World Series 2009: A Tri-State Finish or One Town Beat Down

October, the leaves have all turned a shade of red, yellow, and orange. The nights get darker and the weather becomes cooler. With a change of a season, comes a change to the baseball diamond as well. Post season baseball, a recreation of drama, heart attack and break out players. Not only are we witnessing the best teams of the year from the American League and National League but close games, extra innings, and leadership from veteran players.

This is what it winds down too, the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. A east coast west coast curtain call, two of these teams will shock fans while the other two will be left empty handed with a ticket home and a new hope for the Spring 2010 season. Let’s face it October is the most exciting month of the year for baseball fans, everything is put on the line, and nothing is held back. Some players stand out while others stand down and lose their composure. It is called the Fall Classic or October Classic for a reason, baseballs show case and most highlighted event.

What makes 2009 unique? Well, the potential for the prestigious New York Yankees to inaugurate the new stadium with a World Series title and trophy, the Phillies could win back to back titles, what drama it would be to see the former Yankees manager Joe Torre in a LA Dodgers uniform during the World Series at Yankee Stadium. Could we have two LA teams match up for the title? Or a tri-state area battle consisting of some of the most ruthless fans in baseball, the possibilities are endless.

One thing we know for sure is that the Yankees are aching for a title. With the highest paid players in baseball, most expensive tickets in the league and history of the team nothing would be more satisfying then placing the trophy in the new Mecca of baseball. Not only will the franchise gain respect for the title, but the players as well. So far we have seen the captain Derek Jeter live up to all he is known for leading the team with a batting average of .300 and 2 home runs in 2 games. Alex Rodriguez has also stepped up when need be, blasting a home run into the stands during the 11^th inning of the dramatic 4-3 Game 2 Yankee victory over the Angels on October 17^th. With his rollercoaster of a season from steroid allegations, to his personal life exploitation in the press, and slump as a baseball player, none of that jargon seems to matter anymore.  Rodriguez is having an outstanding October season and will continue to be key for upcoming games in Anaheim.

The drama only continues an hour and a half south of the Bronx, where the Phillies and Dodgers have been feeling great highs and great lows. For the Phillies the bats continue to ascend into the stands, and the Dodgers have failed to surpass the chilly weather, and have felt nothing but cold. The Phillies dominated Game 3 of the series and left fans craving for more. Coming back from an 8^th inning let down in Game 2, the Phillies blasted their bats to an 11-0 victory over the Dodgers. Living up to their championship name, and hopes for bringing back the World Series title to Philadelphia for the second year in a row the Phillies have the potential for victory again.

So what will be the lasting impressions of this season, will it be a tri-state area brawl or a two team one town battle? The future for the 2009 season is still unwritten, from what this chilly October has shown us so far, the outlook is bats will continue to swing along the east coast. Could it be a Yankees and Phillies World Series for 2009? From what these teams have impressed us with so far, the outlook is good for both. This is still yet to be determined but expect an exciting finish to the season.

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New Yankee Stadium, New Beginnings

This year capped off the inaugural season of the New York Yankees in their new, billion-dollar home. There were mixed emotions regarding the new stadium that had to do with the taxpayers’ contribution and the price of the tickets, but once people went inside I can almost guarantee those feelings went away. There is just something about the New York Yankees’ franchise that makes everything more exciting. Also new sports stadiums or arenas are just so inviting, which is probably due to the fact that everything is clean and brand new.

Modern, yet still classic to preserve Yankee tradition, the stadium screams “World Series Champions!” It resembles the old stadium that Babe Ruth used to play in with the white frieze atop the upper deck, Monument Park beyond the center field wall, and the center field view of the Bronx. Besides the backstop behind home plate, the dimensions are exactly the same. The major difference between the two stadiums is that the new one seats four thousand less; however, the seats are wider and have more legroom so that extra money you’re dropping on the tickets allows you to sprawl out more.

The new stadium does not have the history of the old one, but it has begun to make its own history. One of the highlights of the season was earlier on this month when the captain, Derek Jeter, broke Lou Gherig’s franchise hit record which he held for more than seven decades. Anyone who went to that game should probably save their ticket stub because anything that has to do with Jeter is worth something.

I can put money on the fact that the players would much rather be in the new stadium than the old because of their new lockers with touch-screen computers, hydrotherapy pool with an underwater treadmill, and showering surfaces with an anti-bacterial agent that reduces the risk of infection (I bet the Red Sox don’t have that).

            The new stadium boasts its own train station, a massive video scoreboard, and a bleacher section that you can now drink in…all of the essentials. Though the restroom to fan ratio decreased, be mindful of how many $10 beers you’re going to drink with a line that stretches from one side of the grandstand to the other. The fact is that everyone should get over to the new stadium, but you might want to eat before you go in before you have to file for chapter five. Maybe someday the cost of enjoying a baseball game will go down. Until then go splurge and get over to the new Yankee stadium because the Yanks just clinched the AL East against the Sox and now there is no turning back. The stadium is new, the team is amazing, and the fans are wild—you’re not just watching a game, your experiencing history!

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