New York Back At Top Of Baseball

Sports News - November 5th, 2009 - Written by John

Some had been here years ago. Some hadn't been here at all.

They all exploded with pure emotion as Robinson Cano fielded Shane Victorino's grounder and fired the last out of the game. A roster full of millionaires embraced like children as the New York Yankees sealed their 27th World Series title, the most in the history of the league and more than the following three combined, with a 7-3 win on Wednesday night.

"It feels better than I remember it, man," shortstop Derek Jeter said after the game. "It's been a long time."

Indeed it has. Eight years actually, which is a near century to Yankees fans. Wednesday night's championship was the second time the franchise had won the title in the inaugural year of a stadium. The 1923 Yankees won the first title in the old Yankee Stadium.

But the hardware hadn't recently been lifted since beating the New York Mets in 2000. Several players on that team are still on the roster, leaving a mix of nostalgic performances with brand new ones. Derek Jeter went 3-for-5, Andy Pettitte won his 18th postseason game and Mariano Rivera was on the bump for the last out. But no one was better than Hideki Matsui, who drove in a World Series-tying six RBIs. He had three home runs in the series and was named MVP. He was a pinch-hitter in all three games in Philadelphia, where pitchers hit, and only had 13 at-bats, the fewest of any World Series MVP. But he batted .615 and had eight RBI.

The Yankees are the first time since the 1984 Detroit Tigers to lead the league in runs homers and win the World Series.

"The Yankees won. The world is right again," team president Randy Levine said.

Well, maybe not quite. But it was an expected ending for an organization that poured $1.5 billion into the new luxurious stadium and another $400 million in off-season acquisitions. The season started on a tumultuous note, losing Alex Rodriguez to hip surgery and losing their first dozen games to the Boston Red Sox. Rodriguez was also hammered about infidelity and steroid use while he was out, but finished with another 30 homer, 100 RBI season, and performed well in the postseason. His homer in Game Three sparked a rally by the Bombers and he had the game-winning double in Game Four.

"My teammates, coaches and the organization stood by me and now we stand here as world champions," said Rodriguez. "We're going to enjoy it, and we're going to party!"

The Phillies, on the other hand, come away empty in their second-straight bid for a title. Chase Utley's record power surge couldn't match the top-to-bottom line-up of New York, and instead will have to settle for a lonely spot in the record books. He hit five home runs in the World Series, tying Reggie Jackson for most all-time, and Philadelphia was two games shy of becoming the first back-to-back National League World Series winners since 1976.

"I told them that I loved the way they played. We're fighters and never quit," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. "We want to keep what we got as far as attitude and chemistry."

Showered with chants of, "Who's your daddy?" and a New York Post front page with his head on a baby's body, reading, "Spank 'em, Yanks", Pedro Martinez was roughed up from the beginning and didn't last past the fourth inning.

Matsui tagged him for a two-run homer in the second inning and had a two-run single again in the third to make it 4-1. Mark Teixeira chased home Jeter in the fifth and was followed up by another Matsui strike, this time a double to score Teixeira and Rodriguez. Matsui was a triple away from the cycle, a would-be first in series history, but struck out in his final at-bat.

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