Remember when MLB analyst Buster Olney said that Gary Sanchez  is “the kid of the future” for the “rebuilding” New York Yankees, and that no one should expect anything more than a potential wild card appearance from the mediocre team? Very few experts would have believed you if you had said that the twenty five year old Aaron Judge would break the record for most home runs by a rookie in a season, or that the Bronx Bombers would finish the year one win away from appearing in the World Series.

There’s no doubt about it, game seven of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros came to a disappointing close for many Yankees fans across the country. However, it seems as if fans have a short term memory, as those same people who doubted the team in the beginning of the year are the ones complaining about their team failing to win a championship this past postseason. On local talk shows the next day, many fans were quick to call out the mistakes made by then manager Joe Girardi, the strikeout plague that Aaron Judge couldn’t shake off, and the lack of production from acquired pitcher Sonny Gray.

Yankees fan, Diego Reynoso was left saying, “How come we even let Girardi finish the season as manager? He's made so many bad decisions the past few years!”

However, after thinking back to preseason,  a more appreciative and optimistic interpretation of their season came across fans once the dust settled. This explains why we found that over 60% of students that are Yankees fans we interviewed from our school are pleasantly surprised with the success of their team.

“You always expect your team to fail, so I guess you can say I was happy to see them move on round by round.” says Fair Lawn Junior, Brandon Tamionere. “All the pundits said they couldn’t go further than a wild card game, but they did.”

Many said that they saw last year as a time for the core of young players like Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez to develop at a level that earned three of them to be selected into the 2017 All Star Game.

With spring training in full swing, fans in Fair Lawn High School are getting excited for the upcoming season. Yankee fan Brett Crowne said, “You don’t want to get your hopes too high because then you’re more likely to be disappointed. However, if the Yankees could make it that far with low expectations, I can’t wait to see how they’ll do with bigger things on the horizon next season.”

The recent headline of the blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins that pairs NL MVP and home run leader Giancarlo Stanton with AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge in the Bronx, fans have every reason to expect big things from the 2018 Yanks. They could be the first pair of teammates to challenge the M&M Boys of the 1961 Yankees. Both Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle hit a combined 115 homeruns that regular season, which barely tops the 111 Judge and Stanton combined for while playing for different teams last season.

Of course, every team has its holes, but clearly, the Yankees are young, not afraid to spend, and will look to build off a very successful 2017 campaign. The quest for championship number 28 looks to have a much clearer path this season.