2007 New York Yankees season

2007 New York Yankees
American League Wild Card Winners
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Yankee Stadium
City	New York
Record	94–68 (.580)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	George Steinbrenner
General managers	Brian Cashman
Managers	Joe Torre
Television	YES Network WWOR-TV (My 9)
Radio	WCBS (AM) WQBU-FM (Spanish)
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The 2007 New York Yankees season was the Yankees' 105th. The season started with the Yankees trying to win the American League East championship, a title they had won every season since the 1998 season, but ultimately they came in second place to the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees instead won the American League wild card, beating out the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers.

Offseason

The offseason started with news of the unexpected death of Cory Lidle, who was an occupant in his own plane that crashed into a Manhattan high rise shortly after the Yankees were eliminated in the 2006 ALDS.^[1] The Yankees made news by trading right fielder Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitching prospects.^[2] The Yankees also traded away pitcher Jaret Wright^[3] to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for reliever Chris Britton.^[4] On December 21, 2006, Andy Pettitte signed as a free agent with the Yankees.^[5] However, no offseason move was bigger for the team than trading Randy Johnson back to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team who he was with when he won the 2001 World Series against the Yankees, for pitcher Luis Vizcaíno and three minor league prospects.^[6] Joe Torre is managing the team for the 12th consecutive season.

Regular season

Season summary

April

Injuries sidelined starting pitchers Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano, and Chien-Ming Wang, leaving only original starters Andy Pettitte and Kei Igawa active. The team set a major league record with 10 different starters in the first 30 games, including a record 6 rookies. Even the rookie hurlers were not immune in the early going. Jeff Karstens was hit by a line drive off his first pitch on April 28, fracturing his right fibula. Phil Hughes pitched a hitless 6+1⁄3 innings against the Rangers on May 1 before leaving the game with a pulled hamstring. Closer Mariano Rivera blew 2 of his first 3 save opportunities and struggled in other appearances. Kei Igawa, acquired during the off-season for $46 million from Japan's Hanshin Tigers, allowed 26 earned runs in 6 appearances for an ERA of 7.63. He was then sent to the Tampa Yankees, the Single A affiliate of the Yankees.

Meanwhile, the offense led the American League in hits, home runs, and runs scored. Alex Rodríguez tied a record (set by Albert Pujols), by hitting 14 home runs in April. Nonetheless, the Yankees suffered a seven-game losing streak after sweeping the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium and ended April with a record of 9–14, last place in the AL East and 6+1⁄2 games behind the Red Sox.

May

By early May, Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang joined Andy Pettitte with newcomers Darrell Rasner and Matt DeSalvo filling in the remaining two positions in the rotation. Alex Rodriguez's remarkable April had come to an end, but the bats kept up their pace and, with the bullpen getting some needed rest, the Yankees began May 7–2. However, at the end of the month, the Yankees were tied for last place with the Devil Rays and were 22–29, 13+1⁄2 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. On May 6, Roger Clemens announced his return to the Yankees after a three-year absence from the team.^[7]

June

The Yankees began June with a strong 8–2 start. They opened with a series victory over the Red Sox in Boston, including a game-winning home run by Alex Rodriguez off closer Jonathan Papelbon in the final game of the set with Boston. They were struck by injuries again that weekend, as Doug Mientkiewicz was injured in a collision at first with Mike Lowell and Roger Clemens's first start was delayed by a groin injury. Nonetheless, the Yankees took 3 of 4 from the White Sox heading into an interleague series with the Pirates. Roger Clemens made his season debut on June 9 and earned the victory. The Yankees swept the Pirates and took a 9-game winning streak, their longest since May 2005, into a subway series with the Mets. Roger Clemens pitched strongly in the series opener, but the Yankees were shut out 2–0. The Yankees would rebound and take the next game 11–8. Later that day, the Yankees received news that Kei Igawa would be ready to return to the Major Leagues. On July 1, they were 11 games behind the division-leading Red Sox and 8 games behind the Wild Card-leading Tigers.

July

The Yankees began the first week of July strongly. They lost the final game of a series with Oakland before taking 3 out of 4 from the Minnesota Twins and 2 of 3 from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Alex Rodriguez was injured during the series with Minnesota, suffering a strained left hamstring. He missed one game before returning to action that weekend against the Angels. After winning the weekend series with the Angels, the Yankees went into the break with a 42–43 record and a 10-game deficit in the division behind the Boston Red Sox. This is the first time since 1995 that the New York Yankees were under .500 before the All Star Break.^[8] After the break, the Yankees took three out of four games from the Toronto Blue Jays and the last place Tampa Bay Devil Rays, twice. In the month of July, the Yankees traded Scott Proctor for Wilson Betemit of the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[9] The Yankees also traded Jeff Kennard for Jose Molina.^[10]

August

The beginning of August saw the Yankees, along with all of Major League Baseball, eagerly awaiting home run number 500 from Alex Rodriguez. During the home run milestone chase George Steinbrenner's health once again came into question when the New York Post and the New York Daily News each reported that Steinbrenner, during a recent interview, appeared to be suffering from dementia.

