2008 New York Yankees season

2008  New York Yankees
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Yankee Stadium
City	New York
Record	89–73 (.549)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	George Steinbrenner
General managers	Brian Cashman
Managers	Joe Girardi
Television	YES Network WWOR-TV (My 9)
Radio	WCBS (AM) WQBU-FM (Spanish)
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The 2008 New York Yankees season was the 106th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees hosted the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday July 15, 2008. It was the 83rd and last season at the original Yankee Stadium prior to the team's move to a new ballpark (also called "Yankee Stadium") just north of the current stadium. It also marked the first season since 1993 that the Yankees failed to make it to the playoffs (excepting the 1994 season, when a players' strike canceled the postseason, though the Yankees had the best record in the American League that year). Also, it would also be the first under a new team skipper, former team catcher Joe Girardi, who assumed the managerial role in the offseason. The next active playoff streak belonged to the NHL's Detroit Red Wings who made the playoffs every year since 1991 until it was broken in 2017.

Offseason

Johnny Damon batting in 2008.

The Yankees' 2007/2008 offseason began in a tumultuous manner, with uncertainty as to the status of manager Joe Torre and team stalwarts Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Alex Rodriguez, all of whom were free agents. While Torre departed after 12 years as the team's manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, all four free agents returned to play for the Yankees in 2008, providing stability and continuity for new manager Joe Girardi.

Roster changes

Manager Joe Torre left for the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2007 season. After conducting interviews with Don Mattingly, Tony Peña and Joe Girardi, Girardi was signed to be the new Yankees Manager. This prompted Mattingly to leave the team as well and follow Torre to the Dodgers.

On November 29, the Yankees re-signed catcher Jorge Posada to a four-year contract for $52,400,000. Posada will be earning $13,100,000 per season which is the highest average salary ever for a catcher.

On December 3, the Yankees re-signed backup catcher José Molina to a 2-year, $4 million contract.

On December 4, the Yankees shipped minor league pitcher and part-time MLB starter Tyler Clippard to the Washington Nationals for reliever Jonathan Albaladejo.

On December 9, the Yankees agreed to a contract with relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins for 1 year, $3.75 million.

On December 12, the Yankees re-signed pitcher Andy Pettitte to a 1-year, $16 million contract.

Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract in the middle of Game 4 of the 2007 World Series. The Yankees initially stated that they would not negotiate with Rodriguez once he opted out but changed course once Rodriguez announced his desire to return to pinstripes after issuing an apology for the public and the Yankees misunderstanding his desire to stay with the team. On December 13, 2007, Rodriguez and the Yankees officially agreed to a 10-year, $275 million contract that would rise to above $300 million if certain performance milestones were reached.

On December 17, the Yankees re-signed closer Mariano Rivera. Despite his original plan to hold out for a fourth year, Rivera agreed to a three-year contract offer worth $45 million, making him the highest-paid closer in baseball history.

Relief pitcher Luis Vizcaíno turned down an offer of salary arbitration and signed a multi-year deal with the Colorado Rockies on December 21. 1B Andy Phillips departed for the Cincinnati Reds, and Doug Mientkiewicz departed for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Roger Clemens remained a free agent and did not return to the Yankees in 2008. That would be the end of Clemens' MLB career. On March 10, 2008 the team signed actor/comedian Billy Crystal to a one-day contract just before his 60th birthday.

Regular season

Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez batting in 2008

April

The Yankees started opening day one day late at Yankee Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays after a rainout. The Yankees took 2 of 3 games in the series. After that, they faced a new look Rays team. They lost the first two by the scores of 13-4 and 6-3, but would rebound and split the series 2 games apiece. Following the series, the Yankees had a grueling road trip in which they played 18 of their next 20 games on the road. During this stretch, rookies Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy struggled mightily and went winless the entire first month. After a rib injury to Hughes, Kennedy was reassigned to the minor league AAA affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as the Yankees called up Darrell Rasner. Fortunately, Rasner went 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his first four starts.

Both shortstop Derek Jeter and third baseman Alex Rodriguez had suffered minor quadriceps injuries at different times. Catcher Jorge Posada was also placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career after a slight tear in his rotator cuff and backup infielder Wilson Betemit missed several games due to conjunctivitis.

May

Their struggles continued in May, as they only had one series win through the 20th and that was a 3-game sweep against the Mariners on May 2–4 at the Stadium. They would lose 3 of 4 against the Rays in St. Petersburg and were swept in 2 games by the Mets in the Subway Series. In that series, there was a controversial call where Carlos Delgado appeared to hit a foul ball by the left field foul pole, when a replay would later show that the ball was actually a home run. The Mets would go on to win 11-2. The game on the 16th was postponed because of rain. The Yankees would end the month winning 8 of their last 10 games, escaping the AL East cellar and getting back to over .500.

