New York Yankees: ALCS brings in cross town opponent from 31 years ago

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 11: CC Sabathia (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 11: CC Sabathia (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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The New York Yankees face off with an opponent that reminds us of baseball back in the 1980s.

The New York Yankees are back in the ALCS for the umpteenth time. Kudos to Joe Girardi for keeping his team focused when down 2-0, allowing them to come all the way back and win three straight. Didi Gregorius got it going with two home runs and Aroldis Champman finished it up to secure the game five victory. The Yankees are four wins away from another World Series appearance.

Tonight they get it going in Houston against the Astros. You know how they say that history repeats itself? They also talk about how sports go in cycles. Teams go through a good run of years, endure some lean ones before they come back to prominence once again. Look around all of the sports. For the most part you will find that to be true.

Sometimes, history repeats itself in a cyclical manner. Things come back from the past after a period of time as opposed to quickly. For example, under the direction of Terry Francona, the Red Sox came back from 3-0 down in the ALCS against the Yankees to win the series in 2004. This year the Yankees came back from 2-0 down to beat the Indians, under the direction of Terry Francona.

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Most of you know that prior to 2013, the Houston Astros were part of the National League. Not all of you will remember, however, that 31 years ago, the Astros were involved in the championship series. That series was also against New York.

October 8, 1986 marked the beginning of the National League Championship series. There was no Wild Card at the time so this was a battle of two division winners. Nolan Ryan and the Houston Astros faced off against none other than the New York Mets.

See? History took 31 years and a few days to repeat itself. Granted it was on a different side of baseball, being in the American League this time versus the National League. Still, it’s Houston vs. New York, 31 years later.

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That series was a back and forth classic with a game for the ages to end it in game six. Could this series be similar? Who knows. Two very solid teams, anything could happen. It should be an exciting series.