[Steinbrenner] repeats, "Great to see ya", each time McEwen, 84, asks different questions about the Boss' family members. After gruffly responding to the Condé Nast reporter's question about the Yankees, he continues to repeat "Great to see ya", to each of McEwen's questions.

On August 4, 2007, during the first inning Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th career home run. Rodriguez became the youngest player ever to do so at 32 years, 8 days. On August 6, 2007, the Yankees cut relief pitcher Mike Myers and brought up Jim Brower. They had just completed a season sweep of the Cleveland Indians, winning all 6 games they played against them in 2007. This was a good start to the Yankees' upcoming tough schedule, where they played 17 games out of a 20-game span against playoff contenders. This included 8 games against the Detroit Tigers (4 at home, 4 at Detroit), 3 games against the Cleveland Indians, 3 games against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and 3 games against the Boston Red Sox.

August also saw rookie Phil Hughes rejoin the starting rotation, as well as the much anticipated debut of Joba Chamberlain, a future starter who gave the Yankees' bullpen some much needed help during the pennant race (an 0.38 ERA in 23.2 innings).

Hall of Fame Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto, who was also the long-time voice of the Yankees on television and radio, died on August 13. The Yankees wore his number 10 on their left sleeves for the remainder of the season.

The Yankees swept Boston at Yankee Stadium after dropping to eight games back in AL East standings. Coupled with losses by the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees' wins put them on top of the AL Wild Card race.

September

The Yankees' first game of September showcased rookie pitcher Ian Kennedy in his first career Major League start. Kennedy had replaced veteran Mike Mussina after Mussina had struggled in his previous three starts. Over seven innings pitched, Kennedy was charged with three runs, only one of which was earned, and the Yankees' offense was led by Alex Rodriguez's 45th home run of the season on the way to a 9–6 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The game against the Boston Red Sox on September 14 was 4 hours and 43 minutes, 2 minutes short of a nine inning game record, which is held by the Yankees and Red Sox.^[11] While the Yankees lost the American League East title to the Boston Red Sox on September 27, the Yankees clinched the wild card berth and appeared in the postseason for a 13th straight year. They faced the AL Central champions, the Cleveland Indians, in the ALDS, losing the series three games to one.

Season standings

v t e AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Red Sox	96	66	0.593	—	51–30	45–36
New York Yankees	94	68	0.580	2	52–29	42–39
Toronto Blue Jays	83	79	0.512	13	49–32	34–47
Baltimore Orioles	69	93	0.426	27	35–46	34–47
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	66	96	0.407	30	37–44	29–52

Record vs. opponents

2007 American League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Baltimore	—	6–12	5–3	3–4	1–5	7–0	3–7	0–7	9–9	4–4	2–7	11–7	4–6	8–10	6–12
Boston	12–6	—	7–1	5–2	3–4	3–3	6–4	4–3	8–10	4–4	4–5	13–5	6–4	9–9	12–6
Chicago	3–5	1–7	—	7–11	11–7	12–6	5–4	9–9	4–6	4–5	1–7	6–1	2–4	3–4	4–14
Cleveland	4–3	2–5	11–7	—	12–6	11–7	5–5	14–4	0–6	6–4	4–3	8–2	6–3	4–2	9–9
Detroit	5–1	4–3	7–11	6–12	—	11–7	3–5	12–6	4–4	4–6	6–4	3–4	5–4	4–3	14–4
Kansas City	0–7	3–3	6–12	7–11	7–11	—	5–2	9–9	1–9	6–4	3–6	4–3	5–4	3–4	10–8
Los Angeles	7–3	4–6	4–5	5–5	5–3	2–5	—	6–3	6–3	9–10	13–6	6–2	10–9	3–4	14–4
Minnesota	7–0	3–4	9–9	4–14	6–12	9–9	3–6	—	2–5	5–2	6–3	3–4	7–2	4–6	11–7
New York	9–9	10–8	6–4	6–0	4–4	9–1	3–6	5–2	—	2–4	5–5	10–8	5–1	10–8	10–8
Oakland	4–4	4–4	5–4	4–6	6–4	4–6	10–9	2–5	4–2	—	5–14	4–6	9–10	5–4	10–8
Seattle	7–2	5–4	7–1	3–4	4–6	6–3	6–13	3–6	5–5	14–5	—	4–3	11–8	4–5	9–9
Tampa Bay	7–11	5–13	1–6	2–8	4–3	3–4	2–6	4–3	8–10	6–4	3–4	—	5–4	9–9	7–11
Texas	6–4	4–6	4–2	3–6	4–5	4–5	9–10	2–7	1–5	10–9	8–11	4–5	—	5–5	11–7
Toronto	10–8	9–9	4–3	2–4	3–4	4–3	4–3	6–4	8–10	4–5	5–4	9–9	5–5	—	10–8

