In the emotional times of September 2001 in New York City , following the September 11 attack on New York 's World Trade Center , the Yankees defeated the Oakland A 's three games to two in the ALDS , and then the Seattle Mariners , who had won 116 games , four games to one in the ALCS . By winning the pennant for a fourth straight year , the 1998 – 2001 Yankees joined the 1921 – 1924 New York Giants , and the Yankee teams of 1936 – 1939 , 1949 – 1953 , 1955 – 1958 and 1960 – 1964 as the only dynasties to reach at least four straight pennants . The Yankees had now won eleven consecutive postseason series over a four-year period . However , the Yankees lost the World Series in a dramatic 7 game series to the Arizona Diamondbacks , when Yankees star closer Mariano Rivera uncharacteristically lost the lead – and the Series – in the bottom of the ninth inning of the final game . With the loss , this marked the second time in five years that a team lost the World Series after taking a lead into the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 ( following the Cleveland Indians in ) and the first time since that the home team won the seventh game of a World Series
September 11 attack
September 11 attacks
2001 New York Yankees season