June

The Yankees lost three in a row through the first three days of June, dropping the final 2 games of the four-game set against the Twins at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, then were blitzed 9-3 by the Jays on Joba Chamberlain's first career start in the majors. The Yankees, however, won the next 2 against them including a wild comeback on June 5 that ended in a two-run, pinch hit homer into the upper deck by Jason Giambi after trailing 7-2 in the 6th inning. Following the series, Yankees split a 4-game weekend series with the Royals and took 2 out of 3 from the A's highlighted by Hideki Matsui celebrating his 34th birthday with a Grand Slam off of Joe Blanton. The Yankees would then sweep the Astros and were 4 games over .500 for the first time this season, but Chien-Ming Wang hurt his leg rounding the bases in a 13-0 win. He was out for the rest of the season. The Yankees would then sweep the Padres at home to win 7 straight for the first time this season. The streak came to a halt on June 20, when they lost to Edinson Vólquez and the Reds 4-2 on the Reds' first visit to Yankee Stadium since 1976, the first season of the renovated Yankee Stadium. They would follow with a lopsided 6-0 loss in which they left 12 runners on base despite Dan Giese's great outing, but salvage the final game with a 4-1 win. The Yankees traveled to PNC Park for the first time ever when they faced the Pirates from June 24–25 before returning to New York to play a double header with their cross-town rival Mets. In game one, the Yankees were outmatched 15-6, but rebounded in the nightcap game two, with a 9-0 shutout.

July

After dropping the first 2 games of a 3-game series to the Texas Rangers, the Yankees salvaged the final game 18-7 before losing the first two of a four-game series to the Red Sox 7-0 and 6-4. With Mike Mussina on the hill for game 3, they would rebound behind his 6 shutout innings to barely win 2-1 and then earn a split when rookie Brett Gardner hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 5-4 victory. In an important 2-game series against the Rays, they would win the first game 5-0 behind Andy Pettitte's stellar pitching performance and then complete the sweep on Bobby Abreu's game-winning double. The Yankees would go to Pittsburgh to play a make-up interleague game against the Pirates and lose 4-2. Next, they traveled to Toronto to play three against the Blue Jays. They would be shut out by Roy Halladay in the opener, getting only two hits but then they rebounded and won their next game 9-4 behind home runs by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. It was their 50th win of the season. After the game, the Yankees learned that former broadcaster Bobby Murcer died of cancer. After losing 4-1 to the Blue Jays on Sunday, the Yankees head into the All-Star break 6 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East and 5½ games behind the Rays in the Wild Card race. After the break, Yankees won 8 in a row including back to back sweeps of the Twins and A's, extending their winning streak to 10 games at home. After defeating the Boston Red Sox 1-0 in Joba Chamberlain's first career start at Fenway Park, the Yankees acquired Pittsburgh Pirates corner outfielder Xavier Nady and left-handed reliever Dámaso Marte for four minor league prospects. The Yankees then traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for catcher Iván Rodríguez.

August

The Yankees started August by losing 1-0 to the Angels when Mariano Rivera gave up a run in the 9th inning. The Yankees rebounded to take the next two, including an 8-2 win on Old Timers Day and a 14-9 come-from-behind victory on Sunday. The Yankees embarked on a key 10-game road trip with four against the Texas Rangers. In the opener, Joba Chamberlain was injured before the bullpen surrendered a walk-off grand slam to Marlon Byrd. The second game saw the Yankees fall short despite a grand slam of their own before rebounding to win the next two for the split. They were then swept in Anaheim, highlighted by an 8th inning 8-run meltdown on Saturday and Mariano Rivera allowing a walk off hit the next day. After losing two out of three to the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees were written off as contenders. ^[1] Returning home, they dropped the opener to the Kansas City Royals but rebounded to win the next day in the 12th inning when Brett Gardner drove in the winning run. They took the series with a 15-6 romp the next day. The Yankees went back on the road for six games and lost two of three in Toronto. They did rebound to sweep the Baltimore Orioles, but the struggles continued at home vs Boston as they dropped the first 2 games, 7-3, and 11-3, respectively. A-Rod was heavily booed in game 1,^{[ citation needed ]} as he was 0 for 5 and grounded into 2 double plays with one being in a bases-loaded situation. He also struck out to end the game. The Yankees would salvage the series finale with a score of 3-2 thanks to pinch-hitter Jason Giambi hitting a two-run homer in the 7th, and then a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th.

September

The Yanks started off the last month of the regular season on a good note by beating the Tigers 13-9 in a makeup game that was postponed earlier in the season. They continued to keep fans' hopes high by thrashing the AL East leading Rays 7-2 and 8-4 in the first two games of a 3-game series in Tampa. They dropped the third game of the series 7-5. The following day in Seattle, Wilson Betemit's eighth-inning RBI double ended Brandon Morrow's no-hit bid, but New York still lost the game 3-1.

