On Baseball: #27 and Beyond

Hello all,

I've been a terrible blogger over the past two months.  I've started several entries, but never finished any of them well enough to post.  That ends today, at least temporarily.  I am fine, for the most part -- adjusting to college is difficult, especially when you're at a school famous for lots of work and tough grading.  I've had a bad run of illness through the first semester, but I won't elaborate too much on that at this point.

This post, much like my last, is dedicated to the New York Yankees.  Considering recent events, however, it's from an entirely different perspective.  On September 13, when I last updated about my trip to the new Yankee Stadium, the Bombers were in first place, primed for a playoff run, but haunted by recent years of postseason futility.  On November 8, I write from the top of the heap -- from the perspective of a fan of the 2009 World Champions.

On Wednesday, November 4 -- more accurately, the early hours of November 5 -- the Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3, to win their 27th World Championship four games to two.  

The last time the Yankees won the World Series,  back in 2000, I was nine and a half years old, and extremely spoiled as far as being a baseball fan goes.  We had won in 1996, 1998, and 1999 before dispatching the Mets rather easily in the "Subway Series," despite fielding a weak team.  I had almost no recollection of the Yankees being anything other than World Champions, and, when the final out was recorded in the 2000 World Series, I felt an overwhelming sense of -- "Well, yes.  Of course."

The nine years in the interim have been an entirely different animal.  From the heartbreak of the 2001 loss in Arizona to the low point of a third-place finish in 2008, there had been many stories regarding the Yankees, but none had the ultimate happy ending.  We went from almost assuming victory to a sense of, "How long will we have to wait?" a la the Cubs or either of the Sox.

The wait is over, and I could not be happier.  Despite missing the pennant victory due to a bout of swine flu, with the World Series win I can't say I haven't had my fun.  Despite Swarthmore's proximity to Philadelphia, there's a sizable group of Yankees fans on campus who have, for the most part, lived and breathed baseball for the past month.  By the time Mariano Rivera recorded the final out of the final victory, I was already on my feet, as was almost everyone else with me in the lounge (the Phillies fans had retreated to the proverbial den of shame around one out in the eighth).  The subsequent celebration was as to be expected -- people jumping up and down, shouting, hugging total strangers -- but, as it was the first World Series victory that I fully appreciated, I don't think I'll ever forget it.

Four to Twenty-Seven

Much has been made lately of the Yankees' "Core Four" -- a brilliantly talented group of baseball players who have won five championships together since 1996.  

To Yankees fans, they require no introduction.  At left is starting pitcher Andy Pettitte, who won all three clinching playoff games this year and is the all-time postseason wins leader in baseball history; obscured behind the Championship Trophy is catcher Jorge Posada; holding the trophy is Hall-of-Fame-bound shortstop, all-time Yankee hits leader, and future mayor of New York City, Derek Jeter; and to the right is The Greatest Closer Of All Time, Mariano Rivera.

There isn't much to be said about these men that isn't obvious.  Earlier in the year, I devoted an entire post to my love/admiration for/hero worship of Mariano.  Similar sentiments can be extended to the rest of the "Core Four" -- I've grown up watching them play, and I'm thankful for every game. 

These men, however, were all playing in the major leagues when I was five years old.  As I am getting older, so are they... they are all in their mid-to-late-30s, at this point, which is practically rest-home ready for professional athletes.  The proverbial "hill" seems closer for some than others -- but when the first, second, third, and fourth retire (it has to happen eventually), I'll sigh, feel old, shed a few tears for my childhood, and try to look to the future.

I was going to put in another section on the future, but I think my 

computer is telling me to stop.

Look for notes on the "Baby Bombers" -- the core of the 

future, perhaps -- upcoming.

Til next time,

Ana