The New York Yankees controlled their own destiny.
With the Baltimore Orioles still one game behind, all they had to do was win to clinch the American League East division. They could have done it quietly. Instead, they finished the 2012 regular season with an exclamation point, powering past the Red Sox 14-2 on Wednesday night.
The team hit four home runs and got a great pitching performance from Hiroki Kuroda to win the division for the 13th time in the past 17 years. The team officially clinched the division in the seventh inning after the Orioles lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1. Baltimore will face the Texas Rangers in the one-game, wild-card playoff on Friday.
"This was difficult. Come into the last day of the season, nobody knows what's going on. We've been taking it one day at a time for quite some time," shortstop Derek Jeter said to the Associated Press. "It feels good."
The Yankees spent most of September clinging to first place after blowing a 10-game lead in the division to the Orioles. While Baltimore was able to catch the Yankees in the standings, New York never went to bed in second place and will now await the winner of the wild-card round.
"This year we had to fight, scratch and claw," Nick Swisher said.
Robinson Cano continued his hot hitting, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs, while Curtis Granderson hit two home runs as well. Granderson finished the season with 43 home runs, one behind Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera for the league-lead.
According to ESPN.com, Cano has hit for a .615 average over nine games, getting at least two hits in each of them.
"Now the real season starts," Jeter said.
New York clinched home field advantage through the playoffs with the win, but will start on the road on Sunday due to the new playoff format. For this season only, due to travel and scheduling, the winner of the wild-card game will host the Yankees for two games before traveling to Yankee Stadium for the next three. The Yankees have to wait for the result of Orioles-Rangers before they can travel.
"To have the best record and not know where you're going is strange," manager Joe Girardi said.
According to ESPN.com, the Yankees set a franchise record this season with 245 home runs. The four in the final game helped clinch the record.
Kuroda was stellar for New York, capping off a consistent season for the Yankees. He improved to 16-11, pitching seven innings and allowing two runs on seven hits.
The Red Sox got beaten handily, which could be symbolic for their season as a whole. The team finished with a 69-93 record, good for last in the AL East. Manager Bobby Valentine has had a hard time this season, dealing with player drama, media controversy and bad play.
"Very disappointing season. Extremely disappointing," Valentine said.
Daisuke Matsuzaka started for the Red Sox and only lasted 2.1 innings before being taken out. He gave up five runs on six hits and only struck out two batters. Six Boston relievers pitched the rest of the game, combining to give up nine runs and nine hits.
"I didn't expect my six years to end the way it did," Matsuzaka said through a translator. "It has been really hard on me mentally for a while now."
Yankee Captain Derek Jeter capped off an amazing season, adding another hit to his league-leading total of 216. He finished with a .316 batting average, his highest since 2009, scored 99 runs, hit 32 doubles and had 58 RBIs.
Manager Joe Girardi spoke to ESPNNewYork.com about Jeter's season after the game.
"Remarkable," Girardi said. "I think exceeding everyone's expectations, his leadership, his ability to play hurt. A guy 38 (years old) is not supposed to get (nearly) 700 plate appearances. It is not supposed to happen, except for maybe a DH. And he played shortstop every day and he played hurt. It is truly remarkable. For me, it is one of the greatest seasons I have ever seen, considering all the factors."
New York avoided blowing the biggest division lead in team history by winning and put themselves in a prime position entering the playoffs.
"I think having that experience in there when it got to zero no one panicked," He said of the division lead. "They had the same personality every day. The looseness, some of the guys were goofy."
The Yankees will try to reach their first World Series since winning it all in 2009 and although they will have to wait to find out who they will play, the team likes its chances.
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