Roster

2007 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers 47 Colter Bean 39 Chris Britton 36 Jim Brower 33 Brian Bruney 62 Joba Chamberlain 22 Roger Clemens 19 Tyler Clippard 61,14 Matt DeSalvo 48 Kyle Farnsworth 34 Sean Henn 65 Phil Hughes 29 Kei Igawa 58,17 Jeff Karstens 36 Ian Kennedy 35 Mike Mussina 36 Mike Myers 60 Ross Ohlendorf 45 Carl Pavano 46 Andy Pettitte 43 Scott Proctor 31 Edwar Ramírez 27 Darrell Rasner 42 Mariano Rivera 41 José Veras 47 Ron Villone 52 Luis Vizcaíno 40 Chien-Ming Wang 38 Chase Wright		Catchers 26 José Molina 26 Wil Nieves 20 Jorge Posada Infielders 19 Chris Başak 14 Wilson Betemit 41 Miguel Cairo 24 Robinson Canó 25 Jason Giambi 63 Alberto González  2 Derek Jeter 11 Doug Mientkiewicz 31 Josh Phelps 12 Andy Phillips 13 Alex Rodriguez		Outfielders 53 Bobby Abreu 28 Melky Cabrera 18 Johnny Damon 17 Shelley Duncan 55 Hideki Matsui 64 Bronson Sardinha 19 Kevin Thompson		Manager  6 Joe Torre Coaches 50 Larry Bowa (third base) 49 Ron Guidry (pitching) 57 Joe Kerrigan (bullpen) 54 Kevin Long (hitting) 23 Don Mattingly (bench) 56 Tony Peña (first base)

Game log

2007 Game Log
April # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 2 Devil Rays 9–5 Vizcaíno (1–0) Stokes (0–1) 55,035 1–0 -- April 4 Devil Rays Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for July 21 1–0 2 April 5 Devil Rays 7–6 Lugo (1–0) Vizcaíno (1–1) Reyes (1) 52,096 1–1 3 April 6 Orioles 6–4 Loewen (1–0) Mussina (0–1) Ray (1) 50,074 1–2 4 April 7 Orioles 10 – 7 Rivera (1–0) Ray (0–1) 50,510 2–2 5 April 8 Orioles 6–4 Bédard (1–1) Rasner (0–1) Ray (2) 47,679 2–3 6 April 9 @ Twins 8–2 Pavano (1–0) Ponson (0–1) 26,047 3–3 7 April 10 @ Twins 10 – 1 Pettitte (1–0) Bonser (0–1) 24,552 4–3 8 April 11 @ Twins 5–1 Ortiz (2–0) Farnsworth (0–1) 30,131 4–4 9 April 13 @ Athletics 5–4 (11) Street (2–1) Bruney (0–1) 35,077 4–5 10 April 14 @ Athletics 4–3 (13) Bruney (1–1) DiNardo (0–1) 35,077 5–5 11 April 15 @ Athletics 5–4 Marshall (1–0) Rivera (1–1) 35,077 5–6 12 April 17 Indians 10 – 3 Wright (1–0) Westbrook (0–2) 38,438 6–6 13 April 18 Indians 9–2 Igawa (1–0) Sowers (0–1) 41,379 7–6 14 April 19 Indians 8–6 Henn (1–0) Borowski (0–1) 48,072 8–6 15 April 20 @ Red Sox 7–6 Snyder (1–0) Rivera (1–2) Okajima (1) 36,786 8–7 16 April 21 @ Red Sox 7–5 Beckett (4–0) Karstens (0–1) Papelbon (5) 36,342 8–8 17 April 22 @ Red Sox 7–6 Matsuzaka (2–2) Proctor (0–1) Papelbon (6) 36,905 8–9 18 April 23 @ Devil Rays 10 – 8 Fossum (2–1) Igawa (1–1) 20,409 8–10 19 April 24 @ Devil Rays 6–4 Salas (1–1) Wang (0–1) Reyes (7) 22,328 8–11 -- April 25 Blue Jays Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 24 8–11 20 April 26 Blue Jays 6–0 Burnett (2–0) Hughes (0–1) 45,118 8–12 21 April 27 Red Sox 11 – 4 Matsuzaka (3–2) Pettitte (1–1) 55,005 8–13 22 April 28 Red Sox 3–1 Igawa (2–1) Wakefield (2–3) Rivera (1) 55,026 9–13 23 April 29 Red Sox 7–4 Tavárez (1–2) Wang (0–2) Papelbon (8) 54,856 9–14
May # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 24 May 1 @ Rangers 10 – 1 Hughes (1–1) Loe (1–2) 32,310 10–14 -- May 2 @ Rangers Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for May 3 10–14 25 May 3 @ Rangers 4–3 Vizcaíno (2–1) Benoit (0–1) Rivera (2) ----- 11–14 26 May 3 @ Rangers 5–2 Mussina (1–1) Tejeda (3–2) Rivera (3) 40,671 12–14 27 May 4 Mariners 15 – 11 O'Flaherty (1–0) Bean (0–1) Putz (6) 49,519 12–15 28 May 5 Mariners 8–1 Wang (1–2) Weaver (0–5) 51,702 13–15 29 May 6 Mariners 5–0 Rasner (1–1) Washburn (2–3) 52,553 14–15 30 May 7 Mariners 3–2 Sherrill (1–0) Rivera (1–3) Putz (7) 47,424 14–16 31 May 8 Rangers 8–2 Pettitte (2–1) Wood (2–1) 50,705 15–16 32 May 9 Rangers 6–2 Mussina (2–1) Tejeda (3–3) 47,930 16–16 33 May 10 Rangers 14 – 2 McCarthy (2–4) Wang (1–3) 52,147 16–17 34 May 11 @ Mariners 3–0 Washburn (3–3) Rasner (1–2) Putz (8) 44,214 16–18 35 May 12 @ Mariners 7–2 DeSalvo (1–0) M. Batista (3–3) 46,153 17–18 36 May 13 @ Mariners 2–1 Ramírez (3–2) Pettitte (2–2) Putz (9) 46,181 17–19 -- May 15 @ White Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for May 16 17–19 37 May 16 @ White Sox 5–3 Danks (2–4) Mussina (2–2) Thornton (1) 30,953 17–20 38 May 16 @ White Sox 8–1 Wang (2–3) Contreras (3–4) 34,609 18–20 39 May 17 @ White Sox 4–1 Garland (3–2) DeSalvo (1–1) Jenks (13) 30,488 18–21 40 May 18 @ Mets 3–2 Pérez (5–3) Pettitte (2–3) B. Wagner (10) 56,337 18–22 41 May 19 @ Mets 10 – 7 Glavine (5–1) Rasner (1–3) 56,137 18–23 42 May 20 @ Mets 6–2 Clippard (1–0) Maine (5–2) 56,438 19–23 43 May 21 Red Sox 6–2 Wang (3–3) Wakefield (4–5) 55,078 20–23 44 May 22 Red Sox 7–3 Tavárez (2–4) Mussina (2–3) 54,739 20–24 45 May 23 Red Sox 8–3 Pettitte (3–3) Schilling (4–2) 55,000 21–24 46 May 25 Angels 10 – 6 Weaver (4–3) Clippard (1–1) 50,363 21–25 47 May 26 Angels 3–1 Escobar (6–2) Wang (3–4) Rodríguez (15) 52,536 21–26 48 May 27 Angels 4–3 Lackey (8–3) Proctor (0–2) Rodríguez (16) 53,508 21–27 49 May 28 @ Blue Jays 7–2 McGowan (1–2) DeSalvo (1–2) 28,791 21–28 50 May 29 @ Blue Jays 3–2 Accardo (1–0) Pettitte (3–4) 30,116 21–29 51 May 30 @ Blue Jays 10 – 5 Clippard (2–1) Litsch (1–2) Rivera (4) 29,187 22–29
June # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 52 June 1 @ Red Sox 9–5 Wang (4–4) Wakefield (5–6) 36,785 23–29 53 June 2 @ Red Sox 11 – 6 Okajima (1–0) Proctor (0–3) 36,294 23–30 54 June 3 @ Red Sox 6–5 Bruney (2–1) Papelbon (0–1) Rivera (5) 36,793 24–30 55 June 4 @ White Sox 6–4 Garland (4–3) DeSalvo (1–3) Jenks (16) 32,703 24–31 56 June 5 @ White Sox 7–3 Clippard (3–1) Buehrle (2–3) Rivera (6) 30,895 25–31 57 June 6 @ White Sox 5–1 Wang (5–4) Vázquez (3–4) 30,829 26–31 58 June 7 @ White Sox 10 – 3 Proctor (1–3) Contreras (4–6) Rivera (7) 32,688 27–31 59 June 8 Pirates 5–4 (10) Rivera (2–3) Capps (3–3) 54,240 28–31 60 June 9 Pirates 9–3 Clemens (1–0) Maholm (2–9) 54,296 29–31 61 June 10 Pirates 13 – 6 Henn (2–0) Chacón (2–1) 54,292 30–31 62 June 12 D-backs 4–1 Wang (6–4) Webb (6–4) Rivera (8) 51,577 31–31 63 June 13 D-backs 7–2 Mussina (3–3) Hernández (5–4) 53,891 32–31 64 June 14 D-backs 7–1 Pettitte (4–4) Davis (4–8) 53,712 33–31 65 June 15 Mets 2–0 Pérez (7–5) Clemens (1–1) Wagner (15) 55,159 33–32 66 June 16 Mets 11 – 8 Vizcaíno (3–1) Glavine (5–5) 55,064 34–32 67 June 17 Mets 8–2 Wang (7–4) Hernández (3–3) 55,060 35–32 68 June 19 @ Rockies 3–1 Fogg (3–5) Mussina (3–4) Fuentes (19) 48,077 35–33 69 June 20 @ Rockies 6–1 Francis (7–5) Pettitte (4–5) 48,440 35–34 70 June 21 @ Rockies 4–3 López (4–0) Clemens (1–2) Fuentes (20) 48,611 35–35 71 June 22 @ Giants 7–3 L. Vizcaíno (4–1) Cain (2–8) Rivera (9) 43,425 36–35 72 June 23 @ Giants 6–5 (13) Chulk (2–2) Proctor (1–4) 43,485 36–36 73 June 24 @ Giants 7–2 Lowry (7–6) Mussina (3–5) 43,503 36–37 74 June 26 @ Orioles 3–2 Ray (4–5) Proctor (1–5) 39,934 36–38 75 June 27 @ Orioles 4–0 Bédard (6–4) Clemens (1–3) 35,776 36–39 76 June 28 @ Orioles 8–7 * Myers (1–0) Parrish (2–1) Rivera (10) 40,737 37–39 77 June 29 Athletics 2–1 Mussina (4–5) Kennedy (2–6) Rivera (11) 52,622 38–39 78 June 30 Athletics 7–0 Gaudin (7–3) Igawa (2–2) 54,150 38–40 *Game suspended, completed July 27
July # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 79 July 1 Athletics 11 – 5 Haren (10–2) Pettitte (4–6) 54,266 38–41 80 July 2 Twins 5–1 Clemens (2–3) Bonser (1–5) 53,036 39–41 81 July 3 Twins 8–0 Wang (8–4) Silva (6–9) 53,862 40–41 82 July 4 Twins 6–2 Santana (10–6) Mussina (4–6) 52,040 40–42 83 July 5 Twins 7–6 Farnsworth (1–1) Neshek (3–1) Rivera (12) 52,471 41–42 84 July 6 Angels 14 – 9 Ramírez (1–0) Bootcheck (2–2) 52,059 42–42 85 July 7 Angels 2–1 (13) Rodríguez (2–2) Vizcaíno (4–2) 54,497 42–43 86 July 8 Angels 12 – 0 Wang (9–4) Santana (5–10) 53,921 43–43 87 July 12 @ Devil Rays 7–3 Pettitte (5–6) Shields (7–5) 21,907 44–43 88 July 13 @ Devil Rays 6–4 Kazmir (6–6) Clemens (2–4) Glover (2) 29,803 44–44 89 July 14 @ Devil Rays 6–4 Wang (10–4) Sonnanstine (1–4) Rivera (13) 36,048 45–44 90 July 15 @ Devil Rays 7–6 Vizcaíno (5–2) Fossum (5–8) Rivera (14) 36,048 46–44 91 July 16 Blue Jays 6–4 Proctor (2–5) Towers (4–6) Rivera (15) 52,993 47–44 92 July 17 Blue Jays 3–2 (10) Vizcaíno (6–2) Janssen (2–2) 51,961 48–44 93 July 18 Blue Jays 6–1 Myers (2–0) Marcum (5–4) Rivera (16) 52,147 49–44 94 July 19 Blue Jays 3–2 McGowan (6–5) Wang (10–5) Accardo (14) 53,857 49–45 95 July 20 Devil Rays 14 – 4 Jackson (2–9) Mussina (4–7) 53,957 49–46 96 July 21 Devil Rays 7–3 Vizcaíno (7–2) Ryu (1–2) 54,412 50–46 97 July 21 Devil Rays 17 – 5 Vizcaíno (8–2) Howell (1–4) 52,983 51–46 98 July 22 Devil Rays 21 – 4 Pettitte (6–6) Shields (8–6) 54,751 52–46 99 July 23 @ Royals 9–2 Clemens (3–4) Pérez (5–9) 30,746 53–46 100 July 24 @ Royals 9–4 Wang (11–5) Elarton (2–4) 38,212 54–46 101 July 25 @ Royals 7–1 Mussina (5–7) Meche (7–7) 28,460 55–46 102 July 26 @ Royals 7–0 de la Rosa (8–10) Igawa (2–3) 37,036 55–47 103 July 27 @ Orioles 4–2 Guthrie (7–3) Pettitte (6–7) Bradford (1) 47,952 55–48 104 July 28 @ Orioles 7–5 Burres (5–4) Clemens (3–5) Walker (3) 48,402 55–49 105 July 29 @ Orioles 10 – 6 Wang (12–5) Cabrera (7–11) 47,936 56–49 106 July 31 White Sox 16 – 3 Mussina (6–7) Contreras (5–14) 53,958 57–49
August # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 107 August 1 White Sox 8–1 Pettitte (7–7) Danks (6–8) 53,342 58–49 108 August 2 White Sox 13 – 9 Logan (2–0) Karstens (0–2) 54,869 58–50 109 August 3 Royals 7–1 Wang (13–5) Pérez (6–10) 54,246 59–50 110 August 4 Royals 16 – 8 Myers (3–0) Bale (0–1) 54,026 60–50 111 August 5 Royals 8–5 Mussina (7–7) Meche (7–9) Rivera (17) 54,525 61–50 112 August 6 @ Blue Jays 5–4 Pettitte (8–7) Downs (1–2) Rivera (18) 42,714 62–50 113 August 7 @ Blue Jays 9–2 Clemens (4–5) Towers (5–9) 38,078 63–50 114 August 8 @ Blue Jays 15 – 4 Halladay (13–5) Wang (13–6) 40,811 63–51 115 August 10 @ Indians 6–1 Hughes (2–1) Carmona (13–7) 41,675 64–51 116 August 11 @ Indians 11 – 2 Mussina (8–7) Byrd (10–5) 41,799 65–51 117 August 12 @ Indians 5–3 Pettitte (9–7) Westbrook (3–7) Rivera (19) 41,612 66–51 118 August 13 Orioles 7–6 Rivera (3–3) Bradford (1–5) 54,398 67–51 119 August 14 Orioles 12 – 0 Cabrera (9–12) Karstens (0–3) 52,567 67–52 120 August 15 Orioles 6–3 (10) Bradford (2–5) Rivera (3–4) 53,363 67–53 121 August 16 Tigers 8–5 Verlander (13–4) Mussina (8–8) 53,914 67–54 122 August 17 Tigers 6–1 Pettitte (10–7) Robertson (7–10) 54,290 68–54 123 August 18 Tigers 5–2 Clemens (5–5) Durbin (7–6) Rivera (20) 54,702 69–54 124 August 19 Tigers 9–3 Wang (14–6) Bonderman (10–6) Ramírez (1) 55,071 70–54 125 August 20 @ Angels 7–6 (10) Oliver (1–0) Henn (2–1) 44,249 70–55 126 August 21 @ Angels 18 – 9 Escobar (14–6) Mussina (8–9) Gwyn (1) 44,264 70–56 127 August 22 @ Angels 8–2 Pettitte (11–7) Lackey (15–8) 44,326 71–56 128 August 24 @ Tigers 9–6 (11) Durbin (8–6) Henn (2–2) 44,163 71–57 129 August 25 @ Tigers 7–2 Wang (15–6) Bonderman (10–7) 44,250 72–57 130 August 26 @ Tigers 5–4 Seay (1–0) Hughes (2–2) Jones (33) 43,268 72–58 131 August 27 @ Tigers 16 – 0 Verlander (14–5) Mussina (8–10) 42,428 72–59 132 August 28 Red Sox 5–3 Pettitte (12–7) Matsuzaka (13–11) Rivera (21) 55,037 73–59 133 August 29 Red Sox 4–3 Clemens (6–5) Beckett (16–6) Rivera (22) 54,986 74–59 134 August 30 Red Sox 5–0 Wang (16–6) Schilling (8–6) 55,067 75–59 135 August 31 Devil Rays 9–1 Sonnanstine (4–9) Hughes (2–3) 53,275 75–60
September # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 136 September 1 Devil Rays 9–6 Kennedy (1–0) Jackson (4–13) Rivera (23) 53,637 76–60 137 September 2 Devil Rays 8–2 Hammel (2–4) Pettitte (12–8) 53,957 76–61 138 September 3 Mariners 7–1 Hernández (11–7) Clemens (6–6) 54,522 76–62 139 September 4 Mariners 12 – 3 Wang (17–6) Ramírez (8–5) 52,487 77–62 140 September 5 Mariners 10 – 2 Chamberlain (1–0) Washburn (9–13) 52,538 78–62 141 September 7 @ Royals 3–2 Farnsworth (2–1) Musser (0–1) Rivera (24) 27,462 79–62 142 September 8 @ Royals 11 – 5 Pettitte (13–8) Bannister (12–8) 35,518 80–62 143 September 9 @ Royals 6–3 Wang (18–6) Duckworth (2–5) Rivera (25) 24,910 81–62 144 September 11 @ Blue Jays 9–2 Hughes (3–3) Marcum (12–6) 30,472 82–62 145 September 12 @ Blue Jays 4–1 Mussina (9–10) McGowan (10–9) Rivera (26) 27,082 83–62 146 September 13 @ Blue Jays 2–1 Downs (3–2) Britton (0–1) 32,632 83–63 147 September 14 @ Red Sox 8–7 Bruney (3–1) Papelbon (1–3) Rivera (27) 36,590 84–63 148 September 15 @ Red Sox 10 – 1 Beckett (19–6) Wang (18–7) 36,215 84–64 149 September 16 @ Red Sox 4–3 Chamberlain (2–0) Schilling (8–8) Rivera (28) 36,533 85–64 150 September 17 Orioles 8–5 Hughes (4–3) Cabrera (9–17) Rivera (29) 52,548 86–64 151 September 18 Orioles 12 – 0 Mussina (10–10) Leicester (2–2) 52,685 87–64 152 September 19 Orioles 2–1 Pettitte (14–8) Burres (6–6) Rivera (30) 53,857 88–64 153 September 21 Blue Jays 5–4 (14) Kennedy (4–9) Bruney (3–2) Frasor (3) 54,151 88–65 154 September 22 Blue Jays 12–11 (10) Karstens (1–3) Towers (5–10) 54,887 89–65 155 September 23 Blue Jays 7–5 Mussina (11–10) McGowan (11–10) Chamberlain (1) 54,983 90–65 156 September 24 Blue Jays 4–1 Litsch (7–9) Pettitte (14–9) Janssen (6) 53,261 90–66 157 September 25 @ Devil Rays 7–6 (10) Glover (6–5) Karstens (1–4) 24,503 90–67 158 September 26 @ Devil Rays 12 – 4 Wang (19–7) Howell (1–6) 21,621 91–67 159 September 27 @ Devil Rays 3–1 Hughes (5–3) Switzer (0–2) Veras (1) 28,962 92–67 160 September 28 @ Orioles 10 – 9 (10) Bradford (4–7) Ramírez (1–1) 38,113 92–68 161 September 29 @ Orioles 11 – 10 Pettitte (15–9) Cabrera (9–15) Veras (2) 47,616 93–68 162 September 30 @ Orioles 10 – 4 Wright (2–0) Burres (6–8) 43,589 94–68