The final regular season game at Yankee Stadium was played on September 21, 2008 against the Baltimore Orioles, who are based in the city from which both the Yankees and their great star Babe Ruth originated. ^[2] Fielding Derek Jeter as their captain, Andy Pettitte as the starting pitcher, and led by home runs from Johnny Damon and José Molina, the Yankees won 7–3. Molina's home run, a two-run shot hit to left-center field with one out in the bottom of the 4th inning, turned out to be the final home run in Stadium history. The final run was scored by Yankee pinch-runner Brett Gardner in the bottom of the 7th inning. Mariano Rivera pitched the top of the 9th inning, and the final batter was Baltimore's Brian Roberts, who hit a ground-ball out to Yankee first baseman Cody Ransom, closing out 83 years of baseball history. After the game, Derek Jeter addressed the crowd, thanking them for their support over the years, and urging them to "take the memories of this field, add them to the new memories that will come at the new Yankee Stadium and continue to pass them on from generation to generation." ^[3] The Yankees players then circled the field and saluted the fans, to the sound of "New York, New York". Guest commentators for the game on ESPN included Yankee legends Reggie Jackson, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra, as well as local YES Network announcer Michael Kay. ^[4]

Line score from final game at Yankee Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Baltimore	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	1
New York	0	0	3	2	0	0	2	0	X	7	9	1
WP: Andy Pettitte (14–14)   LP: Chris Waters (3–4) Home runs: BAL: None NYY: Johnny Damon (16), José Molina (3)

The Yankees were officially eliminated from the playoffs on September 23 with a Red Sox win over the Indians, making them the last team to miss out in the Division Series era and it was the first time since 1993 they missed the postseason (in 1994, the Yankees had the best record in the American League, but the season came to early halt as a result of the longest work stoppage in sports history up to that point.

On September 28, Mike Mussina won 20 games for the first time in his career, the oldest pitcher in major league history to win 20 games for the first time in his career. The record was previously held by Jamie Moyer, as he won 20 as a 38-year-old. This capped a remarkable comeback season for Mussina, who came back to win 20 games after a 5.15 ERA in 2007. He was one of the few bright spots of the Yankees 2008 season. ^[5]

Season standings

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AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Tampa Bay Rays	97	65	.599	—	57‍–‍24	40‍–‍41
Boston Red Sox	95	67	.586	2	56‍–‍25	39‍–‍42
New York Yankees	89	73	.549	8	48‍–‍33	41‍–‍40
Toronto Blue Jays	86	76	.531	11	47‍–‍34	39‍–‍42
Baltimore Orioles	68	93	.422	28½	37‍–‍43	31‍–‍50

Record vs. opponents

Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Baltimore	–	6–12	4–5	4–4	4–3	5–3	3–6	3–3	7–11	0–5	8–2	3–15	4–5	6–12	11–7
Boston	12–6	–	4–3	5–1	5–2	6–1	1–8	4–3	9–9	6–4	6–3	8–10	9–1	9–9	11–7
Chicago	5–4	3–4	–	11–7	12–6	12–6	5–5	9–10	2–5	5–4	5–1	4–6	3–3	1–7	12–6
Cleveland	4–4	1–5	7–11	–	11–7	10–8	4–5	8–10	4–3	5–4	4–5	5–2	6–4	6–1	6–12
Detroit	3–4	2–5	6–12	7–11	–	7–11	3–6	7–11	4–2	3–6	7–3	3–4	6–3	3–5	13–5
Kansas City	3–5	1–6	6–12	8–10	11–7	–	2–3	6–12	5–5	6–3	7–2	3–5	2–7	2–5	13–5
Los Angeles	6–3	8–1	5–5	5–4	6–3	3–2	–	5–3	7–3	10–9	14–5	3–6	12–7	6–3	10–8
Minnesota	3–3	3–4	10–9	10–8	11–7	12–6	3–5	–	4–6	5–5	5–4	3–3	5–5	0–6	14–4
New York	11–7	9–9	5–2	3–4	2–4	5–5	3–7	6–4	–	5–1	7–2	11–7	3–4	9–9	10–8
Oakland	5–0	4–6	4–5	4–5	6–3	3–6	9–10	5–5	1–5	-	10–9	3–6	7–12	4–6	10–8
Seattle	2–8	3–6	1–5	5–4	3–7	2–7	5–14	4–5	2–7	9–10	–	3–4	8–11	5–4	9–9
Tampa Bay	15–3	10–8	6–4	2–5	4–3	5–3	6–3	3–3	7–11	6–3	4–3	–	6–3	11–7	12–6
Texas	5–4	1–9	3–3	4–6	3–6	7–2	7–12	5–5	4–3	12–7	11–8	3–6	–	4–4	10–8
Toronto	12–6	9–9	7–1	1–6	5–3	5–2	3–6	6–0	9–9	6–4	4–5	7–11	4–4	–	8–10

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Roster

2008 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers 91 Alfredo Aceves 63 Jonathan Albaladejo 47,39 Chris Britton 33 Brian Bruney 62 Joba Chamberlain 48 Phil Coke 48 Kyle Farnsworth 38 Dan Giese 21,22 LaTroy Hawkins 34,65 Phil Hughes 29 Kei Igawa 31 Ian Kennedy 34 Dámaso Marte 35 Mike Mussina 39 Ross Ohlendorf 30 Scott Patterson 45 Carl Pavano 46 Andy Pettitte 47 Sidney Ponson 36 Edwar Ramírez 43 Darrell Rasner 42 Mariano Rivera 30 David Robertson 77 Humberto Sánchez 61 Billy Traber 41 José Veras 40 Chien-Ming Wang		Catchers 64 Francisco Cervelli 19 Chad Moeller 26 José Molina 20 Jorge Posada 12 Iván Rodríguez 38 Chris Stewart Infielders 14 Wilson Betemit 24,22 Robinson Canó 17 Shelley Duncan 11 Morgan Ensberg 25 Jason Giambi 12 Alberto González 2 Derek Jeter 66 Juan Miranda 29 Cody Ransom 13 Alex Rodriguez 39 Richie Sexson		Outfielders 53 Bobby Abreu 28 Melky Cabrera 17 Justin Christian 18 Johnny Damon 11 Brett Gardner 55 Hideki Matsui 29,22 Xavier Nady		Manager 27 Joe Girardi Coaches 52 Dave Eiland (pitching) 57 Mike Harkey (bullpen) 54 Kevin Long (hitting) 50 Bobby Meacham (3rd base) 60 Rich Monteleone (special pitching instructor) 56 Tony Peña (1st base) 59 Rob Thomson (bench)

