matchup will be a culmination of an odd season that has been 2020. Focusing on the history between the two teams, there is an obvious advantage on one side.

One of these teams was the American League representative in the World Series each season from 1995 until 2001, but that doesn’t quite do the advantage justice.

This postseason appearance for the Tribe is their 14th in club history, while the Yankees have made the postseason 16 times since 2000 alone.

The Yankees have 27 World Series titles in the history of the organization and the Tribe haven’t won a ring since 1948, which was only their second.

The Yankees are currently in a drought of 11 years between titles, the last coming in 2009, standing as the third longest drought in club history. The longest came during the span from 1962 until 1977.

The Indians have the longest active streak for a World Series drought at 72 years and didn’t even make the postseason over a 40 year span, pinned between the 1954 World Series loss and the 1995 World Series loss. During that stretch, the Yankees won six titles.

There’s little to question when it comes to who history backs in this matchup, but luckily that doesn’t play a factor in the outcome. While the Yankees have been dominant for decades, the Indians enter with the momentum needed.

The postseason history between the two teams is brief with this being just the fifth meeting, but each has brought an exciting storyline to the postseason. The Indians and Yankees have each won two games in the postseason series, so this will be a rubber match of sorts.