Three-thousand, two-hundred and ninety-four. That's the number of days New Yorkers have had to wait for the Yankees to win another World Series. Not since October 26, 2000, when the men in pinstripes defeated their cross-city rival Mets in five games to clinch their third-straight title, had the Bronx Bombers conquered an opponent in the Fall Classic.
But Wednesday night, November 4, 2009, nearly a decade after their last coronation, changed all that as New York defeated the Philadelphia Phillies four games to two to once again solidify their preeminence throughout the baseball world—it certainly was a longtime coming.
The Yankees had made the Fall Classic twice since 2000, losing a heartbreaker to the Diamondbacks in the cruelest of game sevens, in arguably the greatest World Series of all-time in 2001, and bowing out to the Marlins in six back in 2003. Both 2002 and 2005-07 saw them crash out in the division series at the hands of the Angels (twice), Tigers and Indians, and 2004 is still something that we New York fans just don't talk about.
Relatively speaking (because Cubs fans might be reading this article), the Yankees were experiencing a serious championship dry spell, and after missing the postseason for the first time since 1993 in 2008, the Steinbrenner family had some serious retooling to do; in a town like New York, a drought like this was unacceptable.
In a free-agent market that boasted few marquee players, Hal Steinbrenner, having taken over for his father as chief shot-caller in the front office, pounced immediately on the biggest fish in the pond reeling in leviathan lefty C.C. Sabathia for the hefty price of $161 million over seven years—the richest contract for a pitcher in MLB history.
Having procured the formidable ace they sought, many wondered if New York needed even more assistance, and whether fans liked it or not, Steinbrenner decided that they did and inked switch-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira to an exorbitant deal of $180 million over eight years to fill the gap at first base.
And if that wasn't enough, the Yankees added another power arm to the front end of the rotation signing former Blue Jay A.J. Burnett to a five-year contract worth $82.5 million—$423.5 million doled out for only three players. And just for good measure, they traded for utility man Nick Swisher—each of the four newcomers who were standing proud Wednesday night in the Bronx as champions for the first time in their careers.
There was Sabathia who had put together a terrific regular season going 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA, and an even more noteworthy postseason, often answering the bell on three-days rest, winning three total games in October and capturing the ALCS MVP after mowing down the Angels.
There was Teixeira, the notoriously slow starter who finally rallied to lead the American League in homers (39) and RBIs (122), who hit a walk-off laser in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Twins, and who, despite his struggle of a World Series at the plate, was a human vacuum at first base all season long.
There was Burnett who transcended his assumed role as just a pitcher with "great stuff but little control" this season, into a reliable number two behind Sabathia, dueling and dominating over the venerable Pedro Martinez for a Game 2 victory last Thursday evening to knot-up the series and shift the momentum back to New York.
There was Swisher, who saw his initial menial role suddenly transform into a critical daily one when rightfielder Xavier Nady unexpectedly suffered a season-ending elbow injury, allowing space for the mohawked journeyman to exude some much needed spunk around the club.
There was the exuberant bullpen led by familiar faces Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, backed by Dave Robertson, Damaso Marte, Phil Coke, Chad Gaudin, Alfredo Aceves, Brian Bruney and, of course, Mariano Rivera, each of whom made at least one appearance this postseason.
There were utility men Ramiro Pena, Brett Gardner, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Eric Hinske and Jose Molina, all of whom (with the exception of Hinske and Molina) were taking home the first ring of their careers.
There was Robinson Cano, whose uninspiring postseason belied his impressive regular season in which he hit .320 with 25 homers and 85 RBIs, who also made 2009s final out throwing the grounder hit by Shane Victorino to Teixeira to send the Big Apple faithful into a frenzy.
There was Johnny Damon whose valiant playoff performance will make it extremely difficult for General Manager Brian Cashman and the rest of the Yankees front office to cut ties with the leftfielder when he becomes a free agent this winter, and who also became one of only a handful of players to have won the World Series with both New York and Boston.
There was Hideki Matsui, too, whose contract also expired after Wednesday night's win, and whose clouting of baseballs in the series not only made Philadelphia pitchers look like Little League hurlers, but also earned him the prestigious award of World Series MVP—the first Japanese-born player to win it—knocking in six of seven runs in the decisive, series-clinching Game 6 victory.
Then there was Alex Rodriguez, the greatly maligned third baseman who had taken so much flak both before and after admitting to using steroids from 2001-03, after failing to live up to expectations in each of his first five seasons with the Yankees.
The man who had been about as clutch as a bomb diffuser who cuts the wrong wire, Rodriguez had never truly fit into Yankee culture and always carried with him the unwanted baggage of his newest girlfriend, a perplexing comment to the media, and now confirmed steroids-user, all of which had proven to be more distracting than anything else.
Yet, this October, there was something different about A-Rod. Instead of compulsively worrying about his image, which normally inhibited his ability to play the game to his finest potential, he did exactly what George Costanza would do in his position: he did the opposite. A game-tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the ALDS, was just one of multiple clutch knocks that A-Rod can now mark on his resume en route to the his most gratifying reward to date: his first World Series Championship.
When it came time to interview Rodriguez after the game, one wondered if he would deliver a variation of the same calculated, pretentious interview that he typically gives after every Yankee win. Instead, A-Rod stepped up to the mic and like a prepubescent middle schooler screamed, "We're gonna PARTY!!!" Perhaps he should stick to his perfunctory interview technique.
Lastly, there was the old guard (man, it feels weird to say that) of Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and the captain Derek Jeter, all of whom had been part of the last World Series success in 2000, and all of whom injected each Yankee fan watching with a poignant feeling of nostalgia as they lifted the trophy high once again.
Manager Joe Girardi, in just his second season on the job, had brought home the 27th title in team history, and he could hardly contain his excitement letting out a cathartic scream of joy that echoed around the new Yankee Stadium, the de facto wind tunnel having been christened in its inaugural season with a World Series victory.
The old Yankee Stadium stood in darkness adjacent to its replacement all season long, and reminded one of what it took for the Yankees to get back to this moment. As the celebrations raged on Wednesday night, one almost half-expected to see Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, or even Gary Sheffield all smiles, popping champagne bottles, and hoisting the trophy themselves.
And let it be known that I was almost fully expecting to see a teary-eyed Torre on top of his team's shoulders waving to his family and fans as he was paraded off the diamond.
Yet while none of them were actually there, you felt like even they had assisted in getting this team to this moment and that each of them, and every player that had played for them between 2000 and Wednesday night, had contributed in making the New York Yankees exactly what they were, and exactly what they are: the team of the decade, the most successful franchise of the century.
When asked after the game what he made of winning his fifth World Series title in fifteen years, a jubilant Jeter, in reference to the enormous trophy that was finally once again in his possession said simply, "This thing is back where it belongs." Indeed it is, my friend. Indeed it is.