How did the Yankees win the World Series?
A. They Cheated
B. They're Perfect
C. They Were Lucky
D. IT IS WRITTEN
The question above is a variation of a similar question asked in the film, "Slumdog Millionaire," but I think it perfectly sums up how the Yankees came from a dreadful season starter to retaking the World Series Title for the 27th time after a lengthy nine year wait.
The second half of the season, the 2009 Yankees paralleled the success of the 2007 Giants, who would go on to defeat the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl. This is pretty amazing considering that they had a horrible start that included a notorious 22-4 loss to the Indians back in April. Look back at the season, especially the post season we could see the excellent teamwork that got the Yankees back in first, eight games ahead of the second place Boston, and a trip to the World Series after six years. Mind you this is coming from someone who's a Met fan and thought the 2004 ALCS was the best series I ever watched. Sorry Yankee fans but that's hands down the greatest comeback I've seen in baseball.
Of course, the key to the Yankees winning the title comes down to the individual contributions of the players, who worked together to pull themselves out of a slump and regain what I felt would be the inevitable. Therefore, I'm presenting a segment called the Destructing Champions, where we will look at the contributions of each Yankee that played a prominent role in leading them to their 27th World Championship. Since discussing the contributions of each Yankee will be quite a lengthy blog, I will be breaking this down into several segments, which will appear throughout the month of November. All of the players featured are Yankees, who played after the All-Star Break and made an appearance in at least one postseason game. We'll start off with the infield players for this edition.
Derek Jeter - Who better to start off with then the captain, who had a fantastic season with the Yankees. With an impressive 212 hits (including 18 homers)and surpassing Lou Gehrig's all time hit record with the Yankees, Jeter deserves the nickname "Hit Man." Jeter made successful hits in 14 of the 15 postseason games and ended the year with a career 2747 hits. One of four Yankees, who played the last time they won the World Championship, this is Jeter's first win as Captain and he has plenty to be happy about. We have sportscasters, managers, and fans who acknowledge his hard work both on and off the field. It's not unreasonable to suggest that Jeter defines what baseball is supposed to represent. I cannot wait to see the day they retire his number 2 and he gets his induction into the Hall of Fame.
Mark Teixeira - With Jason Giambi gone, the Yankees needed a good replacement for first place and they did just that with the acquisition of two time Gold Glove winner Mark Teixeira. Needless to say, Teixeira delivered both on the field and on the plate. Although Teixeira struggled a little in the World Series, he had a fantastic season tying with Carlos Pena for the most home runs hit in the AL (39.) He also had an impressive 122 RBI for the season. This is Teixeira's first appearance in a World Series and what a wonderful first season to have with the Yankees.
Robinson Cano - The second baseman proved to have a much better season this year then he did in previous years. He was one of 2 Yankees to get over 200 hits this season. It was also the first time Cano hit over 20 home runs in a season. Although he struggled on the plate this post season, he delivered some well executed doubles plays in Game 6. Hopefully for Yankee fans, they'll see Cano continue to improve for next season.
Alex Rodriguez - At the start of this season A-Rod was plagued by bad news from his admittance of taking steroids while playing with the Rangers to torn labrum in his hip, which kept him off the field until May. Early in the season, A-Rod seemed to be the help that the Yankees offense needed and despite all the controversy he pulled through. This was A-Rod's first home run appearance and he has pulled through in the World Series with a home run in Game 3 and helped secure the win in Game 4. With a slightly improved postseason and well played season, it seems that most Yankee fans are willing to forgive him. However, it's important to remember that we cannot pass judgment on a person based upon how they perform because it doesn't properly represent their character.
That's it for now. Next time, we'll look at the contributions of the catchers and the pitching staff.
This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment