Yankees World Series Championship Season 2009 Review

When someone looks back on the 2009 Yankees, what will come to mind? Will you only remember the World Series? Or will you recall the 103 regular season wins, Jeter’s record breaking hit, A-Rod’s admission and Hideki’s World Series MVP? Looking back at the Yankees 27th World Series championship season, there were a lot of moments that may be forgotten. Here is a short review of the Yankees 2009 season.

The 2009 offseason started with the Yankees dumping some baggage. The Yankees didn’t retain Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano, Ivan Rodriguez, or Bobby Abreu. Pitcher Mike Mussina, who eclipsed the 20-win mark for the first time in his career, chose to retire after ‘08. The Yankees signed three marquee free agents; CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira. They also acquired Nick Swisher from the White Sox. Those four players were instrumental to the Yankees success.

2009 marked the opening of the new Yankee Stadium which cost in excess of $1.2 billion dollars. After 86 years, the Yankees changed their address to across the street. The Yankees opened up their old ballpark with a World Series win in 1923 and it is fitting that they did the same in their new park.

The Yankees had off-field issues before they played a regular season game. Joe Torre’s book was released, which had criticisms for some Yankee players and personnel. Torre and his book were forgotten when news broke that A-Rod had used steroids during his career. A-Rod held a press conference and admitted his faults, while being backed by several Yankee players. A-Rod went on to miss a portion of the start of the season after undergoing hip surgery. The first pitch he saw coming back from the DL he hit for a home run in Baltimore.

Some in-season accolades were Mariano Rivera saving his 500th career game and Derek Jeter breaking Lou Gehrig’s mark for all-time Yankee hits. Mark Teixeria led the AL with 39 home runs. The Yankees also won 15 games during the entire year in walk-off fashion. Don’t forget about Boston. The Yankees lost their first eight games they played against Boston but ended up winning the season series, ncluding a four-game sweep at the stadium in August. The Yankees were hit by some injuries in 2009 (A-Rod, Wang, Nady, Posada, Molina, Gardner) but received contributions from their replacements. The Yankees finished with 103 regular season wins, the best in baseball.

In the postseason, the Yankees beat the Twins in the ALDS, Angels in the ALCS and Phillies in the World Series. Hideki Matsui was named the World Series MVP. The Yankees used three starting pitchers throughout the playoffs.

It was a roller-coaster season for the Yankees in 2009 and it ended with a ticker tape parade. It’s going to be hard to remember everything that happened in the year of the Yankees but all you really need to remember is these six letters: Champs.