On This Date in Sports November 4, 2009: Yankees at 27
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The New York Yankees win their 27th World Series Championship, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. The victory comes in a season in which the Yankees opened a new stadium. In the Game 6 clincher, Hideki Matsui has six RBI as the Yankees win 7-3. Matsui would become the first Japanese born player to win World Series MVP. It is also the last champion for George Steinbrenner as the Yankees Owner passed away in 2010.
It was an era for Yankees baseball, as the new Yankee Stadium opened in the Bronx. As they did when they opened the old stadium in 1923, the Yankees reached the World Series. Managed by Joe Girardi, the Yankees posted a record of 103-59 to win the American League East. The Yankees would get to the Fall Classic by sweeping the Minnesota Twins in the Division Series and taking down the Los Angeles Angels in the ALCS.
In the National League, it was the Philadelphia Phillies managed by Charlie Manuel, reaching the World Series for a second straight season. The Phillies won the World Series in 2008, for the just the second time in their team’s history. The Phillies won the East for the third straight year with a record of 93-69. In the Division Series, they beat the Colorado Rockies in four games while they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the NLCS.
It was the second time that the Yankees and Phillies met in the World Series. The teams had met in 1950, with the Yankees sweeping Philadelphia in four straight games. The teams traveled to the games via rails, taking Amtrak Accela Express. CC Sabathia, who won the ALCS MVP, started Game 1, while Cliff Lee started for the Phillies. Lee tied the Yankees up in knots, pitching a complete game while allowing one run on six hits with ten strikeouts. Meanwhile, Chase Utley had a pair of home runs as the Phillies won 6-1.
In Game 2, it was Pedro Martinez signed late in the season making the start for Philadelphia, while AJ Burnett started for the Yankees. Both pitchers were sharp, as the Phillies got a run in the second inning on an RBI by Matt Stairs. In fourth, Mark Teixeira homered to tie the game for the Yankees. New York would take the lead in the sixth inning on a home run by Hideki Matsui, getting an insurance run in the seventh. The Yankees would win the game 3-1 as Mariano Rivera pitched the final two games for the save.
Cole Hamels, the hero of the 2008 postseason, started for the Phillies in Game 3 as the series moved to Citizen’s Bank Park. Andy Pettitte made the start for the Yankees and scuffled as the Phillies scored three runs in the second. The Yankees began to scratch their way back in the fourth, as Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run homer. In the fifth, the Yankees took the lead with three runs as Pettitte had an RBI single and Johnny Damon laced a two-run double. Nick Swisher extended the lead to 6-3 with a home run off J.A. Happ. After a home run by Jayson Werth drew the Phillies closer, the Yankees answered with an RBI single by Jorge Posada. In the eighth, the Yankees stretched to lead to 8-4 on Matsui’s second homer of the series. The Phillies would get a home run by Carlos Ruiz but again lost the game 8-5.
November arrived for Game 4, as CC Sabathia started for the Yankees, and Joe Blanton started for the Phillies. The Yankees got two runs in the first while Utley had an RBI double for the Phillies in the bottom of the inning After the Phillies tied the game on an RBI by Pedro Feliz in the fourth. The Yankees regained the lead on hits by Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon in the fifth. Again, it was Utley and Feliz answering as each hit homers to tie the game 4-4. The Yankees would get a two-out double by A-Rod to take the lead, later scoring on a single by Jorge Posada as the Yankees won the game 7-4.
Cliff Lee, who tied the Yankees up in Game 1, got the start in Game 5 as the Phillies faced elimination. AJ Burnett meanwhile looked to clinch the Yankees 27th championship. Alex Rodriguez had an RBI in the first, but the Phillies answered in a big way as Chase Utley hit a three-run homer. The Phillies would eventually build a 6-1 lead as they cruised to an 8-6 win to send the series back up to the Bronx.
Game 6 would see Pedro Martinez in his final major league appearance get the start for the Phillies, while Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees. In the second inning, the Yankees took the lead on a two-run blast by Hideki Matsui. After the Phillies got one run back in the third, Matsui answered with a two-out two-run single to give New York a 4-1 lead. The Yankees would break the game open in the fifth as Teixeira had an RBI single and Hideki Matsui delivered a two-run double to make it 7-1. The Phillies would get a two-run homer by Ryan Howard but got no closer as the Yankees won 7-3, Shane Victorino grounding out to Robinson Cano to end the game.