Yankees' World Series Three-Peat Wins Greatest Moment in Franchise History in 'The Bronx Bracket'
Yankees fans have spoken.
New York announced on social media on Sunday that the club's three consecutive World Series titles – from 1998 through 2000 – was the winner of 'The Bronx Bracket.'
Launched exactly one month ago, on what would have been Opening Day of the 2020 regular season, the bracket-style tournament was designed to provide fans with a forum to relive and vote on the greatest moment in Yankees' franchise history. 64 viable options were slowly narrowed down, with voting taking place each day on the Bombers' Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels.
As you can imagine, with the most storied franchise in baseball history, there were several contenders to be the final moment standing. Iconic performances, historic memories and all-time feats were dispersed across the entire bracket. Nonetheless, there could only be one.
The final round – with a total of 35,861 votes on all social pages – was a photo finish. The Yankees' three-peat edged out Lou Gehrig's emotional and profound farewell speech in 1939 by only 151 votes. Yup, it was that close.
Here's the entire bracket with all matchups filled out with each round's winners:
Evidently the body of work that went into those three championships just over 20 years ago was enough to clinch the victory. How can you not vote for the Core Four's proudest achievement?
Interestingly, the Yankees' five-peat (from 1949-1953) didn't even make it past the Round of 16. That "moment" – which was billed as a No. 5 seed – fell to Don Larsen's World Series perfect game in 1956, a performance that earned a trip to the Final Four. 27 up and 27 down for Larsen couldn't upset Gehrig's speech.
As is the case in most March Madness brackets, there are always upsets.
Derek Jeter's "The Flip" play also made a run to the Final Four, as an eight seed, taking down several historic moments in the quadrant of the bracket featuring all that's transpired from 2001 to the present day. "The Flip" outlasted Jeter's walk-off base hit in his final game at Yankee Stadium – a No. 2 seed – in the Elite Eight.
Mariano Rivera's scoreless innings streak in the postseason – 33 1/3 frames without a run allowed in the playoffs – was this bracket's cinderella story. A No. 14 seed lasted all the way to the Elite Eight, even upsetting Reggie Jackson's iconic three-homer game in the 1977 World Series.
Not only was 'The Bronx Bracket' an exciting exercise and perfect way to highlight the franchise's rich history, but it also provided Yankees fans with daily entertainment during baseball's ongoing hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Yankees have been active on social media, posting all kinds of content including at-home workout tips for quarantine, demonstrated by general manager Brian Cashman.
Players have stayed busy as well, sharing their own workout clips, reacting to the latest rumors on whether or not there will be a season this year and giving back to the community during these unprecedented times.
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