Baseball's visual delights through the lens of a lifelong fan.
The Champions of 2009
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In 1923, the original Yankee Stadium opened and was home to the franchise's first World Series champions. 2009, it's a new Yankee Stadium and the team's 27th title. Congratulations to Hideki Matsui, whose 6 RBIs in game 6 clinched him series MVP honors. This classy professional hitter broke in at Yankee Stadium with an opening day grand slam homer in 2003. That season ended with October disappointment as the Marlins surprised the Yankees in the World Series. This year, back in the Fall Classic, Matsui was the Yankees' hottest hitter, hitting the go-ahead homer off Pedro Martinez in game two and helped nail down the Championship Trophy by becoming the second player ever to drive in six runs in a World Series game (joining former Yankee Bobby Richardson in the record books). #55 joins the parade of Yankees post-season legends that reach all the way back to Babe Ruth. Recording the final five outs, the incomparable Mariano Rivera. After he nails down the save, time for the on-field celebration. Special thanks to Jeff Canova, who was on hand for the final game to capture the scoreboard, Rivera and the pandemonium!
...you share it with AJ Burnett . The well traveled righthander, who after seven years with the Marlins. spent time with the Yankees, Pirates, Blue Jays and Phillies, won 164 big league games and struck out more than 2500, but inconsistent control kept him from becoming an ace: he twice led the American League in wild pitches and once in hit batters. The Arkansas native earned a pair of World Series rings -- with the 2003 Marlins (while recovering from Tommy John surgery) and 2009 Yankees (where he set a record for hitting five batters in a post-season series). Also in the January 3rd birthday circle: longtime big league reliever Gary Lavelle , the late Phllies catcher Darren Daulton and utilityman Luis Sojo , who between his time with the Mariners and Yankees, made the post-season six times in 13 seasons. But among the 68 players born on this date who've played in MLB, Burnett was -- if you go by WAR -- the most productive of them.
September 2nd, 1955 : Whitey Ford takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning, while Yogi Berra adds two hits and Mickey Mantle crushes a three-run homer as the Yankees beat the Washington Senators 4-2 . It's also a big day for Billy Martin . Back from a year and an half of active duty in the Army, the shortstop goes 2-for-4 as the Yanks stay a half-game back of the league-leading White Sox. (They would regain 1st place on the 16th and go on to their 21st American League pennant. Martin would hit .300 over the final 22 games.) The Monument Park plaques are from a 2021 visit to Yankee Stadium. The image of Whitey and Yogi up top is from the 2012 Old Timers Day at the Stadium.
...you celebrate it with Bill Mazeroski , the first player to end a World Series with a walk-off home run. 65 years ago next month, leading off the last of the 9th in game seven against the Yankees, he crushed Ralph Terry's second pitch over the left field wall, giving Pittsburgh perhaps its greatest baseball moment. A gifted defensive player with more modest offensive skills, Maz remains one of the more controversial inductees of the Hall of Fame. A statue, depicting his joyful scamper around the bases following that 1960 home run, is one of several outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh. And below, Pablo Lopez , who earlier this season, added his name to the nearly 170 who have played for both the Yankees and Mets. The utilityman got into 24 games for Bronx Bombers -- highlighted by driving in the go-ahead run against the Royals on June 12th, His Mets tenure was microscopic -- he pinch ran for JD Martinez (and scored a run) in the September 1st, 2024 game against...
In 1923, the original Yankee Stadium opened and was home to the franchise's first World Series champions. 2009, it's a new Yankee Stadium and the team's 27th title.
Congratulations to Hideki Matsui, whose 6 RBIs in game 6 clinched him series MVP honors.
This classy professional hitter broke in at Yankee Stadium with an opening day grand slam homer in 2003. That season ended with October disappointment as the Marlins surprised the Yankees in the World Series.
This year, back in the Fall Classic, Matsui was the Yankees' hottest hitter, hitting the go-ahead homer off Pedro Martinez in game two and helped nail down the Championship Trophy by becoming the second player ever to drive in six runs in a World Series game (joining former Yankee Bobby Richardson in the record books). #55 joins the parade of Yankees post-season legends that reach all the way back to Babe Ruth.
Recording the final five outs, the incomparable Mariano Rivera. After he nails down the save, time for the on-field celebration.
Special thanks to Jeff Canova, who was on hand for the final game to capture the scoreboard, Rivera and the pandemonium!
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