Playoffs

ALDS vs. Cleveland Indians

2007 American League Division Series:

Game	Score	Date	Starting Pitchers	Winning pitcher	Losing pitcher
1	New York 3 at Cleveland 12	October 4	Chien-Ming Wang vs. CC Sabathia	CC Sabathia (1–0)	Chien-Ming Wang (0–1)
2	New York 1 at Cleveland 2	October 5	Andy Pettitte vs. Fausto Carmona	Rafael Pérez (1–0)	Luis Vizcaíno (0–1)
3	Cleveland 4 at New York 8	October 7	Jake Westbrook vs. Roger Clemens	Phil Hughes (1–0)	Jake Westbrook (0–1)
4	Cleveland 6 at New York 4	October 8	Paul Byrd vs. Chien-Ming Wang	Paul Byrd (1–0)	Chien-Ming Wang (0–2)

End of an era

On October 14, 2007, George Steinbrenner relinquished control of the Yankees to his two sons, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner. The brothers will take on control not only of the Yankees but also the YES Network and the construction of the new Yankee Stadium. "I'll pay more attention to the baseball part", Hank Steinbrenner said. "The stadium, that's more Hal. But basically everything will be decided jointly." Technically, Steinbrenner is not completely gone. He has given himself chairman-like position on the team. "George has taken on a role like the chairman of a major corporation", team president Randy Levine told the New York Post. "He's been saying for years he's wanted to get his sons involved in the family business. Both of them have stepped up and are taking on the day-to-day duties of what's required to run the Yankees."

