November 4, 2009: The Yankees "Restore the Universe to Order"

November 4, 2009: Game 6 of the World Series is held at the new Yankee Stadium. Not publicly announced is the fact that, earlier in the day, across 161st Street, demolition began on the old Yankee Stadium.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Pitcher David Robertson retired after the 2025 season, making him the last active player from the 2009 Yankees.

*

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.

June 12, 2009: The Luis Castillo Game

June 12, 2009: The New York Yankees host the New York Mets in an Interleague game at the brand-new version of Yankee Stadium that had opened 2 months earlier. Here's what I wrote at the time:

It is appropriate that the Mets have a minor-league affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, named for a rollercoaster. The Mets put their fans on a rollercoaster all the time. Sometimes these fans end up saying, "Wheeee! What a ride!" Sometimes they end up throwing up all that Blue Smoke and Shake Shack stuff they ingested.

We have now had Interleague play long enough to know what a typical Yankees-Mets game is like. Last night's game, the 1st between the teams not at the original Yankee Stadium or at Shea Stadium, was typical.

1-0 Yankees. 2-1 Mets. 3-2 Yankees -- and I knew then that this game was not going to end benignly. Something was going to happen to make those who watched it, in the seats at YSII or on TV, talk about it for the next 50 years. 4-3 Mets. 6-3 Mets.

Has any broadcaster ever driven his own team's fans crazy as much as John Sterling? John, please, if you're not completely sure it's going to go out, don't get us going. No more, "Theeeeeeee pitch, it's swung on! And it's driven to deep right!" unless you know it's going to be A, over the fence, and B, a fair ball. Three times last night, he did that, leading me to think the Yankees had just hit a home run, but it turned out otherwise. On top of the times they actually did.

But then, as Hideki Matsui came up, on his 35th birthday no less, Sterling left no doubt: "It's swung on! And there it goes! Deep to right field! That ball is high! It is far! It is gone! It's a thrilla from Godzilla!"

7-6 Yankees. Still, I knew it wasn't over. Yogi Berra managed both the Yankees and the Mets, and was managing the Mets in the whacked-out NL East race of 1973, when he said, "It ain't over 'til it's over." And at 7-6 Yankees, I knew this game was far from over.

Sure enough, Phil Coke wasn't it -- again. And Joe Girardi used Joe Torre's panic move, bringing Mariano Rivera in for the 8th inning. Like most panic moves, it didn't work, and it was 8-7 Mets.

Now it was over. I was sure. Well, I've only been watching these 2 teams play for 33 seasons, so what the hell do I know?

Bottom of the 9th, 2 out, the Yankees down to their last chance, but with the tying and winning runs on, and who's up? Alex Rodriguez. Oh, well, game over. A-Rod will strike out or pop up. He can't be trusted in a situation like this. And, sure enough, Francisco Rodriguez, who hasn't blown a save since he became a Met, got him to pop up! I knew it! Game over!

Met 2nd baseman Luis Castillo settled under it, can o' corn, easy play. I could have caught this. Game over.

Except... HOLY COW! He dropped the ball! Castillo dropped the ball! Tying run scores! Winning run scores! Yankees 9, Mets 8! Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win! HOW ABOUT THAT!

This was less a "classic Yankee win" than a "classic Met loss." Once I got over the shock and stopped laughing, I felt awful for Met fans.

This was in the bag. K-Rod pitching against the Yankees (which he sure knew how to do for the Angels)? Needing only to get A-Rod for the last out? This was as close to a sure thing as exists in baseball.

And K-Rod didn't blow it. He got A-Rod do to what A-Rod does so well, screw up in a clutch situation. A-Rod knew it, slamming his bat down in disgust. (Well, at least he does one thing as well as Mickey Mantle. Or Paul O'Neill.)

Met fans were ready to party like it's 1969. Or 1986. Then Luis Castillo turned it into 1962. Or 1979. Or 1993. Or 2002. And Yankee Fans partied like it's 1999. Or, more accurately, October 2000.

Did Met fans deserve this? Well, some of them. But this was a game practically already in the standings. The Daily News headline writers were already coming up with something -- maybe along the lines of "WHOSE HOUSE? Mets win first Subway Series game in new Stadium." Bill Gallo was already drawing his "goat-horns" cartoon. And then... It's going to ring in Met fans' (pardon me) minds for generations: "Castillo dropped the ball!"

I know, I know, it's only June 12. Not September. A regular-season game, just 1 of 162.

Still... And the Mets couldn't take advantage of the Phillies losing to the Red Sox, either. (Though they did spare the Yankees dropping another game behind The Scum.)

Greg Prince, author of the blog Faith and Fear In Flushing (and the terrific book of the same title), says he has a friend who calls rooting for the Mets "Metsochism." How true, how true.

This would have been bad enough for Met fans against any team. But against the Yankees? Not the Braves, not even the Phillies, but the team they truly hate the most, the Yankees?

I suspect that, somewhere, there is a Met fan now writing what I was writing after various losses to Boston: "This is unacceptable... My team has no heart... Clean house! If you can't win, then at least don't lose with the same guys!"

Do I have sympathy for this hypothetical fan? Do I have sympathy for all the Met fans who feel like this? Yeah, I do. Damn, maturity sucks sometimes.

Two more games in this series. And you just know at least one of them is going to be another epic.

Meet the Mets, meet the Mets.
Step right up and BEAT the Mets!
Bring your kiddies, and bring your wife.
They'll beat the Mets to within an inch of their life!
Because the Mets are really dropping the ball!
They've got their backs up against the wall!
East Side, West Side, they're all watching the Mets go down!
Yeah, they're the M-E-T-S, Mets, the New... York... Clowns!

An oldie, but a goodie.

You know, with all that money he makes, the least A-Rod can do is buy Luis Castillo dinner. Or introduce him to Kate Hudson, or whatever chick he's dating this week.

*

Here's how Michael Kay announced it on the YES Network:

And the three-one: Popped up. Castillo... dropped the ball! He dropped the ball! Here comes Teixeira, and the Yankees win! Oh, my goodness! He dropped the ball! What an ending! The Yankees win, 9-8, in the most improbable fashion! A-Rod becomes a hero with a pop-up!

And there exists at least one video of a Mets fan inside The House That Steinbrenner Built to Replace the House That Ruth Built, celebrating a little too early.

Overall, Luis Castillo was not a bad ballplayer. He batted .302 that season. He was a 3-time All-Star, a 3-time Gold Glove, a 2-time National League stolen base leader, a .290 lifetime hitter with 370 career stolen bases, and helped the team then known as the Florida Marlins win the 2003 World Series. But after this drop, he only played another year and a half, and was released by first the Mets, and then the Philadelphia Phillies, during Spring Training of 2011, and never played in America again.

*

June 12, 2009 was a Friday. As you can see by that New York Post headline, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings that night, 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, clinching the Stanley Cup and reversing the result of last year's Finals. Sidney Crosby had his 1st Cup. It should've been his Crosby's last. It wasn't.

The NBA Finals were on a travel day. Two nights later, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic, 99-86 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, in Game 5 to clinch the title.

And a full slate of Major League Baseball games was played:

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Kyle Kendrick collapsed in the top of the 13th inning, allowing 4 singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly that scored 3 runs.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-2 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals, 4-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-0 at Rangers Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. (It's now named Choctaw Stadium.) The Rangers needed 3 pitchers to complete an 8-hit shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. (It's now named American Family Field.)

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Houston Astros, 8-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the San Diego Padres, 11-6 at Angel Stadium of Anahiem.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-0 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. (It's now named Oracle Park.)