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The pain of giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game Seven of a gut-wrenching 2001 World Series defeat to the Arizona Diamondbacks has finally been alleviated.
The shame of falling to an overmatched Florida Marlins team in six games in the 2003 World Series is now an afterthought.
The sheer humiliation and infamy of allowing the Boston Red Sox to erase a 0-3 deficit and win the ALCS in 2004 has been replaced with the euphoria of a king reclaiming his throne.
Money isn’t the only reason the New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies and captured their first title since 2000—but it’s definitely one of the reasons.
The sensible logic that the team that plays in the biggest market, has the highest payroll, and owns the most World Series championships in Major League Baseball history should win the Fall Classic once in nine years has turned into a fast-moving generalization, tossing aside the championship-worthy performances of a squad destined to win it all.
Indeed, the Yankees paid a steep price for their good fortune, but that shouldn’t belittle the efforts of a team burdened with enormous win-or-else expectations.
After years of learning that money couldn't buy a title, the Yankees used the justifying production of its free agents, the determined performance of its veterans, and the beneficial design of the New Yankee Stadium to win their MLB-leading 27th World Series championship.
High-Priced Free Agents Finally Pay Dividends
Offseason free agent signees CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira may have accounted for more than $52 million in salary this season—more than the entire payroll of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, and San Diego Padres—but each performed well and helped the team fulfill its championship dreams in 2009.
Sabathia, a left-handed workhorse, signed a seven-year, $161 million deal and didn’t disappoint management or fans, even after a 1-3 start. He led the majors in wins with a 19-8 mark, finished 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in the postseason, and pitched on three days’ rest in the American League Championship Series and the World Series.
After Burnett’s career-best season for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2008, in which he won 18 games and led the AL in strikeouts, the Yankees plucked the righthander away from their divisional rival, signing him to a five-year, $82.5 million contract. Burnett had a more typical season in 2009, finishing 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA in the regular season and he also had some rough outings in the postseason, producing a 5.27 ERA in his first postseason opportunity.
Yet, after Sabathia, the Yankees best pitcher, lost the his first 2009 postseason matchup in Game One of the World Series and Philadelphia’s powerful lineup seemed to be on its way to back-to-back titles, Burnett turned in a gem in a crucial Game Two, allowing one run in seven innings and winning the Yanks’ biggest game of the year.
Teixeira, a switch-hitting, slick-fielding first baseman, was signed an eight-year, $180 million deal and quickly became New York’s most potent weapon in the regular season, batting .292 and leading the AL with 122 RBI and 39 home runs. Teixeira wasn’t a postseason monster and hit a disappointing .180 with two home runs, eight RBI, and 17 strikeouts compared with six walks in the playoffs. Still, his defense was steady and his Game Two home run was critical in the only low-scoring game of the Series.
After spending plenty of money and failing to win a championship with players like Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, and Kevin Brown, the Yankees made the right choices in acquiring players in the prime of their careers instead of signing proven, but aging and declining stars.
Rodriguez and Pettitte Take Road to Redemption
At the beginning of the 2009 season, third baseman Alex Rodriguez was under intense fire. An unauthorized biography from Selena Roberts detailed several scathing allegations. He was recently divorced and his love life was fodder for all to witness. His Yankees had failed to reach the playoffs in 2008 and after admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs, A-Rod missed several games as he nursed an injured hip.
Longtime Yankee Andy Pettitte had also admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. After his December 2007 admission, Pettitte had his first non-winning season in his 14-year major league career in 2008, finishing 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA.
Rodriguez and Pettitte both seemed to benefit from the presence of the new, expensive free agents. Rodriguez enjoyed the luxury of batting behind Teixeira, a powerful switch hitter, and saw more favorable pitches. Pettitte had plenty of help in the rotation with the addition of Sabathia and Burnett, and the lefthander went 14-8 in 2009 for a .636 winning percentage, his highest since 2003 with the Houston Astros.
A much-maligned playoff underachiever who earned $33 million this season, Rodriguez battered pitchers throughout the postseason, finishing with staggering statistics including a .365 average, a .500 on-base percentage, and a .808 slugging percentage. He logged six home runs, 18 RBI and 15 walks (three intentional) while earning his first championship ring in 16 MLB seasons.
Pettitte, a 37-year-old attempting to shut down the Phillies’ dangerous, lefty-laden lineup, was no less extraordinary. He shut down Philadelphia’s Chase Utley after the Phillies second baseman threatened to set a World Series home run record after launching multiple home runs in games started by Sabathia and Burnett. He also contained Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who had been dominating National League pitchers earlier in the playoffs.
Pettitte was 4-0 in the postseason and although most eyes were glued to the new signees, he closed out all three postseason series for the Yankees.
New Dimensions and Manifest Destiny
This championship was like a train arriving in a small town of yesteryear: One could hear the loud, piercing whistle, smell the fuel burning, and see its carts headed to its ultimate destination from miles and miles away. This title seemed meant to be for the pinstriped crew from the Bronx.
After watching the Boston Red Sox become a top contender and take home World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 playing in hitter-friendly Fenway Park, the Yankees opened the New Yankee Stadium this season and its lower outfield walls and short porch in right field gave the Yankees sluggers a home-field, home run advantage in 2009.
Accordingly, the Yankees led the majors in home runs, RBI, walks, and finished second in batting average. The Yankees regular lineups featured seven left-handed or switch hitters to exploit the field’s dimensions.
The other two hitters in the lineup? Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
New York sent three players, Rivera, Jeter, and Teixeira, to the 2009 MLB All-Star Game and Jeter scored two of the AL’s four runs while Mariano Rivera earned the save in the 4-3 AL victory. The win gave the Yankees—who finished with a major-league best 103 wins—home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
With a big division lead in September, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was able to sit some of his starters. The move paid off in the postseason as Girardi used a three-man rotation and pitched Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettitte on three days’ rest in the final three games of the World Series.
Other pricey Yankees came through in the postseason: shortstop Jeter (.344 average, six RBI, and 14 runs) continued to add to his playoff achievements, closer Mariano Rivera (five saves, 0.56 ERA) closed out each series, and designated hitter Hideki Matsui batted .349 in the playoffs with six RBI in the series clincher to garner World Series MVP honors.
George Steinbrenner, his sons, and Brian Cashman made the risky decision to spend a lot of money in a recession—in addition to opening a new, $1.5 billion stadium—and it paid off substantially.
New York Yankees payroll, $208 million.
World Series championship, priceless.
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