Between the 1990s and 2000s it was very easy to identify those players born in Puerto Rico who wore the striped jerseys of the New York Yankees during the playoffs.
Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada were constant figures on the Bronx Mules, including the dynasty of the late ’90s and early 2000s with four titles in five seasons.
Williams, for example, totaled 12 postseason appearances with 25 series played. He played for the Yankees from 1995 to 2006.
Posada, for his part, accumulated 15 playoff appearances with 29 series. He debuted in 1995 and ended his career in 2011. Posada was also part of the 2009 title, the franchise’s last.
During those years, other players born on the island served with the Yankees. Ruben “El Indio” Sierra and Ricky Ledee, likewise, were active in different stages with the Yankees during the postseason.
Ledee won two World Series championships in 1998 and 1999. In the 1998 Fall Classic he went 6-for-10 with three doubles and four RBIs.
After Posada retired in 2011, the Yankees made the playoffs in 2012 without players born in Puerto Rico. In 2013 and 2014 they were left out of the postseason.
And in the 2015 campaign, the Yankees reappeared with Manati native outfielder Carlos Beltran in the cast. The Yankees faced the Houston Astros in a wild card elimination game and lost.
Since then, the New York team has qualified for the postseason seven times, including this year.
And how many players born on the island have participated with the Yankees in the playoffs during this time?
Beltran was the last.
Yes, there was a player of Puerto Rican descent who was active in the 2021 playoffs. It was the shortstop Andrew Velazquez.
This season, the Yankees signed the pitcher Marcus Stromananother player with Puerto Rican roots, but was not part of the squad in the Division Series against the Kansas City Royals.
Starting Monday, the Yankees will play in the American Championship Series against the winner of Detroit and Cleveland.
