It’s been more than three decades since the New York Yankees had a losing season.
With a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday, the Yankees improved their record to 82-65 and clinched their 33rd straight season with a winning record. That breaks a tie with the Montreal Canadiens’ golden era for the second-longest streak in the history of the four major North American sports leagues.
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The only longer streak is held by the Yankees’ 39-year era in which they won 19 World Series titles with the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. New York has won five titles during this current streak, though famously none since 2009.
The full list of teams with a winning season streak of at least two decades:
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New York Yankees, 39 seasons (1926-1964, MLB)
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New York Yankees, 33 seasons (1993 to present, MLB)
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Montreal Canadiens, 32 seasons (1952-1983, NHL)
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Boston Bruins, 29 seasons (1968-1996, NHL)
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Detroit Red Wings, 24 seasons (1992-2016, NHL)
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San Antonio Spurs, 22 seasons (1998-2019, NBA)
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Dallas Cowboys, 20 seasons (1966-1985, NFL)
That list holds even if you expand the definition of major North American leagues to include MLS, the CFL and the WNBA. The New York Red Bulls (nine season, 2010-2018), Edmonton Eskimos (14 seasons, 1984-1997) and Las Vegas Aces (seven season, 2019-present) respectively hold the high watermarks there.
The longest non-Yankees MLB streak is held by the Baltimore Orioles (18 seasons, 1968-1985), while the Los Angeles Dodgers have the second-longest active streak and are tied for the longest NL streak with their current run of 15 seasons.
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The Yankees’ win on Friday was an eventful one beyond the history, as Aaron Judge hit his 362nd career homer to pass DiMaggio on the team’s all-time homer list (the only three ahead of him, Ruth, Mantle and Gehrig). Starting pitcher Luis Gil also began the game with six no-hit innings before exiting with 93 pitches thrown.
Reliever Fernando Cruz lost the combined no-hit bid in the seventh inning with a solo homer allowed to Nate Eaton for Boston’s only run of the game.
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