Yankees celebrate AL East championship highlights

Napoleon Bonaparte supposedly said, “Champagne! In victory one deserves it, in defeat one needs it!” Whether apocryphal or not, the sentiment resonated with the Yankees last night. Fresh off clinching the AL East championship, the Bombers took to the clubhouse—and Yankee Stadium field—for a champagne celebration.

In keeping with a time-honored Pinstripe Alley tradition, we gathered our favorite moments from the festivities. Enjoy!

Aroldis Chapman had his A-stuff on Thursday night, dialing his fastball up to 103 mph. It was obvious he was amped about the prospect of clinching the division. Funny enough, he struck Albert Pujols out on a slider to end the game and start the on-field celebration.

Once inside the clubhouse, the YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits conducted interviews with a number of players players. Some highlights include:

Aaron Judge capturing the team’s passion and hunger for success, complete with a phenomenal cameo from Tyler Wade.

Brett Gardner gets philosophical, pointing out Mike King’s first day in the big leagues ends with a championship celebration. He also jokes about his emergence as a power hitter: “It is easier to jog around the bases than to have to run a hard 90 and then steal second and all that.”

Luke Voit led the team in drenching Marakovits in champagne before finishing off his bottle and spiking it to the ground. He someone wasn’t the most lit member of the team, however, as the honor belonged to one Tommy Kahnle...

As Gardner and Marakovits discussed, Kahnle was doing tarp slides in the clubhouse.

I’m not sure if Kahnle has eclipsed John Ryan Murphy as the funniest reveler, but he’s up there.

Didi Gregorius then gathered the team for a group photo on the field, and it turned out remarkably well.

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Of course, you need your daily dose of Masahiro Tanaka being a gem.

These highlights just scratch the surface. What were your favorite moments? Share them with us in the comment section!