More with the Yankees than with any other North American sports team, you dig into the files.

You look at the 2015 Yankees, and you ask: Of which previous year does this group remind you?

For me, two years, 1996 and 2004, come to mind. Here’s why:

1) Those clubs, like this one, staked out substantial American League East leads at about the two-thirds mark.

2) Those clubs, like this one, faced the challenge of divisional rivals that looked quite imposing, the Yankees’ large divisional leads notwithstanding. Those teams saw their advantages dwindle considerably before righting themselves in time to win the division. We’ll see what transpires with the current Yankees.

3) Those clubs, like this one, relied heavily upon their bullpen.

Now, the obvious follow-up: The former of those seasons, 1996, ranks among the most beloved of championship teams. The latter, 2004, suffered the greatest postseason collapse in baseball history, blowing a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox in the AL Championship Series.

So can these Yankees, 59-45 through 104 games, benefit from their own history? Let’s look back, discover the similarities and differences among these three teams and determine which avenues the ’15 Yankees should take and which pitfalls they should try to avoid.

The 2015 Yankees have scored the second-most runs in the AL (512) and, entering Monday’s games, had placed 11th in runs allowed (452). Which makes them more similar to the ’04 Yankees (second in runs scored, sixth in runs allowed) than the ’96 Yankees (ninth in runs scored, third in runs allowed).

The last team to rank 11th in runs allowed in its league and make the playoffs was the 2007 Phillies, whose 821 runs allowed put them in 12th place in the National League. In the wild-card era (since 1995), a team has never ranked 11th or worse in runs allowed and advanced to the World Series, let alone won it.

That of course doesn’t mean the Yankees are doomed; trends are made to be broken in the small sample sizes of October. However, the Yankees obviously could use some help with their pitching staff. While the ’04 Yankees enjoyed the July return of Orlando Hernandez, who missed the prior year and a half due to right shoulder surgery, El Duque tired at the end of the regular season and made just one mediocre, five-inning postseason appearance. Esteban Loaiza, a July trade acquisition, quickly turned into a bust.

The ’96 Yankees added Cecil Fielder, Charlie Hayes, Graeme Lloyd, Luis Sojo, Darryl Strawberry and David Weathers in July and August. It added up to a significant upgrade.

These Yankees’ biggest midseason import might be Luis Severino, who will make his major league debut Wednesday night against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Nevertheless, you expect them to be aggressive this month with waiver claims, given their need for pitching and that they took on very little money (just Dustin Ackley, who will cost about $1 million) in July.

Asked by The Post’s George King on Monday about his August approach to waiver claims, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said: “We will see. We’re not in a real good position because of our record. Players have to get to us.”

Through 104 games, the ’96 Yankees (63-41) owned an 11-game lead on Baltimore (52-52). That dropped to 2½ between games 142 and 143, and then the Yankees held on. In ’04, through 104 the Yankees (66-38) led the Red Sox (56-47) by 9½ games. That dropped to 2½ after Game 134, and not lower than that until the Yankees clinched.

These Yankees’ lead stood at 5½ games over Toronto (55-52), with Baltimore (53-51) having a late game Monday night. It wouldn’t be surprising if both the Blue Jays, with David Price and Troy Tulowitzki, or the Orioles, used to playing well this time of year, made runs. The Yankees can’t get unnerved if their lead shrinks. Having so many veterans should help avoid that.

The ’96 Yankees ranked fourth in the AL in relievers’ innings pitched (518 1/3) and second in relievers’ ERA (4.10). The ’04 Yankees placed fifth in relievers’ innings pitched (501 1/3) and ninth in relievers’ ERA (4.43).

Did Joe Torre do much differently in ’96 than in ’04? Not on the surface; he worked guys pretty hard both years. You could argue the difference between glory and heartbreak was the difference between a brilliant, 26-year-old Mariano Rivera and a merely excellent, 34-year-old Rivera.

Still, Joe Girardi should be diligent when it comes to resting his relievers, so that he can maximize the chances of this team placed in a file Yankees fans eagerly retrieve.