Injuries over the past two seasons have prevented the duo from dominating on the field together.
The New York Yankees haven’t won a World Series since 2009, when Derek Jeter claimed his final title, as the last member of the 90’s Yankees Dynasty. Jeter would retire in 2014 with the Yankees falling further from championship caliber, and since then, the club has done a great job getting the franchise back into championship contention.
However, injuries have prevented them from reaping the benefits. We might have to start naming the titleless streak, “The curse of Derek Jeter.” Bad luck has struck the pinstripes again as slugger Giancarlo Stanton has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left biceps strain.
Prior to tonight's game, the Yankee placed OF Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day IL with a left biceps strain and recalled OF Clint Frazier (#77) from @swbrailriders.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 1, 2019
This is terrible news for the Yankees, who have dropped two games in a row to the lowly Baltimore Orioles after winning impressively on Opening Day. Add Stanton to a growing list of Yankees players who are currently unavailable due to injury.
Counting Sabathia as out with an injury (because he will go on the IL after his 5-game suspension) #Yankees began season with 8 on the IL, tying #Angels #Pirates for MLB high. Stanton makes 9.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) April 1, 2019
There’s a long way to go in the season and Stanton is expected to return, but it’s definitely another setback for the chemistry and rhythm the Yankees hoped to establish between their two Black Knights. The flow was interrupted last season when Judge was hit by a pitch on July 26. He suffered a chip fracture in his right wrist and was out for eight weeks.
The Yankees had high hopes for the power combo entering 2018. Judge was coming off a rookie-record 52 homers and Giancarlo was coming off a 59-homer season and NL MVP campaign in 2017 with the Miami Marlins. 100 homers between the two sluggers weren’t far fetched — if they remained healthy.
Judge’s injury caused him to miss 50 crucial regular season games. The Yankees still managed to win 100, but the lineup they hoped would terrorize its way to a World Series never materialized. Judge and Stanton combined for just 65 of the Yankees MLB-record 267 homers.
This season was supposed to be the real deal, with Judge being healthy and Stanton returning to his 50-homer form. Judge would pick up where he left off before injuring his wrist, providing the Yankees with a 2-3 punch for the ages. That plan didn’t last three games.
It's fair to worry a *little* about the Yankees, particularly with several key hitters out and Aroldis Chapman's velocity down (via @martinonyc) https://t.co/thkwXH7Sge pic.twitter.com/YIkWTTaSRS
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 1, 2019
These kinds of injuries are what allowed the Boston Red Sox to run away with the division and the World Series in 2018, winning 108 games. The Yankees were never at full strength and Boston managed to stay healthy.
New York is already down All-Star shortstop Didi Gregorius and center fielder Aaron Hicks. It’s not the kind of start the Yankees envisioned as they attempt to win a very competitive AL East division.
