1903 to 1968: Had to win the American League Pennant to reach the postseason, which consisted only of the World Series, which was a best-4-out-of-7, except in 1919, 1920 and 1921, when it was a best-5-out-of-9..
1969 to 1984: Had to win the AL Eastern Division to reach the postseason, first the AL Championship Series, which was then a best-3-out-of-5, and then the World Series.
1985 to 1993: Still had to win the AL East, but the ALCS was now a best-4-out-of-7.
1995 to 2010: With the postseason canceled in 1994, had to win the AL East, or to have the best record of any AL team that didn't win its Division, to win the AL Wild Card berth, to make the AL Division Series, a best-3-out-of-5. The ALCS and the World Series remained a best-4-out-of-7.
2011 to present: The top 2 AL teams that didn't win their Divisions played a Wild Card Game against each other, with the winner advancing to the ALDS.
So here's the start of the list:
117. 1912. 102 losses, a team-record-low .329 "winning" percentage, and a team-record 55 games out of 1st place. The highlight of the season was playing the Boston Red Sox in the opening game of Fenway Park, which was announced as a benefit for the survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic 6 days before. The Yankees lost, but ruined the 100th Anniversary game in 2012.
This was the last season with the team using the name of the New York Highlanders. They had been nicknamed the Yankees almost since the beginning. The 1913 season would make it official. It was also the last season at their 1st home field, Hilltop Park.
116. 1908. A team-record 103 losses, 39 1/2 games out of 1st.
115. 1913. 7th place, 38 games out. This was the 1st season sharing the Polo Grounds with the New York Giants.
114. 1915. 5th place, 32 1/2 games out. The 1st season under the ownership of Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston. It would take a while to work. But they did make the 1st big Yankee acquisition, pitcher Bob Shawkey.
113. 1914. 6th place, 30 games out.
112. 1917. 6th place, 28 1/2 games out. Afterward, Ruppert (against Huston's wishes) signed Miller Huggins to manage.
111. 1925. 7th place, 28 1/2 games out, but with hope. This was a true "rebuilding year." Several players from the 1921-23 Champions had to be replaced, and were. At 1st base: Wally Pipp out, Lou Gehrig in. At 2nd base: Aaron Ward out, and, the next season, Tony Lazzeri in. At shortstop: Everett Scott out, Mark Koenig in. At center field: Whitey Witt out, Earle Combs in.
110. 1911. 6th place, 25 1/2 games out.
109. 1909. 5th place, 23 1/2 games out.
108. 1990. 7th place out of 7, the only Yankee last-place finish of my lifetime, 21 games out.
107. 1966. 10th place out of 10, last, the lowest finish in club history. 26 1/2 games out. Why is this one better than the last few entries? Because there were still some legends, like Mantle and Ford.
106. 1967. 9th, 20 games out, only slightly more optimistic than the preceding season.
105. 1969. 5th, 28 1/2 games out, and, for the 1st time in half a century, since the arrival of Ruth, no great legend, as Mantle had retired. Munson arrived, and Murcer and Stottlemyre were there, but don't kid yourselves that they were at that level.
104. 1965. 6th, 25 games out, the year the Dynasty collapsed.
103. 1905. 6th, 21 1/2 games out.
102. 1907. 5th, 21 games out.
101. 1971. 4th, 21 games out.
100. 1991. 5th, 20 games out, but the climb out of the abyss had begun.
99. 1992. 4th, 20 games out, and a 5-game improvement over the year before. It looked like things were happening.
98. 1945. 4th, 6 1/2 games out.
97. 1944. 3rd, 6 games out. These last 2 seasons saw the Yankees, and every other team, depleted by the manpower drain of World War II. The fact that the Yankees were able to go 81-73 in '44 and 83-71 in '45 is noteworthy, but not that much.
96. 1968. 5th, 20 games out, and 83 wins was certainly an improvement over the preceding 3 seasons, but not much hope, as we could tell that this was it for Mantle.
95. 1982. 5th, 16 games out, another year of dynasty collapse. The year before had been a Pennant. It had been 5 Division titles in 6 years, and at least being in the Pennant race as late as late September in 7 out of 8 seasons. This season? 79-83. Dave Winfield had a great season, but he was pretty much the only player who had even a good one.
94. 1989. 5th, 14 1/2 games out, and the end of what seemed like a revival from 1983 through 1988. Winfield missed the entire season due to injury, Don Mattingly went from being the best player in baseball (or so we thought) to being a chronic injury case, Ron Guidry had to retire, yet another of George Steinbrenner's managerial changes... It was a mess, all around.
93. 1973. 4th, 17 games out. The 1st year of the Steinbrenner regime began with a lot of hope, but George's antics became a distraction, and a team that was in the race at the start of August took a nosedive. The closing of the Stadium for a 2-year renovation also made it depressing.
