The Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 at the new Yankee Stadium, and clinched their 27th World Championship, 8 years to the day after they should have.
Andy Pettitte started and won. (His 148 wins during the 2000s -- that is, 2000 to 2009 -- made him the winningest pitcher of the decade.) Mariano Rivera got the save. Hideki Matsui, in what turned out to be his last game with the Yankees, drove in 6 runs, including hitting a home run, a blast, off a "blast from the past," Pedro Martinez. I don't think any Yankee homer -- not by Chris Chambliss, Reggie Jackson, Bucky Dent, Don Mattingly, Jim Leyritz, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Derek Jeter, even Aaron Boone -- has ever made me feel better, because of what Pedro the Punk represents.
Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Jorge Posada, the holdovers from 2001, got their rings, Posada his 4th (his 5th title, though I don't think he got a ring for 1996), the others their 5th. For Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, their 1st. And Pedro never appeared in another major league game.
The slates had been wiped clean. As Hank Steinbrenner, son of team owner George Steinbrenner, requested, the universe had been restored to order. Sports Illustrated named Jeter its Sportsman of the Year, the 1st Yankee ever so honored.
* 2017: Justin Verlander turned out to be available, but Cashman didn't trade for him. He went to the Houston Astros. Who also traded for Beltran. The Yankees reached the Wild Card Game, beat the Minnesota Twins, and beat the Indians in the ALDS, before losing the ALCS in 7 games to the Astros, including 2 games won by Verlander. They went on to win the World Series.
* 2018: Cashman trades All-Star 2nd baseman Starlin Castro to the Miami Marlins for one-dimensional slugger Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees reach the Wild Card Game, beat the Oakland Athletics, and lose the ALDS to the Red Sox, a series in which Stanton absolutely disappeared.
* 2019: Several good starting pitchers are available, at a time when the Yankees really need at least 1, possibly 2. Cashman does nothing. The Astros trade for Zack Greinke. But the "Baby Bombers" plan finally begins to pay off for Cashman. Finally, for the 1st time in 7 years, the Yankees win the Division. They beat the Twins in the ALDS. And then they lose to the Astros in the ALCS.
If you're trying to keep score at home: In the last 4 seasons, Cashman has helped 4 different teams -- the Cubs, the Indians, the Rangers and the Astros -- reach 8 postseason berths, win 4 Pennants, and win 2 World Series. Not only have none of these teams been the Yankees, but the Astros have beaten the Yankees in the postseason twice in that time.
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Andy Pettitte started and won. (His 148 wins during the 2000s -- that is, 2000 to 2009 -- made him the winningest pitcher of the decade.) Mariano Rivera got the save. Hideki Matsui, in what turned out to be his last game with the Yankees, drove in 6 runs, including hitting a home run, a blast, off a "blast from the past," Pedro Martinez. I don't think any Yankee homer -- not by Chris Chambliss, Reggie Jackson, Bucky Dent, Don Mattingly, Jim Leyritz, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Derek Jeter, even Aaron Boone -- has ever made me feel better, because of what Pedro the Punk represents.
Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Jorge Posada, the holdovers from 2001, got their rings, Posada his 4th (his 5th title, though I don't think he got a ring for 1996), the others their 5th. For Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, their 1st. And Pedro never appeared in another major league game.
The slates had been wiped clean. As Hank Steinbrenner, son of team owner George Steinbrenner, requested, the universe had been restored to order. Sports Illustrated named Jeter its Sportsman of the Year, the 1st Yankee ever so honored.
The Yankees had taken Title 27. They have not taken Title 28. What had happened was, George was ill, and would die the next year. His sons Hank and Hal had taken over the running of the team. Hank was a big believer in his father's philosophy of "Winning is second, only to breathing." But he, too, got sick, and Hal won a power struggle. Hal gave general manager Brian Cashman new orders: Do whatever it takes to make the team money. Hal has never accepted that winning championships makes more money than simply filling the ballpark and generating TV revenue.
Look at what has happened in the years since:
* 2009 off-season: Cashman lets Matsui and Johnny Damon go. Keeping one of the other would have helped, but he kept neither. From this point onward, it's Cashman's team, not George Steinbrenner's or Gene Michael's.
