Fastball

The New York Yankees are the Best Team in the Last 100 Years When it Comes to Beating the Minnesota Twins

Over the past 162 games against the Minnesota Twins, the New York Yankees are 118-44, which makes them better than the best regular season team in the last 100 years of baseball history. The Yankees beat the Twins on Wednesday night, 5-1.
Brady Farkas|
May 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55)
May 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) | James A. Pittman-USA TODAY Sports

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Minnesota TwinsNew York Yankees

On Tuesday, our own Sam Connon wrote an interesting story about how the Minnesota Twins, despite a good record, were going to have a great chance to prove themselves this week against the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians.

Well, the Twins failed part one of the test on Tuesday, losing to the Yankees, 5-1, at Target Field.

The Twins' inability to beat the Yankees is well documented, with the Yankees having eliminated the Twins in the playoffs six times in the 2000s. Furthermore, for the last 22 years against the Twins, the Yankees are effectively the best team in the last 100 years of baseball history.

Per James Smyth of the YES Network on social media:

162 Yankees/Twins games since 2002, and the Yanks are 118-44 (so 4 games better than the 1998 Yankees)

Yankees vs Twins since 2002 (incl postseason)

Yankees Twins
118 Wins 44
5.54 R/G 3.94
.283 AVG .249
241 HR 165
3.64 ERA 5.31

The most wins ever by a team in the regular season is 116, shared by both the 2001 Seattle Mariners and the 1906 Chicago Cubs. The Cubs went 116-36 in that season, accomplishing the feat in less games than the Mariners, but they are outside the "last 100 years" qualifier.

It's remarkable what the Yankees have been able to accomplish the Twins historically, winning despite different players, different managers and different styles of play.

In the game on Tuesday, Yankees' hurler Carlos Rodon went 6.0 innings with six strikeouts.

The two teams play again on Wednesday night at 7:40 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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