Yankees could break MLB’s wins record

The mighty New York Yankees went 16 innings without a hit over the weekend, leaving them eight outs from being no-hit in consecutive games. What happened next? A comeback, walk-off win over the Houston Astros on Sunday. Then a comeback win from four runs down against the Oakland Athletics on Monday, New York’s 54th victory of the season, which continued the team’s flirtation with a record pace.

The Yankees have the most wins in baseball, seven more than their crosstownrival New York Mets. The Bronx Bombers have scored the most runs per game (5.1) and allowed the fewest (3.1). How high are expectations getting? Historically high.

The Yankees’ winning percentage of .730 entering Tuesday was tied for the ninth-best start to an MLB season through 74 games, with only one of the eight teams that had a higher win rate — the 2001 Seattle Mariners — making such a run this century. Those Mariners wound up tying the record for wins in a 162game season with 116, equaling a mark set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs. At the most basic level, if the Yankees maintain this win rate over 162 games, they would win 118 games, an astounding figure.

The 1906 Cubs accomplished their feat in a shorter season (152 games), so Chicago holds the best winning percentage in baseball history (.763), which the Yankees are unlikely to threaten. And the Dodgers went 43-17 (.717) in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season for a slightly better winning percentage than the 2001 Mariners (.716). In any case, New York has a chance to eclipse the Mariners’ mark while chasing

Mike Stobe / Getty Images The Yankees’ Aaron Judge celebrates after defeating the Athletics 9-5 at Yankee Stadium on Monday in New York.