As the New York Yankees prepare to host the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night for Game 1 of the ALCS, one former Yankee thinks the team has an “easy path” to the World Series.

Alex Rodriguez knows the feeling of winning a World Series in New York. The last time the Yankees won the trophy was in 2009, when Rodriguez was part of a loaded Yankees team that defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win the franchise’s MLB-best 27th title.

While on the Fox Sports panel after Game 1 of the NLCS, where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets to strike first in that series, Rodriguez’s Yankees teammate, Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, spoke about the the Yankees’ chances of reaching the top. World series.

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Fox Sports broadcasters, from left: Kevin Burkhardt, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter before game five between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres of the NLDS. (Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn images)

“You never want to say that’s the case. You never have an easy path to the World Series, but if the Yankees could pick and choose their opponents, I think they have the two they would choose because of the success they’ve had .” against the AL Central,” Jeter explained.

Rodriguez was a lot stronger with his thoughts heading into the series.

“You don’t have to say it, I’ll say it: They have an easy path to the World Series,” Rodriguez replied.

“Look, it’s never easy, right? But this is the clearest path in twenty years.”

Some Yankees fans might call Rodriguez’s comments a curse, while Guardians fans might hope their team uses something like “message board material” or fuel to prove Rodriguez wrong in this best-of-seven matchup.

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But there is some support Rodriguez has for his comments about the clearest path for the Yankees in the past two decades.

It’s no secret that New York has been trying to reach the World Series for a long time, having not done so since Rodriguez and Jeter hoisted the trophy at Yankee Stadium in 2009. They’ve made it to the ALCS in recent years, but it didn’t work out. can’t get past the Houston Astros in 2017, 2019 and 2022.

Yankees fans were thrilled when the Detroit Tigers defeated the Astros in the Wild Card Round, knowing they wouldn’t have to face them at any point on their hopeful road to the Fall Classic.

Former New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is introduced during the Old Timers’ Day Ceremony at Yankee Stadium. (Wendell Cruz-USA Today Sports)

While waiting for an opponent between the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles, Yankees fans would admit that they preferred to see the former as the latter has been causing them problems in their AL East schedule all season. The Orioles were 8-5 against the Yankees during the 2024 regular season.

So when the Royals eliminated the Orioles, Yankees fans were once again happy with the results. New York would eventually complete their ALDS victory at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, defeating the Royals in Game 4 to advance.

Meanwhile, the Guardians come to the Bronx with a lot of momentum following Lane Thomas’ grand slam over AL Cy Young leader Tarik Skubal in Game 5 of the ALDS, which ultimately sealed the Tigers’ Cinderella story this postseason .

The Guardians recently saw the Yankees in the postseason, with New York beating them in five games in the 2022 ALDS. And while the Yankees are the top seed, Cleveland comes into this series with a formidable bullpen and the second-best batting average. of the four remaining teams in the postseason (.234).

The Yankees are hitting a .220 pace, with AL MVP frontrunner Aaron Judge struggling with just two hits in four games so far. However, the Yankees went 4-2 against the Guardians this season and they are looking to repeat those four wins to secure a spot in what has become an elusive series for them despite the talent and payroll on the books.

Alex Rodriguez before the game between New York and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta-USA Today Sports)

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It’s never an easy road, but Rodriguez is clearly confident this is the best chance the Yankees have had since he donned the pinstripes.

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