It was a moment Alex Rodriguez waited for his entire life.
After having miserable postseasons in the past, admitting using performance-enhancing drugs and having hip surgery before the season, Rodriguez came out firing on all cylinders in this playoff campaign.
Holding the trophy was a bittersweet moment many years in the making.
“My teammates, coaches and the organization stood by me and now we stand here as world champions,” said Rodriguez. “We’re going to enjoy it, and we’re going to party!”
Wednesday was exactly eight years to the day that the Yankees lost in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series to a bloop single off the bat of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Luis Gonzalez. Before this season, the last time the Yankees hoisted the championship trophy was in 2000.
Nine years may not seem like a lot to teams like the Chicago Cubs or San Francisco Giants, but in Yankee nation, it was an eternity.
“It feels better than I remember it, man,” captain Derek Jeter said. “It’s been a long time.”
Game 6 was dominated by the Yankees from the beginning. Hideki Matsui, the MVP of the Fall Classic, had a World Series record-tying six RBIs and Andy Pettitte won on short rest. The Phillies’ Pedro Martinez could not fight off the determined Yankees and was attacked early and often, resulting in a 7-3 finish.
Jeter, Jorge Posada, Pettitte and Mariono Rivera are the only Yankees to be around since the streak of World Series titles in the late 1990s.
The Phillies, on the other hand, failed to repeat as champions.
Ryan Howard set a record for strikeouts in one World Series, Jimmy Rollins struggled and Cole Hamels couldn’t wait for the season to be over. The team, though, is built for years of success as long as everybody stays together.
“I told them that I loved the way they played. We’re fighters and never quit,” Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. “We want to keep what we got as far as attitude and chemistry.”
At least for one year, the Yankees are on top and everything in George Steinbrenner’s baseball kingdom is magical.
“The Yankees won. The world is right again,” team president Randy Levine said.
Our Take:
The Yankees showed that they were the best team the entire year, and they lived up to expectations for the first time in almost 10 years. The Phillies will still be threatening to win more titles down the line as well, but another run will have to wait until next season. The biggest team that money can buy delivered when it needed to, and all of a sudden the money has paid off.
