Giancarlo Stanton Makes Lofty Proclamation After Yankees Clinch AL East

The New York Yankees won the American League East for the second time in three seasons after holding off the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. After missing the postseason a year ago, New York returns to baseball in October.

Giancarlo Stanton lifted a solo home run in the clinching win on Thursday and entered play slashing .233/.298/.471 for a .769 OPS and now 27 homers on the season. The Yankees get another postseason chance with the ongoing core including star Aaron Judge and ace Gerrit Cole. The addition of superstar Juan Soto elevated the Yankees even further this season to win a division with plenty of talent.

That's now in the rearview mirror for the Yankees, and Stanton wants New York to embrace the pressure of a team that's perpetually fallen short of the ultimate crowd despite consistent appearances. He confirmed that when asked if the Yankees should be the "team to beat" entering postseason play.

"We better be," Stanton told reporters, per SNY. "That's the point."

The only issue is the Yankees actually have to back it up this time.

New York's championship drought dates back to 2009 when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. New York got to the American League Championship Series five times since then without a return to the World Series. The current core has playoff experience, but stars such as Judge have had their shortcomings individually in the biggest moments in October in recent seasons.

Time will tell if the Yankees are actually capable of pushing over the hump or if more October disappointment is due in The Bronx.

The Yankees and Orioles, both having clinched postseason berths, now compete for seeding with the rest of the division eliminated, including the Boston Red Sox, who missed the playoffs for the third straight season and for the fifth time in six years.