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COLIN COWHERD — ALCS GAME 4 MONOLOGUE
You know… every postseason, there’s that one game where the truth comes out. Not the branding, not the mythology, not the pinstripes or the Pacific Northwest charm — the truth about who you actually are.
And Game 4 at Yankee Stadium?
Yeah. That was a truth-teller.
Because Seattle — the team with the reputation for coming up small, the franchise that’s turned “ALCS appearance” into a cottage industry — walked right into the house of baseball’s cathedral, into the most pressurized ballpark in the sport… and they didn’t blink. In fact, they didn’t even flinch.
They just hit. And hit. And hit some more.
Nineteen hits. Nineteen. Against the Yankees. In their building. In a game New York could have taken complete control of the series. That’s not scrappy, that’s not cute, that’s not “hey look, they’re hanging in there.”
That is big-boy baseball.
That is grown-up baseball.
That is “we’re not impressed by your history” baseball.
Matt Campbell? He looked like the best right fielder in the world. Four hits. Calm. Professional. Almost bored with the moment. That's what stars look like. Not loud, not dramatic — just productive.
And Jonathan Gonzales? Look, there are guys who shrink when the contract kicks in… and then there are guys who justify the direct deposit. Three hits, three RBI, and every one of them felt like a body shot the Yankees never recovered from.
Seattle wasn’t lucky. They weren’t opportunistic. They were better. More poised. More prepared. More physical in the batter’s box. This series has tilted — you can feel it.
And New York?
Look, I’ve said this for years: the Yankees have become the great American brand without being the great American team. The stadium is full, the jerseys are iconic, the mystique is marketed beautifully… but when you give up a six-run eighth inning at home in October? That’s not mystique. That’s not aura. That’s a bullpen getting run over by a truck.
Jorge Abdul-Ra’uf — a 10.97 ERA in the series — that’s not championship pitching, that’s a Google search for “help.”
Seattle punched first, punched harder, and then in the eighth inning? They basically punched through the wall.
The series is tied 2-2 — but it doesn’t feel tied. It feels like Seattle is the grown-up in the room, and New York is hoping the brand does the heavy lifting.
And tomorrow?
We find out if the Yankees have one of those classic “New York moments”…
or if the Mariners — the team with all the ghosts, all the ALCS scars — just keep walking right past the velvet rope and into baseball’s biggest room.
This thing just got real.
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