The term “drought” gets thrown around often in sports for teams that haven’t made the playoffs or won a championship in some time. The word can mean different things to different fan bases in different contexts, and the 2024 American League Championship Series is all about the context of the word “drought.”
The New York Yankees, winners of 27 World Series championships, are in a bit of a title drought. The franchise hasn’t won the World Series in 15 years, the third-longest span they’ve gone without winning since their first title in 1921. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and the rest of the modern Bronx Bombers are looking to change that in 2024, as the top-seeded Yankees are in the ALCS for the sixth time since they last made it to — and won — the Fall Classic in 2009.
A title drought has a completely different meaning for the Cleveland Guardians, who last won the World Series in 1948 and have won the AL pennant only four times since then. This year’s version finished second in the AL in wins — behind only the Yankees — and took out their AL Central rival Detroit Tigers in the ALDS to get here.