The Guardians (formerly called the Indians) and Yankees have been around for a long time. Cleveland is a charter member of the American League, which was established in 1901, and the Yankees were born two years later.

In the 121 years during which both have been Major League franchises, they have met in the postseason six times: 1997, 1998, 2007, 2017, 2020 and 2022. In that span, the clubs have been pretty evenly matched, with New York winning 15 games and Cleveland winning 12. 

Prior to the advent of the Wild Card in 1994, both were in the AL East and therefore did not match up in the playoffs.

Including this year’s AL Championship Series, the seven meetings between the Guardians and Yankees are topped only by the 11 times the Yankees and Dodgers faced off in the playoffs as the most common postseason matchup in MLB history.