NY Yankee Stadium last game
NY Yankee stadium
Closing out the historic NY Yankee Stadium by missing the playoffs, the Yankees had work to do in the offseason.
With the NY Yankee motto of “World Series title or bust”, the Yankees approached the offseason aggressively by signing the top 3 free agents.
Opening the new stadium with a World Series title would make everyone forget about the disappointing season the year before.
The Yankees won the American League East with an eight-game lead over their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, compiling a record of 103–59. C.C. Sabathia had a strong season, winning 19 games, while position players Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira had strong seasons offensively, Rodriguez with 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in (RBI) and Teixeira with 39 and 122 respectively.
The Yankees swept the Minnesota Twins in 3 games in the American League Division Series (ALDS) and The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in six games in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
The Yankees made it to the World Series for the first time since 2003 and 40th appearance in franchise history. The Yankees met the offensive powerhouse and National League winner, Philadelphia Phillies.
NY Yankee World Series 2003
There was a lot of anticipation around this World Series as many believed these were the best teams in each division.
Both teams led their league in runs per game. Alex Rodriguez was drawing a lot of attention as he was having a monster postseason. The two lineups featured 3 MVP winners and 20 former all stars.
Yankees` manager Joe Girardi, questionably announced he would use only 3 starting pitchers for the entire postseason. Girardi was heavily criticized for using the 3 man rotation particularly in the World Series since there is one less day off.
The match up between closers drew attention as Mariano Rivera and Brad Lidge were the only two closers in the postseason to not blow a save. Many gave the edge to the Yankees, since Lidge blew two saves against the Yankees earlier in the year.
Cliff Lee brought the Phillies victory in Game 1, allowing one unearned run during his complete game win. Solo home runs by Mark Teixeira and Matsui helped the Yankees to a Game 2 win. Game 3 featured more offense, with a combined six home runs and 13 total runs ultimately resulting in a Yankees victory.
NY Yankee Field
The NY Yankees won Game 4 after scoring the decisive three runs in the ninth inning, helped by Johnny Damon’s who stole second and third base. The Phillies avoided elimination by winning Game 5 on the back of Utley’s second two-home run game of the series.
The Yankees secured their World Series victory by winning Game 6, as Matsui tied the record for most RBI in a World Series game with six. He was named Most Valuable Player of the series, making him the first Japanese-born player and the first full-time designated hitter to win the award.
The series win brought the Yankees’ franchise championship total to 27,[102] more than any other North American professional sports franchise.
The victory was noted by some sportswriters as a personal success for Alex Rodriguez, winning his first championship and succeeding in the playoffs where some had previously claimed he was a “choker and a loser.”
Prior to this series, Rodriguez had appeared in 2,166 regular season games without a World Series appearance, then second-most among active players to Ken Griffey, Jr