* 2010: The Yankees win the American League Wild Card, and beat the Minnesota Twins in the AL Division Series, but lose the AL Championship Series to the Texas Rangers, who had never won a Pennant before.
* 2011: The Yankees win the AL Eastern Division, but lose the the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers. Pettitte retires.
* 2012: The Yankees win the AL Eastern Division, and beat the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. But Derek Jeter breaks his ankle in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tigers, and the Yankees get swept.
* 2013: The Yankees miss the Playoffs for the 1st time since 2008, and only the 2nd time since 1993. Rivera retires.
* 2014: The Yankees miss the Playoffs for the 2nd straight season, which hadn't happened since 1992-93. Jeter retires.
* 2015: There are now 2 Wild Card berths in each League. The Yankees host the AL Wild Card Game, but lose it to the Houston Astros.
* 2016: A-Rod retires. But on July 25, with the Yankees 7 1/2 games out of 1st in the AL East, and 4 1/2 games out of the 2nd AL Wild Card slot, both still reachable, Cashman trades relief ace Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Gleyber Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. Chapman made the difference for the Cubs, who won their 1st World Series in 108 years, and then his contract ran out, and the Yankees re-signed him.
* 2009 off-season: Cashman lets Matsui and Johnny Damon go. Keeping one of the other would have helped, but he kept neither. From this point onward, it's Cashman's team, not George Steinbrenner's or Gene Michael's.
* 2010: The Yankees win the American League Wild Card, and beat the Minnesota Twins in the AL Division Series, but lose the AL Championship Series to the Texas Rangers, who had never won a Pennant before.
* 2011: The Yankees win the AL Eastern Division, but lose the the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers. Pettitte retires.
* 2012: The Yankees win the AL Eastern Division, and beat the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. But Derek Jeter breaks his ankle in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tigers, and the Yankees get swept.
* 2013: The Yankees miss the Playoffs for the 1st time since 2008, and only the 2nd time since 1993. Rivera retires.
* 2014: The Yankees miss the Playoffs for the 2nd straight season, which hadn't happened since 1992-93. Jeter retires.
* 2015: There are now 2 Wild Card berths in each League. The Yankees host the AL Wild Card Game, but lose it to the Houston Astros.
* 2016: A-Rod retires. But on July 25, with the Yankees 7 1/2 games out of 1st in the AL East, and 4 1/2 games out of the 2nd AL Wild Card slot, both still reachable, Cashman trades relief ace Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Gleyber Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. Chapman made the difference for the Cubs, who won their 1st World Series in 108 years, and then his contract ran out, and the Yankees re-signed him.
It got worse: Having already hurt the bullpen by trading Chapman, Cashman wrecked it by trading Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians for Clint Frazier, Ben Heller, Justus Sheffield and J.P. Freyereisen. Miller helped the Indians win the Pennant, and then they lost the World Series to the Cubs. Sheffield pitched in 3 major league games in 2018, and then was sent to the Seattle Mariners as trade bait for James Paxton.
Cashman also traded starting pitcher Iván Nova to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Stephen Tarpley and Tito Polo. And he traded slugger Carlos Beltrán to the Rangers for Erik Swanson, Dillon Tate and Nick Green. Beltran helped the Rangers win the AL Western Division. Swanson and Tate never threw a pitch for the Yankees: The former was also part of the package for Paxton, the latter part of the package for Zack Britton.
So, to review: Cashman essentially traded Beltrán, Miller and Nova, and loaned Chapman, for Torres, Happ, Paxton, Britton and Frazier. Torres turned into a star in 2018, but has been inconsistent. And of the players acquired in these deals, he is the only one with any amount of success.
Cashman also traded starting pitcher Iván Nova to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Stephen Tarpley and Tito Polo. And he traded slugger Carlos Beltrán to the Rangers for Erik Swanson, Dillon Tate and Nick Green. Beltran helped the Rangers win the AL Western Division. Swanson and Tate never threw a pitch for the Yankees: The former was also part of the package for Paxton, the latter part of the package for Zack Britton.
So, to review: Cashman essentially traded Beltrán, Miller and Nova, and loaned Chapman, for Torres, Happ, Paxton, Britton and Frazier. Torres turned into a star in 2018, but has been inconsistent. And of the players acquired in these deals, he is the only one with any amount of success.
The Yankees did not make the Playoffs in 2016.
