The 2023 Yankees entered the season with hopes of achieving something great. Although 2022 ended in an ALCS sweep, they had still been one of the final four teams standing, and with newly-christened captain Aaron Judge re-signed to a big contract alongside free agent lefty Carlos Rodón and rookie prospect Anthony Volpe (among others), the Yanks thought that their core could bring them back to the Fall Classic for the first time since 2009.
That ... did not happen. It was about as much of a disaster as it possibly could be while still technically being a winning campaign.