Game log

2008 Game Log
March # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record — March 31 Blue Jays Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for April 1
April # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 1 Blue Jays 3–2 Wang (1–0) Halladay (0–1) Rivera (1) 55,112 1–0 2 April 2 Blue Jays 5–2 Burnett (1–0) Mussina (0–1) Accardo (1) 48,544 1–1 3 April 3 Blue Jays 3–2 Chamberlain (1–0) Wolfe (0–1) Rivera (2) 47,785 2–1 4 April 4 Rays 13–4 Sonnanstine (1–0) Kennedy (0–1) 49,255 2–2 5 April 5 Rays 6–3 Jackson (1–0) Pettitte (0–1) Percival (1) 52,247 2–3 6 April 6 Rays 2–0 Wang (2–0) Shields (1–1) Rivera (3) 51,279 3–3 7 April 7 Rays 6–1 Mussina (1–1) Hammel (0–1) 41,302 4–3 8 April 8 @ Royals 5–2 Bannister (2–0) Hughes (0–1) Soria (4) 37,296 4–4 9 April 9 @ Royals 4–0 Greinke (2–0) Farnsworth (0–1) Gobble (1) 19,007 4–5 10 April 10 @ Royals 6–1 Pettitte (1–1) Bale (0–2) 16,143 5–5 11 April 11 @ Red Sox 4–1 Wang (3–0) Timlin (0–1) 37,624 6–5 12 April 12 @ Red Sox 4–3 Beckett (1–1) Mussina (1–2) Papelbon (4) 37,461 6–6 13 April 13 @ Red Sox 8–5 Matsuzaka (3–0) Hughes (0–2) 37,876 6–7 14 April 14 @ Rays 8–7 Bruney (1–0) Reyes (1–2) Rivera (4) 18,872 7–7 15 April 15 @ Rays 5–3 Pettitte (2–1) Jackson (2–1) Rivera (5) 20,923 8–7 16 April 16 Red Sox 15–9 Hawkins (1–0) Tavárez (0–1) Bruney (1) 54,667 9–7 17 April 17 Red Sox 7–5 Beckett (2–1) Mussina (1–3) 55,088 9–8 18 April 18 @ Orioles 8–2 Cabrera (1–0) Hughes (0–3) 40,653 9–9 19 April 19 @ Orioles 6–0 Burres (2–1) Kennedy (0–2) Johnson (1) 41,776 9–10 20 April 20 @ Orioles 7–1 Pettitte (3–1) Trachsel (1–3) 37,501 10–10 21 April 22 @ White Sox 9–5 Wang (4–0) Contreras (1–2) 25,012 11–10 22 April 23 @ White Sox 6–4 Mussina (2–3) Vázquez (3–2) Rivera (6) 27,751 12–10 23 April 24 @ White Sox 7–6 Jenks (1–0) Chamberlain (1–1) 27,243 12–11 24 April 25 @ Indians 6–4 Byrd (1–2) Pettitte (3–2) Betancourt (2) 31,467 12–12 25 April 26 @ Indians 4–3 Kobayashi (1–0) Ohlendorf (0–1) 35,765 12–13 26 April 27 @ Indians 1–0 Wang (5–0) Sabathia (1–4) Rivera (7) 31,598 13–13 27 April 28 @ Indians 5–2 Mussina (3–3) Laffey (0–1) Rivera (8) 20,689 14–13 28 April 29 Tigers 6–4 Rogers (2–3) Hughes (0–4) Jones (5) 49,194 14–14 29 April 30 Tigers 6–2 Bonderman (2–2) Pettitte (3–3) 49,513 14–15
May # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 30 May 1 Tigers 8–4 Robertson (1–3) Albaladejo (0–1) 50,993 14–16 31 May 2 Mariners 5–1 Wang (6–0) Bédard (2–1) 52,199 15–16 32 May 3 Mariners 6–1 Mussina (4–3) Hernández (2–2) 52,810 16–16 33 May 4 Mariners 8–2 Rasner (1–0) Silva (3–1) 53,542 17–16 34 May 6 Indians 5–3 Pérez (1–1) Chamberlain (1–2) Betancourt (3) 50,713 17–17 35 May 7 Indians 3–0 Lee (6–0) Wang (6–1) Betancourt (4) 50,199 17–18 36 May 8 Indians 6–3 Mussina (5–3) Byrd (1–3) Rivera (9) 53,227 18–18 37 May 9 @ Tigers 6–5 Rogers (3–3) Igawa (0–1) 44,062 18–19 38 May 10 @ Tigers 5–2 Rasner (2-0) Bonderman (2–4) Rivera (10) 44,580 19–19 — May 11 @ Tigers Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for September 1 39 May 12 @ Rays 7–1 Garza (2–1) Pettitte (3–4) 13,932 19–20 40 May 13 @ Rays 2–1 (11) Howell (3–0) Rivera (0–1) 16,558 19–21 41 May 14 @ Rays 2–1 Mussina (6–3) Shields (4–3) Rivera (11) 20,936 20–21 42 May 15 @ Rays 5–2 Kazmir (2–1) Kennedy (0–3) Percival (10) 19,976 20–22 — May 16 Mets Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for June 27 43 May 17 Mets 7–4 Santana (5–2) Pettitte (3–5) Wagner (9) 55,093 20–23 44 May 18 Mets 11–2 Pérez (4–3) Wang (6–2) 55,012 20–24 45 May 20 Orioles 12–2 Cabrera (5–1) Mussina (6–4) 51,617 20–25 46 May 21 Orioles 8–0 Rasner (3–0) Olson (3–1) 50,682 21–25 47 May 22 Orioles 2–1 Rivera (1–1) Johnson (0–2) 49,452 22–25 48 May 23 Mariners 13–2 Pettitte (4–5) Bédard (3–3) 52,005 23–25 49 May 24 Mariners 12–6 Mussina (7–4) Silva (3–4) 53,512 24–25 50 May 25 Mariners 6–5 Ramírez (1–0) Putz (1–2) Rivera (12) 54,269 25–25 51 May 26 @ Orioles 6–1 Olson (4–1) Rasner (3–1) 34,928 25–26 52 May 27 @ Orioles 10–9 (11) Albers (3–1) Hawkins (1–1) 24,030 25–27 53 May 28 @ Orioles 4–2 Pettitte (5–5) Guthrie (2–6) Rivera (13) 24,791 26–27 54 May 30 @ Twins 6–5 Mussina (8–4) Perkins (2–2) Rivera (14) 30,188 27–27 55 May 31 @ Twins 7–6 (12) Ohlendorf (1–1) Rincón (2–2) Rivera (15) 36,441 28–27
June # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 56 June 1 @ Twins 5–1 Bass (2–1) Rasner (3–2) 27,479 28–28 57 June 2 @ Twins 6–5 Gurrier (3–1) Farnsworth (0–2) Nathan (15) 20,168 28–29 58 June 3 Blue Jays 9–3 Halladay (7–5) Giese (0–1) 53,629 28–30 59 June 4 Blue Jays 5–1 Mussina (9–4) Litsch (7–2) 51,151 29–30 60 June 5 Blue Jays 9–8 Farnsworth (1–2) Ryan (1–2) 53,571 30–30 61 June 6 Royals 2–1 Kyle Davies (2–0) Rasner (3–3) Soria (13) 52,187 30–31 62 June 7 Royals 12–11 Rivera (2–1) Soria (0–1) 53,611 31–31 63 June 8 Royals 6–3 Giese (1–1) Greinke (5–4) Rivera (16) 54,213 32–31 64 June 9 Royals 3–2 Yabuta (1–0) Rivera (2–2) Soria (14) 53,633 32–32 65 June 10 @ Athletics 3–1 Wang (7–2) Eveland (4–5) Rivera (17) 26,402 33–32 66 June 11 @ Athletics 8–4 Duchscherer (6–4) Rasner (3–4) 27,292 33–33 67 June 12 @ Athletics 4-1 Pettitte (6-5) Blanton (3-9) Rivera (18) 28,658 34-33 68 June 13 @ Astros 2-1 Veras (1-0) Brocail (2-1) Farnsworth (1) 43,095 35-33 69 June 14 @ Astros 8–4 Mussina (10–4) Rodríguez (2–3) 43,409 36–33 70 June 15 @ Astros 13–0 Wang (8–2) Oswalt (5–7) 43,165 37–33 71 June 17 Padres 8–0 Pettitte (7–5) Wolf (5–5) 52,306 38–33 72 June 18 Padres 8–5 Rasner (4–4) Peavy (5–4) Rivera (19) 52,628 39–33 73 June 19 Padres 2–1 Veras (2–0) Banks (2–1) Rivera (20) 54,362 40–33 74 June 20 Reds 4–2 Vólquez (10–2) Mussina (10–5) Cordero (14) 53,421 40–34 75 June 21 Reds 6–0 Bray (2–0) Giese (1–2) 54,509 40–35 76 June 22 Reds 4–1 Pettitte (8–5) Cueto (5–8) Rivera (21) 54,234 41–35 77 June 24 @ Pirates 12–5 Gorzelanny (6–6) Rasner (4–5) 38,867 41-36 78 June 25 @ Pirates 10–0 Chamberlain (2–2) Duke (4–5) 38,952 42–36 — June 26 @ Pirates Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for July 10 79 June 27 Mets 15–6 Pelfrey (5–6) Giese (1–3) 54,978 42–37 80 June 27 @ Mets 9–0 Ponson (5–1) Martínez (2–2) 56,308 43–37 81 June 28 @ Mets 3–2 Pettitte (9–5) Santana (7–7) Rivera (22) 56,172 44–37 82 June 29 @ Mets 3–1 Pérez (6–5) Rasner (4–6) Wagner (18) 56,277 44–38 83 June 30 Rangers 2–1 Feldman (2–3) Mussina (10–6) Wilson (18) 53,045 44–39
July # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 84 July 1 Rangers 3–2 Francisco (2–2) Rivera (2–3) Wilson (19) 53,223 44–40 85 July 2 Rangers 18–7 Ramírez (2–0) Madrigal (0–1) 52,659 45–40 86 July 3 Red Sox 7–0 Lester (7–3) Pettitte (9–6) 54,677 45–41 87 July 4 Red Sox 6–4 Beckett (8–5) Rasner (4–7) 55,130 45–42 88 July 5 Red Sox 2–1 Mussina (11–6) Masterson (4–3) Rivera (23) 54,920 46–42 89 July 6 Red Sox 5–4 (10) Rivera (3–3) Papelbon (3–3) 54,922 47–42 90 July 8 Rays 5–0 Pettitte (10–6) Kazmir (7–4) 53,089 48–42 91 July 9 Rays 2–1 (10) Rivera (4–3) Balfour (2–1) 53,552 49–42 92 July 10 @ Pirates 4–2 Maholm (6–5) Veras (2–1) Marte (4) 39,081 49–43 93 July 11 @ Blue Jays 5–0 Halladay (11–6) Chamberlain (2–3) 43,078 49–44 94 July 12 @ Blue Jays 9–4 Rasner (5–7) Litsch (8–6) 44,364 50–44 95 July 13 @ Blue Jays 4–1 Burnett (10–8) Pettitte (10–7) Ryan (18) 43,854 50–45 96 July 18 Athletics 7–1 Mussina (12–6) Smith (5–8) 54,145 51–45 97 July 19 Athletics 4–3 (12) Robertson (1–0) DiNardo (1–2) 54,183 52–45 98 July 20 Athletics 2–1 Pettitte (11–7) Duchscherer (10–6) Rivera (24) 54,366 53–45 99 July 21 Twins 12–4 Ponson (6–1) Blackburn (7–6) 53,484 54–45 100 July 22 Twins 8–2 Robertson (2–0) Slowey (6–7) 53,406 55–45 101 July 23 Twins 5–1 Mussina (13–6) Perkins (7–3) Rivera (25) 54,114 56–45 102 July 25 @ Red Sox 1–0 Chamberlain (3–3) Beckett (9–7) Rivera (26) 37,744 57–45 103 July 26 @ Red Sox 10–3 Pettitte (12–7) Wakefield (6–8) 37,225 58–45 104 July 27 @ Red Sox 9–2 Lester (9–3) Ponson (6–2) 37,688 58–46 105 July 28 Orioles 13–4 Guthrie (7–8) Mussina (13–7) 54,120 58–47 106 July 29 Orioles 7–6 Cabrera (7–6) Rasner (5–8) 54,241 58–48 107 July 30 Orioles 13–3 Chamberlain (4–3) Sarfate (4–2) 54,296 59–48 108 July 31 Angels 12–6 Garland (10–6) Pettitte (12–8) 53,405 59–49
August # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 109 August 1 Angels 1–0 Santana (12–5) Rivera (4–4) Rodríguez (45) 53,997 59–50 110 August 2 Angels 8–2 Mussina (14–7) Weaver (9–9) 54,170 60–50 111 August 3 Angels 14–9 Ramírez (3–0) Shields (4–3) 54,204 61–50 112 August 4 @ Rangers 9–5 Guardado (3–2) Marte (4–1) 33,813 61–51 113 August 5 @ Rangers 8–6 Harrison (3–2) Pettitte (12–9) Guardado (3) 34,473 61–52 114 August 6 @ Rangers 5–3 Ponson (7–2) Hunter (0–1) Rivera (27) 38,638 62–52 115 August 7 @ Rangers 3–0 Mussina (15–7) Feldman (4–5) Rivera (28) 44,603 63–52 116 August 8 @ Angels 10–5 Weaver (10–9) Kennedy (0–4) 44,158 63–53 117 August 9 @ Angels 11–4 Shields (5–3) Ramírez (3–1) 43,919 63–54 118 August 10 @ Angels 4–3 Rodríguez (2–2) Marte (4–2) 44,138 63–55 119 August 11 @ Twins 4–0 Perkins (9–3) Ponson (7–3) 30,126 63–56 120 August 12 @ Twins 9–6 (12) Veras (3–1) Guerrier (6–6) Ramírez (1) 33,036 64–56 121 August 13 @ Twins 4–2 Slowey (9–8) Rasner (5–9) Nathan (32) 35,187 64–57 122 August 15 Royals 4–3 Núñez (4–1) Rivera (4–5) Soria (33) 53,067 64–58 123 August 16 Royals 3–2 (13) Robertson (3–0) Fulchino (0–1) 54,180 65–58 124 August 17 Royals 15–6 Mussina (16–7) Bannister (7–12) 54,114 66–58 125 August 19 @ Blue Jays 