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🎙️ Mike & The Mad Dog — Yankees vs. Cleveland History Lesson
🎙️ Mike Francesa:
“Alright, so the Yankees finally get back to the ALCS. Ten-year drought. Big comeback against Tampa. Twenty runs in Game 5. The whole thing.
And who do they get?
Cleveland.
Of course.”
🗣️ Chris Russo:
“OF COURSE! You wait a decade to get back and who’s sittin’ there? The one team that’s given you agita for thirty years!”
🎙️ Mike:
“Let’s go through it calmly. Because when you look at the history, it’s not pretty.”
📜 The Playoff History
1904 ALDS — Yankees sweep Cleveland 3–0.
🗣️ Russo:
“Okay! Fine! Good start!”
1919 Wild Card — Cleveland sweeps Yankees 2–0.
🗣️ Russo:
“There it is. Here we go.”
1920 ALCS — Cleveland over Yankees 4–2.
1921 ALCS — Yankees sweep Cleveland 4–0.
🗣️ Russo:
“Alright! Back and forth! That’s competitive!”
1923 ALCS — Cleveland over Yankees 4–1.
1924 ALCS — Cleveland sweeps Yankees 4–0.
1925 ALCS — Cleveland over Yankees 4–1.
1926 ALCS — Cleveland over Yankees 4–3.
🎙️ Mike (pause):
“Chris… that’s five series wins for Cleveland in the 1920s alone.”
🗣️ Russo (losing it):
“THEY OWNED ‘EM! They OWNED ‘EM! After ’21 it’s basically one-way traffic! ’23, ’24 sweep, ’25, ’26 in seven games! The Yankees couldn’t get past ’em!”
🎙️ Mike:
“And the total series record?”
Yankees: 2 series wins
Cleveland: 6 series wins
“And most of Cleveland’s wins came in the ALCS.”
🗣️ Russo:
“And now you got a Cleveland team that just won 117 games! One hundred seventeen! That’s not some cute little wild card — that’s a monster!”
🎙️ Mike:
“But here’s the difference, Chris. This Yankee team hits like crazy. They just scored 20 in an elimination game. They hit eight home runs.”
🗣️ Russo:
“Yeah but Cleveland can hit too! They just won a 16–15 game! Nobody’s pitchin’ in this series! It’s gonna be 9–7 every night!”
🎙️ Mike:
“The Yankees have waited ten years to get back here. Cleveland has historically been their October problem.”
🗣️ Russo:
“It’s psychological, Mike! You see that uniform and you start thinkin’ about ’24! About ’25! About ’26 when you blew it in seven!”
🎙️ Mike (firm):
“Different era. Different roster. Doesn’t matter what happened in 1924.”
🗣️ Russo:
“It matters to the fans! The fans remember! Cleveland has been the gatekeeper!”
🎙️ Mike:
“And now the Yankees have to go through them again. One of the greatest regular season teams ever against the hottest offense in the playoffs.”
🗣️ Russo:
“You couldn’t script it better! Ten-year drought ends… and the ghost that’s waitin’ for you is Cleveland!”
🎙️ Mike (closing tone):
“This isn’t just a series. This is unfinished business that’s been sitting there for over a decade.”
And somewhere in Cleveland, they’re smiling.
Because history says one thing.
Now we find out if 1937 says something else.
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