Yankees finish Phils, win No. 27
Remember when this happened every year?
The New York Yankees — for the first time since 2000 and the 27th time overall — are world champions after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in last night’s Game 6 of the World Series.
The $200 million gamble that is the Bronx Bomber’s payroll paid off just months after an offseason spending spree brought Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett into the fold.
The Yankees have won more than a quarter of the 105 World Series ever played. This year’s was in doubt after a frenetic Phillies victory in Game 5, but the home team put things away early last night, taking a 4-1 lead into the fourth inning.
Pedro Martinez didn’t have another ace-like Fall Classic performance in his aging right arm, surrendering four runs on three hits and two walks in four-plus innings of work.
Andy Pettitte was his usual postseason self on the mound for New York, pitching 5.2 innings of three-run ball.
Meanwhile, as the Big Apple celebrates, Boston is once again the AL East’s second city. Will the Red Sox spend big in free agency to try to catch up, or will they pursue a low-key strategy? Stay tuned.
3-man rotation pays off for Yanks
For New York, it all came down to CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte. Yankees manager Joe Girardi raised plenty of eyebrows when he announced he was going with a three-man rotation for the World Series, and had his doubters — notably after Game 5.
Not anymore. The Yanks became the first team since the 1991 Twins to win it all with just three starters.