New York Yankees Blog

The New York Yankees have made it to the month of October for Major League Baseball, which signifies one thing, playoff time yet again for the Yankees. The Yankees clinched the American League East division title this season for the 16th time since 1969. One of the key elements they have is in their outstanding closer Mariano Rivera.

In the past postseasons for the Yankees you would have heard the names of player like closer Clyde Frazier, but in 2009 the talk is all about the great Mariano Rivera. October is Rivera’s month because the Yankees need his greatness as a closer in order to win games this year to make it to the World series. For Rivera and Derek Jeter, if the Yankees make the World Series, this will be their fifth one to play in together. Marino Rivera is a name that many know because the only time he is mentioned is when he occasionally blows a save.

People talk about Rivera early in the season when he struggles for a few games and makes people think he is done, but that’s not the case when he bounces back and has a spectacular season, like it has always been with the Yankee closer. It’s the same old story every time with Rivera, he starts off sluggish and then it seems that he plays like he is coming out for the first time.

The Yankees look at Rivera the pitcher, as they looked at Babe Ruth as a hitter for the Yankees, and say there has never been a hitter or pitcher like Rivera or the Babe. If you were to ask anyone on the team they would tell you that you could never take him for granted. The team and the fans greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication that Mariano Rivera has brought to the Yankee organization. There has never been a time since Rivera became a Yankee back in 1996, that anyone has ever overlooked the talent that he holds, or the grace that he possesses.

It is always worth a look into the past, know that Rivera wasn’t always a closer, but had to start at a lower level. He was used initially as a setup man for the Yankees, and some would think he was the best setup man ever to play the game. Mariano Rivera will be the biggest key in my opinion to the success of the Yankees in the 2009 Postseason.

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New York Yankees short stop Derek Jeter made club history September 12, as he hit a single that would surpass legendary Yankee Lou Gehrig as the New York Yankees newest all time hits leader. The hit finished a game that would be memorable as it lasted until about 1:30 am due to two rain delays earlier in the night.

Being one of the New York Yankees key elements over the past several years, Jeter has accomplished many game breaking performances and surpassed many records, but this one is his greatest feat to date, as he sliced a single past Lou Gehrig’s record. But as the great sportsman he is, Jeter didn’t spend very much time in the spotlight as he stepped out and then began to put his focus on what the Yankees future has in store. A playoff berth, and quite possibly a trip to the 2009 World Series. Jeter would enjoy nothing better than to get a ring to finish up the memorable season, from the Yankees having the best record in baseball today, to him passing Lou Gehrig in the most hits in Yankee History.

Jeter said “We haven’t finished or won anything yet, so our focus has always remained to try to win games and win the division.” The Yankees this year made the playoffs for the first time sine the 2006 season, and won their 16th division title since 1969 tying the Atlanta Braves mark. Derek Jeter has been a big influence on both the players and the fans of the Yankees as both a leader on and off of the field.

When Jeter hit the memorable hit, it lit up the stadium and fans cheered as this is one of the most notable moments in the history of the stadium, being late at night due to the two rain delays earlier, and being extremely cold. Every fan in that stadium stood up to cheer on Jeter to become the all time New York Yankees hits leader. Lou Gehrig is looking down from heaven cheering on his Yankees, and smiling down on Jeter who will hopefully hold this record for a very long time just as Gehrig did.

With the regular season coming to an end Jeter and the Yankees hope to blast off into the playoffs with a great divisional championship series, and eventually make it to the most fought for spot in baseball, a trip to the World Series.

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The New York Yankees have done it once again, they have clinched a playoff birth in 2009 after beating the Los Angeles six to five. The Yankees are in pursuit of having the best record in baseball. They has a small playoff celebration in the locker room after the game but then set their focus on what’s in the future and that is to hold on and complete the season with the best record in Major League Baseball.

The Yankees started off the 2009 season sluggish but then worked out the kinks and started winning, and currently have a record of 95-56. The Yankees have controlled the number one spot in the American League East sine early June leaving the other AL east teams in the dust, and fighting just to keep up. The team that is the closest to catching the Yankees is the Boston Red Sox, who are six games behind the Yankees trying to keep up with the pace.

The Yankees are setting with pretty with the best record in Major League Baseball, and also the best run differential with a +149 run differential. The Yankees weren’t much on celebrating a playoff birth, they are saving the real celebration for when the Yankees clench the American League East Division.