92. 1918. 4th, 13 1/2 games out. The 1st year of Miller Huggins' managerial tenure showed improvement. Yankee Fans weren't yet trained to expect big things, despite the pronouncements of owners Jacob Ruppert and Til Huston. They had no idea what was coming.
91. 1979. 4th, 13 1/2 games out. The death of Thurman Munson is what everybody remembers from this year. But it was also the year Goose Gossage and Cliff Johnson got into a fight, injuring the Goose, leading Guidry to volunteer for the bullpen, taking him out of the rotation. Mickey Rivers was traded in midseason.
Other injuries -- including to Munson, who was pretty much done as a catcher even before his crash -- meant that the Yankees were never really in the race, arguably the only time between 1972 and 1981 that this was true.
90. 1959. 3rd, 15 games out. At 79-75, this was the worst Yankee season by record between 1925 and 1965. There were lots of injuries, and, statistically, just about everybody had an off-year. It didn't help that, due to the Dodgers and Giants leaving after 1957, the Yankees were all alone in The City and had the entire baseball focus on them.
After the season, the trade for Roger Maris was made, and the switch was made with Yogi Berra going to left field and Elston Howard to catcher, and a new Pennant string was born.
89. 1946. 3rd, 17 games out. The 1st year after World War II was a tough transition year for the team, as Joe DiMaggio and Phil Rizzuto both struggled to regain their stroke, and Charlie Keller hurt his back, curtailing what could have been a Hall of Fame career.
And it was the year Joe McCarthy, the greatest Yankee manager to that point, left. But it was also the debut of Yogi Berra and Vic Raschi, and the year Yankee Stadium got lights.
88. 2016. 4th, 9 games out, 5 from the 2nd AL Wild Card. In late July, the Yankees were close. The strength of the team was the hitting of Carlos Beltran, and a bullpen with Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. So what did general manager Brian Cashman do as the trading deadline approached? Traded all of those except Betances, and also Ivan Nova, a decent starting pitcher. All for "prospects" which, over 2 years later, have failed to bring the Yankees a Pennant.
An absolute surrender, which was absolutely unnecessary, and is unacceptable. To make matters worse, these trades resulted in 3 Pennants -- 1 for Chicago, 1 for Cleveland, 1 for Houston (2 for them, if you count Cashman's inaction on Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Gerrit Cole), and none for New York.
87. 2014. 3rd, 12 games out, 4 from the 2nd AL Wild Card. Derek Jeter's farewell, as well-managed by the club as it was, couldn't cover up the fact that the Yankees never seemed likely to make the Playoffs.
86. 1916. 4th, 11 games out. The 2nd year of the Ruppert-Huston regime was little better than the 1st.
85. 2013. 4th, 12 games out, 6 1/2 from the 2nd AL Wild Card. Mariano Rivera's farewell, as well-managed by the club as it was, couldn't cover up the fact that the Yankees missed the Playoffs for only the 2nd time since the Strike of '94.
84. 1984. 3rd, 17 games out. The Detroit Tigers ran away with the the AL East, winning 35 of their 1st 40, so there was never a race. But with no pressure on them, the Yankees played some quality baseball, including the battle title race between Don Mattingly (finishing at .343) and Dave Winfield (.340). By Met standards, it would be a season worth still talking about 34 years later. (Of course, it was also a season in which the Mets actually did "take back New York.")
83. 1903. 4th, 17 games out. The 1st season, and, while the New York Highlanders never seriously challenged the Boston Americans (Red Sox) for the Pennant, having 3 genuine Hall-of-Famers (not that there was a Hall of Fame until 1936) in pitcher-manager Clark Griffith, pitcher Jack Chesbro, and right fielder Willie Keeler showed that the New York club of the American League meant business. So there was lots of reason to hope.
82. 1910. 2nd, 14 1/2 games out. The Philadelphia Athletics ran away with the Pennant. Still, the Yankees had a talented team -- but with a dark cloud hanging over it. Hal Chase was the best 1st baseman in baseball at the time, but manager George Stallings accused him of throwing games. Chase went to owners Frank Farrell and Bill Devery, and told them. Stallings said either Chase goes or I go. Not only did the owners side with Chase, but made him the new manager. Disgraceful.
81. 1987. 4th, 9 games out. In July, Sports Illustrated had a cover showing a perplexed Darryl Strawberry and a determined Don Mattingly. It read: "NEW YORK, NEW YORK: The Mets are feuding, the Yanks are flying." Right after that, Dave Winfield and Willie Randolph both got hurt, and the Yankees fell out of 1st place, never to return.
Part II follows.
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