I realize that I am very much behind on Yankee games. My next post -- barring a very newsworthy event -- will be an update.
To my dismay and disgust, the New York Rangers are in the NHL Eastern Conference Finals -- the Stanley Cup Semifinals.
Due to the way the Playoffs have been structured in each sport, the Rangers have reached the Playoffs more than any other team in the New York Tri-State Area -- mainly because, from 1943 to 1967, a team only needed to finish 4th out of 6 teams in a single-division League to do it. And that made every Playoff berth a Semifinal berth.
But how have they done once they got to the Semifinals?
Note: For baseball teams, "the final four" means that, from 1883 to 1968, they finished no worse than 2nd in their League.
1. New York Yankees, 54: 1904, 1906, 1910, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012.
-. New York Giants (baseball, defunct), 33: 1885, 1889, 1890, 1894, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1928, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1954.
2. New York Rangers, 30: 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1947, 1950, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1994, 1997, 2012, 2014.
-. Brooklyn Dodgers (defunct), 22: 1888, 1889, 1890, 1899, 1900, 1902, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1940,
1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956.
4. New York Knicks, 16: 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000.
5. New York Islanders, 10: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1993.
7. New Jersey Devils, 7: 1988, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2012.
9. Brooklyn Nets (includes seasons as New York Nets and New Jersey Nets), 4: 1974, 1976 (ABA Champions means they were 1 of the last 2 teams standing, never mind the last 4), 2002, 2003.
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And when they got to the Semifinals?
1. Nets: Won the ABA title or reached the NBA Finals 4 times. 4-0. 1.000. Don't start gloating yet, Brooklyn -- especially since 2 of those were done on The Island and the other 2 in Jersey.
2. Yankees: Reached the World Series 40 times, failing 14. 40-14. .741.
4. Devils: Reached the Stanley Cup Finals 4 times. 4-3. .571. Better than the Rangers? Yes, even better than the Islanders.
-. Giants (baseball): Reached the World Series 17 times. 17-16. .515.
5. Knicks: Reached the NBA Finals 8 times. 8-8. .500. That's not bad at all. Indeed, it's the same as the Yankees.
6. Islanders: Reached the Stanley Cup Finals 5 times. 5-5. .500.
7. Rangers: Reached the Stanley Cup Finals 11 times. 11-19. .367. Not good. Better than the Mets or the Jets, but what kind of a standard is that?
9. Jets: Reached the Super Bowl once. 1-8. .111.
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And upon reaching the Final?
1. Yankees: Won World Series 27 times. So, 27 out of 54 -- 27-27, half. .500.
2. Devils: Won Stanley Cup 3 times. 3-7. .429.
3. Islanders: Won Stanley Cup 4 times. 4-6. .400.
4. Giants (football): Won 8 NFL Championships. 8-28, .286. However, once they get to the final four stage, they have never lost, except for a 1950 Playoff for the NFL Eastern Division title. And they haven't lost an NFC Championship Game since the game was created for the 1970 season.
-. Giants (baseball): Won World Series 7 times. So, 7-33. .212.
-. Dodgers: Won World Series 4 times. So, 4-22. .182.
6. Rangers: Won Stanley Cup 4 times. 4-26. .133. Pathetic.
7. Knicks: Won NBA Finals twice. So, 2-16. .125. That's awful.
8. Jets: Won Super Bowl once. So, 1-8. .111. But they've never lost a Final!
9. Nets: Have never won NBA Finals. 0-4. .000. The only team in the New York Tri-State Area that has never won a World Championship -- unless you count the Red Bulls, NYCFC, or the Liberty.