In the game that gave the Yankees their playoff birth, the Yankees got off to a 5-0 lead, but ended up letting the Angels come back and tied the game at 5-5. In the top of the ninth inning with Bret Gardner sitting on third base, third baseman Alex Rodriguez came up to bat and hit the sacrifice fly that Gardner would tag up and head home and score on, which gave the Yankees the 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, Yankees great power closer Mariano Rivera took the mound to try and secure the save and win that would set a place in stone for the Yankees in the 2009 Major League Baseball playoffs. Mariano Rivera came in and finished out the game for the Yankees, earning his 41rst save of the season. The Yankees are still at the top of the American League East division, but Boston still has hope for the race. The Red Sox currently hold a steady lead in the American League wild card race.

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The Yankees will finish the 2009 regular season with starting pitcher A.J. Burnett on the mound. Burnett will pitch in the last game of a three game series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The game is at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay.

The Yankees are set to begin the American League East divisional playoffs this coming up week. The Yankees are suffering some problems lately, especially in the area of starting pitchers, as starting pitcher CC Sabathia got rocked by the Devil Rays on Friday night, and Andy Pettitte losing on Saturday. The focus right now for Manager Joe Girardi is to tune up his starting pitchers and work out the kinks before the beginning of the divisional championship series coming up. The Yankees are set to face either the Detroit Tigers, or the Minnesota Twins depending on the outcome of the American League Central tie between the two teams.

Burnett, who is currently 12-9 on the season, is getting a chance to post his third solid outing against Tampa Bay. Burnett currently has an earned run average of 4.10, and if he comes out victorious today it will give him career win number 100.

Tampa Bay is scheduled to start right handed pitcher Wade Davis , who has never pitched in a game against New York. Davis , a 24 year old, is two wins and one loss with an earned run average of 3.45. He gave up one run and seven hits in seven innings of work on Tuesday in this win against Baltimore Tuesday night.

Between the two teams this year, New York has won ten of seventeen total match ups in the 2009 season. The Yankees will have a tough road to the World Series, but need to focus mainly on the starting pitchers who they expect to play in the Division series. They also need to focus on the talent of their great closer Mariano Rivera, a power hand closer, maybe the best in baseball, for the chance of winning games in the postseason.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi has been using his starters recently to get them ready and do some fine tuning on their skills to prepare or the postseason race ahead of them. The three main pitchers Girardi will be using in the postseason will be A.J. Burnett
CC Sabathia, and Andy Pettitte, all three have great experience and talent so it should be a great playoff season for the Yankees.

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New York Yankee 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez carried his team Sunday night to a victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with seven runs batted in, all seven coming in the sixth inning as the Yankees rallied to beat the Devil Rays 10-2. Rodriguez belted two deep shots in the sixth inning to give the slugging 3rd baseman 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in for the season.

Only a couple of days earlier before the Yankees 162nd win, Rodriguez was joking around with closing pitcher Mariano Rivera saying he probably wouldn’t reach the 30 homerun and 100 run batted in marks for which would be 13th season to do so in the 3rd baseman’s outstanding career.

The victory today gave the Yankees the momentum they needed to start the postseason off right. Winning a 103 games this year gave the Yankees the best record that have had since reaching 104 wins in the 2002 season. The most notable moment for tonights games was the two long blast by Rodriguez with his remarkable 7 rbi inning.

The Rodriguez 3 run homerun in the sixth inning set a franchise record 243rd season homerun for the Yankees, a record which has not been beaten since the 2004 season. Soon after he hit the three run shot, Rodriguez then came back up to bat with the bases loaded and put the ball in the bleachers again giving him his 18th career grand slam which ties slugger Mark McGwire’s all time homerun hits with 583 for his career, and with plenty of time to still give chase for the record left in Rodriguez’s career.

Rodriguez had missed 28 games this year coming back from hip surgery and put up spectacular number for the Yankees. Rodriguez having been a key player for the Yankees for the past few years has earned his spot in the history books of the Yankees and Major League baseball putting up seven runs batted in and two homeruns in one inning. Not too many players in the history of baseball have ever been able to pull a feat like that. But Rodriguez is one of the highest paid players for a reason, because of talent like it took to put up an outing like that in one inning.

The Yankees are set to start off the postseason and face either the Detroit Tigers or the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division playoffs. Rodriguez will be one of the big keys to the Yankees success in the postseason.

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On September 27, the New York Yankees completed the third game in the series against the Boston Red Sox giving the Yankees the American League East Championship. The Yankees won all three games sweeping the Red Sox.

The Yankees, whose record is 102-58, came back from losing 2-1 and rallied to beat the red sox with a final score of 4-2. Mark Texiera hit a homerun in the 8th inning to help give New York the win and the ability to clench the American League East title. With the win the Yankees will have home field advantage throughout the 2009 Major League Playoffs.

The Yankees have had an outstanding season putting up over one hundred wins, with the one hundredth one coming against the Red Sox, Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher in the game for the Yankees. This is the first division title the Yankees have won since the 2006 season. The Yankees have improved over last year missing the playoffs.

