Half of MLB has reached World Series more recently than Yanks

New York Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Half of MLB has reached World Series more recently than Yankees

By Dan Treacy | Last updated 10/25/22

Sunday marked another disappointing postseason exit for the Yankees, but it also saw a new painful stat about New York's October failures emerge. With the Phillies' NLCS win over the Padres, more than half of all the other teams in Major League Baseball have reached the World Series more recently than the Yankees.

Fifteen of the 29 other teams have played in a World Series since the Yankees won in 2009: The Red Sox, Rays, Tigers, Guardians, Royals, Astros, Rangers, Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants.

Since 2010, however, no team has spent more money than the Yankees. While the Dodgers and Mets had higher payrolls this year, the Yankees' nearly $2.7 billion worth of money spent between 2010-2022 is unmatched.

MLB Payroll vs. World Series appearances, 2010-2022 pic.twitter.com/WeJsBkFS5o
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) October 24, 2022

The next highest-spending teams over that span, the Dodgers and Red Sox, have a combined five World Series appearances with three championships. In fact, of the top 12 highest-spending teams since 2010, only the Yankees and Angels haven't reached the World Series. Even three teams from the bottom-10 (Kansas City, Cleveland, Tampa) have reached heights the Yankees haven't.

The Angels have become a laughingstock for their ambitious offseason moves that don't produce any results. Have the Yankees earned similar criticism? They consistently reach the postseason, but their exits rarely look like a fluke. This year, an offense that struggled outside for the final three months of the season just produced more of the same in October.

An offseason of change could be coming for the Yankees, but the last 13 years have proven it takes more than some flashy moves to reach baseball's biggest stage.

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