Yankees general manager Brian Cashman blames Astros scandal for global drought streak: ‘We did it the right way’

The New York Yankees He hasn’t won a Major League or World Championship since 2009, making this the longest drought the franchise has faced since the 1980s. (The Yankees lost the 1981 World Championships, then didn’t make it to the Fall Classic again until they won it in 1996.) General Manager Brian Cashman believes that fact should come, if not with an asterisk, at least a context that goes deeper The Yankees lost the 2017 MLS Championship against Houston Astros.

“The only thing that stopped us was something terrifying and illegal” Cashman told Athletic’s Andy McCullough. “I was offended when I started hearing that we haven’t been to the world championships since 2009. Because I’m like, ‘Well, I think we did it the right way.’ “Drag it down, put it back on. Made well, traded well, developed well, and fell well. The only thing that derailed us was the cheating circumstances that kicked us out.”

Cashman, of course, refers to the Astros signal-stealing scandal. The Astros hacked the opposing teams’ banners using a live broadcast of the game, then relayed the signals to their hitter by hitting a trash can in the club’s tunnel for at least the 2017 season. Subsequently, Major League Baseball penalized the Astros by stripping them of draft picks, fining them, and suspending general manager Jeff Lono and manager A.J. Hinch. (The Astros later fired both characters.)

The Yankees were 3-2 up at ALCS 2017. They then lost back-to-back games in Houston by 11-1 to end the season.

It should be noted that the Yankees have had their own problems with technological misconduct over the years, albeit not to the extremes of the Astros. A judge recently ruled that a letter from Commissioner Rob Manfred to Cashman must be opened. This message was originally composed after an uproar between the Yankees and Boston Red Sox regarding the illegal use of Apple Watches.