As soon as the last out was recorded the players immediately donned the hats that stated that the Yankees were now the American League East division champions. As team captain and short stop Derek Jeter lead his team of the field, crowd stood and gave the Yankees a standing ovation for their accomplishments throughout the season and earning the title of division champions.

In the locker room is where the real celebration began as champaign began to spray as the players shook hands and congratulated each other on their victory. The Yankees have been at the top of the division since late July and have continued to dominate major league baseball putting up over a 100 wins with only 58 losses. For the final week of the season the starting players will most likely be getting a break and the management can start to figure out the rotation the Yankees will use throughout the playoff drive.

It has not been determined yet who will be facing off against the Yankees, but most likely will be the winner of the close race of the American League Center, either the Detroit Tigers or the Minnesota Twins.

Winning the American League East division this year gives the Yankees their 16th division title win since 1969, which ties the mark of the Atlanta Braves who also have 16 division titles since 1969.

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It’s probably the best-known brand in sports: the interlocking ‘NY’ of the New York Yankees’ logo. It was designed originally in 1877 by artist Louis Tiffany to be placed on a medal honoring the first police officer shot and killed in the line of duty in New York Police. Later, the logo was modified and used by the New York Highlanders, an early 1900s baseball club.
After the Baltimore Orioles franchise moved to New York City in 1903, the logo was adopted by the team, used on the cap as well as the left sleeve of the jersey. Eventually it also made it to the jersey’s left breast.

All the way back in 1905,, the New York club was informally referred to as the Yankees. However, it wasn’t until 1913, after the move to the Polo Grounds, that they officially changed their name. Until then, they remained the Highlanders.

It was as the Highlanders that the team first used their trademark pinstripe uniforms. The strips went away briefly,but returned for good in 1915. The uniform even today has that familiar pinstriped look.

The current cap design, in an early form, made its first appearance in 1922. Since then, it has become a recognized symbol of one of the nation’s most successful sports teams.

The team tried different designs in the early years, including a matching pinstriped look. However, in 1922, they settled on the solid navy version with the familiar NY logo. This cap has been worn proudly by legends such as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Derek Jeter.

Another interesting note about the Yankee uniform: They were the first to include numbers regularly on their uniforms. This landmark took place in 1929. Originally, the numbers represented each person’s sot in the lineup (for instance, number 3 Babe Ruth batted third).

Currently, the home uniform of the New York Yankees is a white one with navy blue stripes and the interlocking “NY” logo on the uniform’s left side. For their away games,the team wears a spiffy gray uniform with “New York” spelled out across the chest in a vivid navy blue and white outline. There is a navy blue trim running along the ends of both sleeves. Neither Yankees’ uniform has the players’ names written on them.

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All of our teams have them. The reserve players. They are often traded, bounced around, they join a club for half a season and then retire. The journeymen ball players are often lost in the shadows cast by their superstar teammates, and on a Yankee’s roster of astronomical salaries and personalities, it is doubly hard to stand out in the infrequent and sporadic opportunities for playing time. However against the Oakland Athletics tonight, Cody Ransom, with the moniker of a Wild West gunslinger, took full advantage of his at- bats, going 2-4 against the Oakland pitching staff. The 33 years old journeyman infielder hit two doubles and scored one run in a big win by the Yankees this evening. Ransom started as third base was vacated by Alex Rodriguez in a routine day off courtesy of manager Joe Girardi. Trips to the DL have limited the veteran Ransom’s at-bats and playing time this season, but he returned tonight healed and swinging the bat with a vengeance. Ransom’s two doubles and one run are another gem in his 2009 season, as he is on pace to wrack up career numbers in all offensive categories. His 10 RBI’s this year through 28 games are only one behind his total of 11 RBI’s through 78 games in 2004 while with the San Francisco Giants.
In the bottom of the sixth tonight, Ransom doubled to begin the inning which saw the Yankees snatch the lead from the A’s and the bullpen solidify the win with stellar performances from Phil Hughes, Brian Bruney and Mariano Rivera. This win did assuage some of the sting from the 6-4 loss to Oakland yesterday, the lone stain on the 9-1 home stand. Ransom not only had to play well defensively at third base, but missing a bat like A-Rod’s really puts some of the necessity to produce runs on the rest of the team, whether reserves or starters. Ransom was fundamentally sound and efficient in the field; he did what needed to be done without any flash or showing off, his jersey covered in grass stains and soil as he ran on and off the field.
We often forget when watching Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramirez, and with the unfathomable talent that these men play baseball, that there are over 2000 active Major League ball players, the majority of whom play unglamorous back-up roles. Some of these players will end their major league careers with fewer than 100 at bats and hence a very limited opportunities to help their teams win. Cody Ransom, though he will probably never hit more than 5 or 6 home runs in a season or have over 300 at-bats, replaced an All-Star at third base this evening and played a pivotal role in the win with his judicious hitting. His play this evening was indicative of the type of guy who is grateful for his role on a Major League roster, however minor it may be. And when asked to step in , Ransom played hard and ultimately helped the Yankees get a good win to conclude a near flawless 10 game home-stand.
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To immediately answer your question: yes and no. Some of the architecture is, in fact, the same in order to capture the glory days of Yankees Baseball (except this one guarantees many more home runs). But the experience is very different. Here are some places to visit inside the new Yankee Stadium during your inaugural season visit:

