Aroldis Chapman has brutally honest take on Yankees’ postseason struggles

Aroldis Chapman is well aware that the New York Yankees have not won a World Series since 2009.

Despite spending roughly half of his big league career in pinstipes, New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has not had the success in October he has envisioned there since initially coming aboard in 2016.

Though Chapman has a World Series championship on his resume, that came when he was traded to the Chicago Cubs at the deadline in 2016. He returned to the Big Apple in free agency in 2017 and has been there ever since. While the Yankees have made the postseason each of the last five years, they have not advanced any further than the ALCS on any occasion. It has been frustrating.

Chapman perhaps summed this up with one perfect quote, “I thought winning a World Series would be easier with the Yankees.”

Aroldis Chapman’s World Series take on the New York Yankees is a brutal one

There are many factors that have led to the Yankees’ lackluster run in recent postseasons by their lofty standards. They play in a strong AL East that regularly has four teams vying for postseason inclusion. In essence, their rivals have stepped up to the plate and have been willing to challenge them in a more consistent manner since the late 2000s. Another big factor cannot be overlooked.

The Yankees’ postseason struggles are correlated with the passing of iconic former George Steinbrenner over a decade ago. His son now runs the team, but the late Steinbrenner was very much a reason why the Yankees won so much; he demanded it. And perhaps the one thing that New York did not account for was for a former bottom-feeding team to become an AL dynasty.

Yes, the Houston Astros’ run over the last several seasons has been a major roadblock for the Yankees. Hate ’em or love ’em, Houston has played in each of the last five ALCS’s and has won the AL pennant three of those times. Not to say that for someone to be good, someone has to be bad, but the Astros’ run of dominance in the AL has been to the detriment to teams like the Yankees.

The Yankees might be able to pay more, but money does not always put runs on the board.