2–1 Burnett (16–9) Veras (3–2) Ryan (24) 37,221 66–59 126 August 20 @ Blue Jays 5–1 Pettitte (13–9) Purcey (2–4) 34,910 67–59 127 August 21 @ Blue Jays 14–3 Halladay (15–9) Ponson (7–4) 37,037 67–60 128 August 22 @ Orioles 9–4 Veras (4–2) Walker (1–1) Rivera (29) 45,543 68–60 129 August 23 @ Orioles 5–3 Pavano (1–0) Guthrie (10–10) Rivera (30) 48,817 69–60 130 August 24 @ Orioles 8–7 Ramírez (4–1) Walker (1–2) Rivera (31) 42,746 70–60 131 August 26 Red Sox 7–3 Wakefield (8–8) Pettitte (13–10) Papelbon (34) 55,058 70–61 132 August 27 Red Sox 11–3 Byrd (9–11) Ponson (7–5) 55,027 70–62 133 August 28 Red Sox 3–2 Rivera (5–5) Masterson (4–4) 55,092 71–62 134 August 29 Blue Jays 2–1 Pavano (2-0) Burnett (16–10) Rivera (32) 53,088 72–62 135 August 30 Blue Jays 7–6 League (1–2) Marte (4–3) Ryan (25) 53,273 72–63 136 August 31 Blue Jays 6–2 Halladay (17–9) Pettitte (13–11) 53,634 72–64
September # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 137 September 1 @ Tigers 13–9 Bruney (2–0) Verlander (10–15) 44,336 73–64 138 September 2 @ Rays 7–2 Mussina (17–7) Garza (11–8) 21,629 74–64 139 September 3 @ Rays 8–4 Ramírez (5–1) Jackson (11–9) 25,215 75–64 140 September 4 @ Rays 7–5 Kazmir (11–6) Rasner (5–10) Wheeler (10) 26,080 75–65 141 September 5 @ Mariners 3–1 Morrow (2–2) Pettitte (13–12) Putz (11) 39,518 75–66 142 September 6 @ Mariners 7–4 Ponson (8–5) Green (4–5) Rivera (33) 44,473 76–66 143 September 7 @ Mariners 5–2 Feierabend (1–2) Mussina (17–8) Putz (12) 42,677 76–67 144 September 8 @ Angels 12–1 Garland (13–8) Pavano (2–1) 41,025 76–68 145 September 9 @ Angels 7–1 Aceves (1–0) Santana (15–6) 43,042 77–68 146 September 10 @ Angels 4–2 Moseley (2–4) Pettitte (13–13) Rodríguez (56) 39,783 77–69 -- September 12 Rays Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for September 13 147 September 13 Rays 7–1 Shields (13–8) Mussina (17–9) 54,088 77–70 148 September 13 Rays 6–5 Marte (5–3) Howell (6–1) Rivera (34) 53,568 78–70 149 September 14 Rays 8–4 Pavano (3–1) Jackson (11–11) Rivera (35) 54,279 79–70 150 September 15 White Sox 4–2 Coke (1–0) Wassermann (1–2) Rivera (36) 53,236 80–70 151 September 16 White Sox 6–2 Floyd (16–7) Pettitte (13–14) 52,558 80–71 152 September 17 White Sox 5–1 Bruney (3–0) Richard (2–5) 52,671 81–71 153 September 18 White Sox 9–2 Mussina (18–9) Vázquez (12–14) 53,152 82–71 154 September 19 Orioles 3–2 Pavano (4–1) Liz (6–6) Rivera (37) 54,136 83–71 155 September 20 Orioles 1–0 Rivera (6–5) Miller (0–2) 54,662 84–71 156 September 21 Orioles 7–3 Pettitte (14–14) Waters (3–4) 54,610 85–71 157 September 23 @ Blue Jays 3–1 Mussina (19–9) Litsch (12–9) Rivera (38) 27,216 86–71 158 September 24 @ Blue Jays 6–2 (10) Veras (5–2) Carlson (7–2) 28,701 87–71 159 September 25 @ Blue Jays 8–2 Halladay (20–11) Pavano (4–2) 44,346 87–72 160 September 26 @ Red Sox 19–8 Robertson (4–0) Pauley (0–1) 37,301 88–72 -- September 27 @ Red Sox Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for September 28 161 September 28 @ Red Sox 6–2 Mussina (20–9) Matsuzaka (18–3) Rivera (39) 37,091 89–72 162 September 28 @ Red Sox 4–3 (10) Hansack (1–0) Veras (5–3) 37,440 89–73