If you’ve got the money, buy a ticket for the field-level box seats, recently reduced in price from their astronomical $2,000+ price tag. Have you ever had a martini bar with full service while you watch baseball? The answer is no, so don’t try to lie. It’s the priciest experience listed here, but also the most unforgettable…unless you really take advantage of the martini bar.

Have you ever sat in on a Food Network special with their amazing chefs? If not, here’s your chance. The Delta 360 club (which boasts 1,200 seats) is often visited by Food Network chefs which cook at two open kitchens.

Ever heard of Lobel’s? They have some of the best meat in the country. They don’t discriminate against the wealthy and the true fans sitting in the bleachers: there’s a Lobel’s stand near both sections. You’ll see beautiful meat being freshly sliced as you wait, and you can order their deliciously-aged prime rib for just $15.

Not into the grease and price of typical stadium fare? You’re not alone. Near the entrance is a great little place called Melissa’s Produce which offers, among other things, fresh fruit. A cold beer is the standard refreshment at a Yankees game: a plate of fresh strawberries is a new kind of refreshment. They also have fairly priced sandwiches and hot dogs.

Craving a 1950’s diner feel at the ballgame? Take your taste buds on a trip back to the glory days of baseball by visiting Johnny Rockets. Their milkshakes are too thick to be eaten with anything but spoons, and their burgers are the sloppy mess you always hoped they would be.

Miss the taste of Philly? Carl’s Philly Cheese Steaks offers reasonably priced beef or chicken steaks. You can even enjoy that true taste of Philly with your choice of white American or Whiz.

All in all, there are over 130 concession carts at new Yankee stadium. If you didn’t see something here that catches your eye, there’s guaranteed to be something that’ll fill your belly.

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From the Pope to Babe Ruth, Yankee Stadium has had a history right out of a made for television drama. Built in 1923, the stadium was dubbed, “The House that Babe Built” as a reference to the baseball legend. But Yankee Stadium became more than just a setting for a cast of characters; it became an integral part of the action.

It is hard to imagine a professional team, in a day of multi-millionaire athletes, sharing a home field with another team, but that is what occurred here. The Yankees shared a field with the Giants at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan. After the Yankees won their first American League Pennant, the Giants owner was ready to ship them out. Charles Stoneham’s palatable resentment caused him to wish that the team would relocate to “Queens or some other out of the way place.”

When Yankee Stadium was built, the owner’s wished to have a field that no one could view from other vantage points –such as a subway platform. The design itself was over the top for the time, but soon became more sparse when the job was completed. However, the owners put a great deal of money and risk into their venture. They wished to build a stadium that could hold double what the stadiums at that time held.

It seemed a risky venture that paid off for these owners. They built an iconic facility that endured as a home base for the Yankees. Over the years, renovations occurred and improvements were made but except for the addition of lights –the stadium looked very much the same until improvements in 1966. During this time, the stadium was given to Rice University. The stadium was painted blue and white during this time, perhaps in tribute to the Texas-based University? The city eventually forced eminent domain and Rice sold the stadium. In the 70’s, major renovations were proposed by the owners, CBS. The renovations would require that the Yankees once again share a field with another team –this time the Mets. The Mets resisted and CBS couldn’t proceed as planned. The team was sold to George Steinbrenner. In 1972, the City of New York purchased the stadium to lease back to the Yankees. This time, the renovations took place as scheduled. The City just happened to own Shea stadium and the Mets would be forced to share.

After these renovations, the stadium didn’t look like itself. Once completed, the new look included Monument Park, to hold tributes and memorabilia from the years past.

In 2008, the final game was played at Yankee Stadium. A few small ceremonies were held, but no closing ceremony. The monuments were relocated to the new field, adjacent to the old. When demolition is finally completed, a park is to be constructed in its place. When demolition is complete, the historic park will be remembered fondly by fans that purchased pieces of stadium. The Stadium did its service and will be fondly remembered by New Yorkers and fans alike.

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