Many reasons converged to flip 2017 from a Yankees rebuild season to this Yankees season — one in which they are striving for a championship.
Nothing mattered more, though, than the emergence of Luis Severino as an ace and Aaron Judge as the face of baseball. They gave the Yankees a power duo that changed the trajectory of the team from looking to the future to pushing toward the Canyon of Heroes.
One of the reasons the Yankees felt so off down the stretch this season — even as they were pacing toward 100 wins — was that Judge was out with a fractured wrist and Severino did a six-week impression of Carl Pavano.