After the Yankees were eliminated the postseason, the fate of Joe Torre, the Yankees' manager since 1996, was in question. The team mulled what to do while speculation grew that Torre would not be brought back as manager. The team eventually offered him a contract that had a reduced salary with incentives, but Torre, who felt he was being treated unfairly even after his long tenure with the team, rejected the offer. He subsequently was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees would hire Joe Girardi as Torre's replacement.

Player stats

For complete stats click here (external link)

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; AVG = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	AVG	HR	RBI
Bobby Abreu	158	605	171	.283	16	101
Chris Başak	5	1	0	.000	0	0
Wilson Betemit	37	84	19	.226	4	24
Melky Cabrera	150	545	149	.273	8	73
Miguel Cairo	54	107	27	.252	0	10
Robinson Canó	160	617	189	.306	19	97
Johnny Damon	141	533	144	.270	12	63
Shelley Duncan	34	74	19	.257	7	17
Jason Giambi	83	254	60	.236	14	39
Alberto González	12	14	1	.071	0	1
Derek Jeter	156	639	206	.322	12	73
Hideki Matsui	143	547	156	.285	25	103
Doug Mientkiewicz	72	166	46	.277	5	24
José Molina	29	66	21	.318	1	9
Wil Nieves	26	61	10	.164	0	8
Josh Phelps	36	80	21	.263	2	12
Andy Phillips	61	185	54	.292	2	25
Jorge Posada	144	506	171	.338	20	90
Alex Rodriguez	158	583	183	.314	54	156
Bronson Sardinha	10	9	3	.333	0	2
Kevin Thompson	13	21	4	.190	0	2
Pitcher Totals	162	20	2	.100	0	0
Team Totals	162	5717	1656	.290	201	929

Pitching

Starting and other pitchers

Note: G = Game pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Roger Clemens	18	99.0	6	6	4.18	68
*Tyler Clippard	6	27.0	3	1	6.33	18
Matt DeSalvo	7	27.2	1	3	6.18	10
Philip Hughes	13	72.2	5	3	4.46	58
Kei Igawa	14	67.2	2	3	6.25	53
Jeff Karstens	7	14.2	1	4	11.05	5
Ian Kennedy	3	19.0	1	0	1.89	15
Mike Mussina	28	152.0	11	10	5.15	91
*Carl Pavano	2	11.1	1	0	4.76	4
Andy Pettitte (1 HLD)	36	215.1	15	9	4.05	141
*Darrell Rasner	6	24.2	1	3	4.01	11
Chien-Ming Wang	30	199.1	19	7	3.70	104
*Chase Wright	3	10.0	2	0	7.20	8

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; SV = Saves; W = Wins; L = Losses; H = Holds; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	H	SV	ERA	SO
*Colter Bean	3	3.0	0	1	0	0	12.00	2
Chris Britton	11	12.2	0	1	0	0	3.55	5
*Jim Brower	3	3.1	0	0	1	0	13.50	1
Brian Bruney	58	50.0	3	2	6	0	4.68	39
Joba Chamberlain	19	24.0	2	0	8	1	0.38	34
Kyle Farnsworth	64	60.0	2	1	15	0	4.80	48
Sean Henn	29	36.2	2	2	2	0	7.12	28
+Mike Myers	55	40.2	3	0	4	0	2.66	21
Ross Ohlendorf	6	6.1	0	0	1	0	2.84	9
+Scott Proctor	52	54.1	2	5	11	0	3.81	37
Edwar Ramírez	21	21.0	1	1	3	1	8.14	31
Mariano Rivera	67	71.1	3	4	0	30	3.15	74
José Veras	9	9.1	0	0	1	2	5.79	7
Ron Villone	37	42.1	0	0	4	0	4.25	25
Luis Vizcaíno	77	75.1	8	2	13	0	4.30	62
Team Pitching Totals	162	1450.2	94	68	70	34	4.49	1009

*Ended season not on active roster
+ Ended season playing for different team

Farm system

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	Mike Gillespie
Rookie	GCL Yankees	Gulf Coast League	Jody Reed

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Yankees

References

• 2007 New York Yankees at Baseball Reference
• 2007 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com