Being Best at the All-Star Break Bodes Well for Yankees The All-Star Game break, though not at the exact midpoint of the season, has traditionally been the dividing line at which players and teams size up how the season is going. It is a time for projection as well. Reggie Jackson's 37 home runs in 1969 had people dreaming of 70 (he finished with 47), and Juan Gonzalez's 101 runs batted in in 1998 had the name Hack Wilson on the tip of everyone's tongue. Gonzalez ended with 157, short of Wilson's 191 in 1930. But when it comes to a team having the best record at the break, everyone else takes a back seat to the Yankees. Since the All-Star Game began, in 1933, the Yankees have had the best record in the major leagues a record 15 times heading into the break, including this season. In a lot of ways 2012 might be the most surprising of the 15, as the Yankees endured a poor start and significant injuries, particularly to the pitching staff. Debating the first half's low point for the Yankees would produce several candidates, but losing closer Mariano Rivera for the season on May 3 and having the team's record fall to 21-21 (5.5 games out of first place) on May 21 would be top contenders. "I'm proud of these guys because not only have we had injuries, we've had situations where things haven't gone our way," Manager Joe Girardi told reporters after Sunday night's win over the Boston Red Sox left the Yankees with the best mark in baseball. Indeed, at 52-33, New York holds a seven-game lead in the American League East, which no longer has any pushover teams but also does not seem to have anyone strong enough to challenge the Yankees, either. As a result, the Yankees appear well on their way to their 17th postseason appearance in the last 18 seasons. An advanced statistical analysis by Coolstandings.com shows the Yankees have an 89.2 percent chance of making the playoffs. That should assure even the most uneasy of Yankees fans, but they and the team could simply look at recent history to assure themselves that a second-half collapse is extremely unlikely. The last team to lead at the break and fail to make the postseason was the 1993 San Francisco Giants, who were 59-33 when the All-Star Game arrived but lost out in what some have called the last great regular-season playoff race. The Atlanta Braves overtook them on the season's final day, winning 104 games to the Giants" 103. In the next full season, 1995, baseball introduced the wild card, and the top team at the break has made the playoffs each season since. Thirty-five times since 1933 the team leading at the break ended with more than 100 wins, and only five times has a team led at the break and subsequently failed to win 90 or more games in a nonstrike season. Over all, more teams have won the World Series after leading at the break (27) than have failed to qualify for postseason play (17). Another 21 of the teams leading at the break made it to the World Series but lost. The Yankees have accounted for nine of those World Series wins (and three of the losses) and have never failed to make the playoffs after leading at the break. And if recent history is any indication, this year's smooth ride should continue for the Yankees as July has long been a favorite month for the team (they are 5-3 so far this year). The Yankees have finished July with a winning record in each of the last 19 seasons, which, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, puts them way ahead of the previous record of 15, set by the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1899 to 1913. Coming out of the break, the Yankees will be looking forward to the probable return of the team's ace, C.C. Sabathia, on July 17. That still leaves Andy Pettitte on the disabled list after fracturing his left ankle, and the Yankees have to hope their pitching will be sufficient when October arrives and the competition is more intense. But until then, the Yankees have history on their side, along with a powerful lineup.