The definition of sanity.

Is it just me, or does Brian Cashman look more like Paul Schaefer every year?

Speculation continues to roil that Cashie is going to let Boone go. I will believe it when I see it—and I won't see it this year, not with the big labor fight looming.

At least the Yankees' failure was so egregious this October that it even started to penetrate the minds of many of the New York sports media.

SNY—granted, the Mets' channel—has been especially good on this. Soon after Trent Grisham went down barfing, the wonderful Sal Licata was on the air screaming about "ACCOUNTABILITY!" Marc Malusis said straight out that the Yankees didn't win "because they have no intestinal fortitude."

The great John Yastrzemski—a Yankees fan—scornfully wondered if Aaron Boone would once again bring out the tape of the Red Sox coming back from down 3-0 in games in 2004, to "inspire" the Yanks, just as Boone did before, during the Astros' 2022 sweep of the Bombers.

From other Knights of the Press Box, you even began to hear that shopworn cliché about "the definition of insanity"—that is, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

But of course that has nothing to do with what happened to the Yankees in 2026. Quite the opposite.

In fact, the 2026 Yankees "ran it back"—and achieved almost exactly the results they had for the previous two years, and for most of the now 17 seasons since they last won a World Series.

And they were exactly what Hal Steinbrenner wanted.

The 2026 Yankees won 93 games, as opposed to 94 in 2025 and 2024. But they were deprived of one home game by that early hurricane that drenched the last weekend of the season.

They finished second to the Toronto Blue Jays in attendance, after leading the AL in the last 4 straight seasons, 6 of the last 7, and 19 of the last 23. Their average gate of 41,214 was also down a little from 41,885. 

But again, here is where that pesky hurricane distorted reality. Officially—due to the rainout and a hastily scheduled doubleheader on that last weekend—the Yanks lost out on the attendance crown by about 41,000 to the Jays. 

But the Bombers are credited with only 79 home games, meaning that they would have easily passed Toronto with that last weekend. And believe me, they already have the cash from most of those missing fans, to be compensated with a make-up game against the Mariners or the Wandering A's, sometime in 2027—provided there is a 2027.

What does that mean, in terms of profits? 

Hard to say, exactly, which is very much how all major-league owners like it. Thanks to the luxury tax, bond payments, and those property taxes that Hal grouses so bitterly about, the Yankees actually claimed to have lost $53 million in 2025.

This is ludicrous, of course—and something that doesn't bode well for the coming labor negotiations.

Zachary D. Rhymer, writing for bleacherreport online, (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25508132-now-time-new-york-yankees-burn-it-down), notes that:

"Back in 2011, the Yankees' year-end $216 million payroll accounted for 49 percent of $439 million in revenue. Last year, they had a $301.5 million payroll against $710 million in revenue. That's 42 percent."

 Whoops. Hal, your black ink is showing. 

For this year, well, just do the math. Again, stats for the average ticket price at Yankee Stadium differ widely online—is any other major, publicly subsidized corporation so difficult to get accurate financial information about; outside of sports, that is?—but one internet figure for online, "face value" tickets is $67.75, the highest such ducat in baseball.

Do the math—or, plug the figures into your handy-dandy, fingertip source of all knowledge—and you get over $223 million ($223,382,183.50, to be precise. But I hate to show off.) 

Baseballreference puts the Yanks' estimated payroll this season at $284,070, 833. I don't know if that includes the dreaded luxury tax—maybe not.

But then, the attendance money above doesn't include those two missed, regular-season games. Or the three, jumped-up playoff games this October. 

Or, I suspect, any of the revenue from the Stadium's luxury boxes, or the Legends Suite, or the incredibly overpriced rat dogs and other comestibles. Or the beer, or the souvenirs and all the gear—onsite and off. All the corporate sponsors and tie-ins, all those "Official Mobbed-Up Waste Disposal Contractor of the New York Yankees" ads.  

Or that other thing...what was it again?  

Oh, yeah.  All the broadcasting rights.  In everything.  And several languages.

Then there was that $2.6 billion, Apollo Global Management investment, that kicked the Yankees estimated value up to $12 billion. 

So...definition of insanity? 

Not in the least. Hal Steinbrenner and his minions set out, as always, to maximize the club's profits while investing the minimum they figured they could get away with...for this year and all the years ahead. 

They did not go all out to win the World Series, because they understood the demands that would make on the payroll in the immediate future (Just look at the Knicks.)

Sure, they got lucky about a few things. If, say, Aaron Judge had remained healthy or Giancarlo Stanton had come off the DL a month earlier, the Yankees' pitching might actually have been good enough to go all the way, all that Jazz notwithstanding.

But overall, the Yankees did exactly what they set out to do. By the lights of Hal and his family, 2026 was another, unmitigated success. 

And now they are leading the fight to erase their New York team's major, competitive advantage—being the best team in the biggest market in the country—and increase their profits by even more in the future.

Insane like a fox!