Op-Ed: Play of Contrast Between Yankees and Phillies in MLB World Series

Major League Baseball's World Series starts tonight with the New York Yankees looking to recapture what it considers as its hereditary right after several disappointing seasons, while the Philadelphia Phillies look to add up to last season's success.

The storyline couldn’t have been better if it were written by an award-winning screenwriter in Hollywood. The 2009 World Series of Major League Baseball starts today with the defending champions Philadelphia Phillies, winners of the National League pennant, against the most storied franchise in baseball history, American League champions the New York Yankees, who are out to regain lost glory after having fallen on hard times the past few seasons. The Yankees, arguably baseball’s poster team with its rich history and massive fan base will be aiming for their first title under new manager Joe Girardi who replaced long-time manager Joe Torre, the chief architect of the club’s successful championship runs in the late 90’s. This will be the 40th time that the Yankees will be playing in the World Series where they have already claimed 26 titles, the most by any team of any sport in North American history and exactly a quarter of all championships that have been contested up until this year. Some of the game’s most celebrated players have worn the pinstripe and played in the fabled grounds of Yankee Stadium such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Yogi Berra. They have enjoyed incredible success in the last decade with their most recent dynasty which won the championship in ’95, ’98,’99, and culminating with the title against their crosstown rivals the New York Mets in the so-called Subway series in 2000. They have underachieved since then however as they have only reached the World Series twice in the next eight seasons but losing both times, to the upstart Florida Marlins in 2001 and the gritty Arizona Diamondbacks in 2003. The Yankees hit rock bottom last year when they failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons. The recent championship drought has not sit well with New York’s rabid fans as well as with team management who had to maintain the league’s most expensive payroll courtesy of it’s all-star studded line-up. Something’s gotta give. By the end of 2007, long-time manager Joe Torre left for the National League and in his place the Yankees hired former catcher Joe Girardi to pick-up from where Torre left. The Yankees will now gun for their first title for Girardi and their new Yankee Stadium which they opened this season after bidding goodbye to the old Yankee Stadium in July of last year. They are hoping to get the title this year so that it will be a catalyst towards the making of another dynasty, much like the one they enjoyed in the late 90's especially since the cornerpost of that dynasty is still around, team captain and shortstop Derek Jeter. New stadium, new manager, and the team’s newfound confidence will hopefully add up to another championship ring after eight years of absence. On the other hand, the history of the Philadelphia Phillies has been characterized by long periods of struggle and countless seasons spent in mediocrity for the greater part of its existence. So great were their much publicized struggles in fact that, by virtue of the team’s age and history of adversity, they have earned the distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of American professional sports, which is in complete contrast to the winning reputation of the New York Yankees. Despite being part of the original 16 teams that composed the major leagues at the turn of the 20th Century, the Phillies have only been able to come up with an anemic two titles in its 126-year old existence: one against Kansas City in 1980 and another one against Tampa Bay last season. After winning the World Series last season however and with the retention of the team’s core of young stars which clinched the title for them last year, the future is looking bright for the ‘hardluck kids’ of Philadelphia. And they look to continue winning in this series to secure another title in the hopes of putting their long history of failures behind. This edition of the World Series is a play of contrast in a lot of ways between one team aching to build another chapter of a long winning tradition, and another team seeking to add to last year’s success as they try to shake off their own losing tradition. Game 1 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies happens tonight at the new Yankee Stadium, the Bronx, New York. Schedule and venue for the succeeding games are as follows: Game 2 Thursday, Oct. 29 at Yankee Stadium Game 3 Saturday, Oct. 31 at Citizens Bank Park Game 4 Sunday, Nov. 1 at Citizens Bank Park Game 5 Monday, Nov. 2 at Citizens Bank Park* Game 6 Wednesday, Nov. 4 at Yankee Stadium* Game 7 Thursday, Nov. 5 at Yankee Stadium* * if necessary