Player stats

Bold= Team leader in category.

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG	SB
Robinson Canó	159	597	70	162	35	3	14	72	.271	2
Bobby Abreu	156	609	100	180	39	4	20	100	.296	22
Derek Jeter	150	596	88	179	25	3	11	69	.300	11
Jason Giambi	145	459	68	113	19	1	32	96	.247	2
Johnny Damon	143	555	95	168	27	5	17	71	.303	29
Alex Rodriguez	138	510	104	154	33	0	35	103	.302	18
Melky Cabrera	129	414	42	103	12	1	8	37	.249	9
José Molina	100	268	32	58	17	0	3	18	.216	0
Hideki Matsui	93	337	43	99	17	0	9	45	.294	0
Wilson Betemit	87	189	24	50	13	0	6	25	.265	0
Xavier Nady	59	228	26	61	11	0	12	40	.268	1
Jorge Posada	51	168	18	45	13	1	3	22	.268	0
Brett Gardner	42	127	18	29	5	2	0	16	.228	13
Chad Moeller	41	91	13	21	6	0	1	9	.231	0
Iván Rodríguez	33	96	11	21	4	0	2	3	.219	4
Cody Ransom	33	43	9	13	3	0	4	8	.302	0
Alberto González	28	52	4	9	2	0	0	1	.173	0
Morgan Ensberg	28	74	6	15	0	0	1	4	.203	0
Justin Christian	24	40	6	10	3	0	0	6	.250	7
Shelley Duncan	23	57	7	10	3	0	1	6	.175	0
Richie Sexson	22	28	2	7	1	0	1	6	.250	0
José Veras	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Juan Miranda	5	10	2	4	1	0	0	1	.400	0
Kyle Farnsworth	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Edwar Ramírez	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
David Robertson	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Ross Ohlendorf	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Francisco Cervelli	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Mike Mussina	2	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	.200	0
Darrell Rasner	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
LaTroy Hawkins	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Joba Chamberlain	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Chris Britton	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Dan Giese	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Billy Traber	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Mariano Rivera	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Andy Pettitte	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Sidney Ponson	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Chien-Ming Wang	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Chris Stewart	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Kei Igawa	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Team Totals	162	5572	789	1512	289	20	180	758	.271	118

Bold indicates team leader

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	R	ER	BB	K
Mike Mussina	20	9	3.37	34	34	0	200.1	85	75	31	150
Andy Pettitte	14	14	4.54	33	33	0	204.0	112	103	55	158
Chien-Ming Wang	8	2	4.07	15	15	0	95.0	44	43	35	54
Mariano Rivera	6	5	1.40	64	0	39	70.2	11	11	6	77
Darrell Rasner	5	10	5.40	24	20	0	113.1	74	68	39	67
Edwar Ramírez	5	1	3.90	55	0	1	55.1	25	24	24	63
José Veras	5	3	3.59	60	0	0	57.2	23	23	29	63
David Robertson	4	0	5.34	25	0	0	30.1	18	18	15	36
Joba Chamberlain	4	3	2.60	42	12	0	100.1	32	29	39	118
Sidney Ponson	4	4	5.85	16	15	0	80.0	53	52	32	33
Carl Pavano	4	2	5.77	7	7	0	34.1	23	22	10	15
Brian Bruney	3	0	1.83	32	1	1	34.1	7	7	16	33
Ross Ohlendorf	1	1	6.53	25	0	0	40.0	31	29	19	36
LaTroy Hawkins	1	1	5.71	33	0	0	41.0	26	26	17	23
Dámaso Marte	1	3	5.40	25	0	0	18.1	11	11	10	24
Kyle Farnsworth	1	2	3.65	45	0	1	44.1	18	18	17	43
Dan Giese	1	3	3.53	20	3	0	43.1	22	17	14	29
Phil Coke	1	0	0.61	12	0	0	14.2	1	1	2	14
Alfredo Aceves	1	0	2.40	6	4	0	30.0	8	8	10	16
Scott Patterson	0	0	6.75	1	0	0	1.1	1	1	2	2
Jonathan Albaladejo	0	1	3.95	7	0	0	13.2	6	6	6	13
Phil Hughes	0	4	6.62	8	8	0	34.0	26	25	15	23
Billy Traber	0	0	7.02	19	0	0	16.2	13	13	7	11
Chris Britton	0	0	5.09	15	0	0	23.0	13	13	11	12
Humberto Sánchez	0	0	4.50	2	0	0	2.0	1	1	2	1
Kei Igawa	0	1	13.50	2	1	0	4.0	6	6	0	0
Ian Kennedy	0	4	8.17	10	9	0	39.2	37	36	26	27
Team Totals	89	73	4.28	162	162	42	1441.2	727	686	489	1141

Bold indicates team leader for W, L, ERA, G, GS, SV, and IP; indicates highest on team in R, ER, BB, and K

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees	International League	Dave Miley
AA	Trenton Thunder	Eastern League	Tony Franklin
A	Tampa Yankees	Florida State League	Luis Sojo
A	Charleston RiverDogs	South Atlantic League	Torre Tyson
A-Short Season	Staten Island Yankees	New York–Penn League	Pat McMahon
Rookie	GCL Yankees	Gulf Coast League	Jody Reed

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Trenton

References

• Game Logs:

Official Game Log (YES Network).

1st Half: New York Yankees Game Log on ESPN.com

2nd Half: New York Yankees Game Log on ESPN.com

• Batting Statistics: New York Yankees Batting Stats on ESPN.com
• Pitching Statistics: New York Yankees Pitching Stats on ESPN.com

1. Copsey, Shaun (August 11, 2008). "New York Yankees' Playoff Hopes Are Quickly Vanishing". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
2. "2008 Yankees Schedule". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
3. "No additional final sendoff for Stadium - MLB.com: News". mlb.com.
4. "Baltimore Orioles vs New York Yankees". ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Season 2008. September 21, 2008.
5. "Yankees vs. Blue Jays - Game Recap - September 23, 2008 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012.

• 2008 New York Yankees season at Baseball Reference
• 2008 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• "Former Yanks great Murcer dies at 62". Archived from the original on July 15, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2008.