Yankees back on top of world

Sean McAdam

• Last Updated: November 06. 2009 3:09PM UAE / November 6. 2009 11:09AM GMT

Hideki Matsui hits a two-run double against the Phillies on Wednesday on his way to being named World Series MVP. Jim McIsaac / Getty Images

NEW YORK // For a time in the late 1990s, it seemed as though World Series had become a New York Yankees’ birthright.

From 1996 through to 2000, they won four World Series, including three in a row.

Then came a dry spell of sorts – the Yankees were runners-up in 2001 and 2003, while in 2004 they blew a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series with their most hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox. And they had failed to win a post-season series for the next four years.

That all changed on Wednesday night when the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 to capture their 27th World Series.

At the centre of the celebration after Game Six were four players who came into the big leagues together in 1995 – Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte.

After winning three championships in their first six years, they had endured an almost decade-long drought.

And in the clinching game on Wednesday they were again front and centre.

Jeter led off the game, Pettitte was the starting and winning pitcher, Rivera tossed the final two innings for the save and Posada caught both pitchers behind the plate.

“You never know when you’re going to get back here,” said a joyous Posada in the midst of the post-game celebration.

“This really says a lot about our team. I’m excited, I’m speechless, I’m really enjoying the moment.”

“It never gets old,“ said Jeter, after his team had clinched the 4-2 series win. “I can’t wait for the [championship] parade.”

Beyond the so-called “Core of Four”, this Yankees team also featured some important newcomers, as well as big contributions from players who may soon be elsewhere.

Hideki Matsui, who joined New York in 2003 and is eligible for free agency this winter, may not return next year. But if he does depart, he went out on the highest note, knocking in six runs – tying a World Series record – and earning Most Valuable Player honours after hitting three home runs with a .615 batting average in six games against the Phillies.

That is an astonishing achievement for a man who did not start the three games of the series in Philadelphia, where National League rules limited the use of a designated hitter.

Meanwhile, three new additions – CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira – were all found to have good timing, winning the World Series in their first season with the club.

After the Yankees lost Game Five in Philadelphia, forcing the series back to New York, their manager, Joe Girardi, came under criticism for his decision to go with a three-man pitching rotation.

Burnett looked fatigued in that loss, but Pettitte, 37, who had not pitched on short rest in the post-season since 2003, took the Yankees into the seventh inning in the clinching game.

For the Yankees, the win helped christen the new Yankee Stadium, which opened to great fanfare earlier this year but lacked the pedigree of the old stadium across the street – until Wednesday night.

In the stands, anticipating a victory, one fan held a sign that read: “Now It’s Home.”

Amid the celebrating on the field and in the clubhouse, the Yankees took the time to salute the team’s principal owner, George Steinbrenner, who has battled health problems for the past few years.Player after player made mention of Steinbrenner, and the giant video screen in centre field flashed the message: “This One’s For You, Boss.”

Steinbrenner watched from his home in Tampa as his sons and daughters accepted the World Series trophy on his behalf.

As for the Phillies, they had gone into the series as defending champions and were given a decent chance to retain their title. But a number of the club’s left-handed hitters were shut down by the New York pitching staff.

Their first baseman, Ryan Howard, who has knocked in more runs than anyone in baseball over the past four seasons, was limited to just four hits in the six games and was never much of a factor.

“Our offence couldn’t get it going at the right time,“ said the Phillies manager, Charlie Manuel.

Manuel also told his team how proud he was of them and set a goal to return to the World Series for a third consecutive year.



smcadam@thenational.ae