* 2017: Justin Verlander turned out to be available, but Cashman didn't trade for him. He went to the Houston Astros. Who also traded for Beltran. The Yankees reached the Wild Card Game, beat the Minnesota Twins, and beat the Indians in the ALDS, before losing the ALCS in 7 games to the Astros, including 2 games won by Verlander. They went on to win the World Series.
* 2018: Cashman trades All-Star 2nd baseman Starlin Castro to the Miami Marlins for one-dimensional slugger Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees reach the Wild Card Game, beat the Oakland Athletics, and lose the ALDS to the Red Sox, a series in which Stanton absolutely disappeared.
* 2019: Several good starting pitchers are available, at a time when the Yankees really need at least 1, possibly 2. Cashman does nothing. The Astros trade for Zack Greinke. But the "Baby Bombers" plan finally begins to pay off for Cashman. Finally, for the 1st time in 7 years, the Yankees win the Division. They beat the Twins in the ALDS. And then they lose to the Astros in the ALCS.
If you're trying to keep score at home: In the last 4 seasons, Cashman has helped 4 different teams -- the Cubs, the Indians, the Rangers and the Astros -- reach 8 postseason berths, win 4 Pennants, and win 2 World Series. Not only have none of these teams been the Yankees, but the Astros have beaten the Yankees in the postseason twice in that time.
* 2020: Due to the COVID epidemic rearranging the season, 3 AL teams now had Wild Card berths. The Yankees turned out to be one of them. They beat Cleveland in the 1st Round, but lost the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays.
* 2021: The Yankees lost the Wild Card Game to the Red Sox.
* 2022: The Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS, but lost the ALCS to the Astros. Again.
Explain to me why Cashman still has a job.
UPDATE: The Yankees missed the Playoffs in 2023. In 2024, they finally won another Pennant after 15 years, but lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games. In 2025, they finally beat the Boston Red Sox in a postseason series, but lost the ALDS to the Toronto Blue Jays. Going into the 2026 season, Cashman still has a job.
Among the Yankees' many traditions is Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. From the 2009 World Champions, they have given Plaques to shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada; and pitchers Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and CC Sabathia. In 2010, longtime team owner George Steinbrenner died, and they dedicated a Monument to him.
Manager Joe Girardi has not yet been honored -- but then, neither has Cashman.
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November 4, 2009 was a Tuesday. There were no other baseball games. Football was in midweek. There were 10 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers, 101-90 at Madison Square Garden.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Denver Nuggets, 122-94 at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands.
* The Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards, 93-89 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Dwyane Wade scored 40 points.
* The Orlando Magic beat the Phoenix Suns, 122-100 at the Amway Arena in Orlando.
* The Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons, 110-99 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.
* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 114-107 in overtime at the New Orleans Arena (now the Smoothie King Center). Chris Paul scored 39 points for the Hornets.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 92-90 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets, 103-102 in overtime at the Toyota Center in Houston. Kobe Bryant scored 41 points.
* The Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 113-105 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena).
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Sacramento Kings, 113-105 at the Power Balance Pavilion (formerly the 2nd ARCO Arena) in Sacramento.
There were 6 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders lost to the Buffalo Sabres, 3-0 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the Prudential Center.
* The Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-0 at the BankAtlantic Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.
* The San Jose Sharks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2 in a shootout at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
* The Calgary Flames beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Jarome Iginla scored the winning goal with 3:25 left in overtime.
* And the Colorado Avalanche beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.
In UEFA Champions League action, Arsenal beat Dutch team AZ Alkmaar, 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium in North London. Liverpool and Olympique Lyonnais played to a 1-1 draw at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France. Glasgow, Scotland team Rangers and Unirea Urziceni played to a 1-1 draw at Stadionul Steaua in Bucharest, Romania. FC Barcelona and Rubin Kazan played to a 0-0 draw at the Central Stadium in Kazan, Russia.
Internazionale Milano beat Dynamo Kyiv at the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine. Sevilla and Stuttgart played to a 1-1 draw at Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in Seville, Spain. Standard Liège beat Olympiacos of Athens, Greece, 2-0 at Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liège, Belgium. And Fiorentina beat Hungarian team Debrecen, 5-2 at Stadio Aretmio Franchi in Florence, Italy.
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