Remembering the 2009 New York Yankees

It’s the 15th anniversary of the New York Yankees’ 27th World Series championship. The Yankees are back in the World Series again.

Postseason October baseball is different. The falling leaves, the chilly weather and the stakes at hand. It’s football season, but baseball still has its say.

I’ve enjoyed the playoffs so far. I’m a proud Yankees fan, even if we are the Evil Empire. We beat the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Guardians. It’s the farthest we’ve gone in the playoffs since that championship-winning title in 2009.

As of Wednesday morning, the Yankees were down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in this year’s World Series. I’m hoping the Yankees won Game 5 that forced a Game 6 tonight.

Either way, the Yankees made the World Series for the first time since 2009. It’s brought back a lot of memories.

I was in eighth grade in 2009. I vividly remember the Yankees taking on the Philadelphia Phillies. It was so exciting because it was the first time seeing one of my favorite professional teams go for the championship.

The 2009 Yankees had so many legends — Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and more.

The Yankees ended up beating the Phillies 4-2 with Game 6 coming in New York. It was cool to see my favorite team become world champions.

One of my favorite memories from the 2009 championship came on Halloween night. I dressed up as Derek Jeter, the perfect costume since New York was in the World Series.

Trick-or-Treating took place during the same time as the game. I was excited to get a lot of candy, but upset I would miss a game.

There ended up being a rain delay. As I was Trick-or-Treating, people would see my costume and a few houses gave me updates such as, ‘It’s still in a rain delay’ or ‘It hasn’t started yet.’

I got all my trick-or-treating in and hardly missed any, if all, of the game. The Yankees ended up winning that Halloween night.

The Yankees and Dodgers weren’t scheduled to play on Halloween night, yesterday. I’m OK with that because it means I don’t have to compare 2024 with 2009.

It’s a whole different era in New York. Aaron Judge is the captain of the Bronx Bombers. We also have Juan Soto, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Luke Weaver and other great players. 

The Yankees’ young core of Anthony Volpe, grand slam, Gleyber Torres and Austin Wells all homered in Game 4. It was the jolt and spark that the Yankees needed.

If the Yankees intend to win the World Series, it would be historic since we started down 3-0. Winning four straight games is no easy task, especially since two would be in Los Angeles.

From Halloween to the World Series, it’s been a fun week. I’ll always treasure the 2009 World Series championship no matter what. Go Yankees!

Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].