KYLE IRELAND
Sports Writer

The most adored (and most hated) team in baseball has done it again.

After a break from the play-offs last year the New York Yankees continued their dominance of the sport last week, winning their 27th World Series Championship.

So why are the Yankees so hated throughout not only baseball but the entire realm of sports?

Maybe it’s because Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst sported the infamous red Yankees hat throughout the ’90s — and no one liked that guy.

Or maybe it’s because of the more realistic reason that the Yankees World Series win is the 27th Fall Classic victory for the Yankees — a record among North American professional sports teams for winning the most championships. No one has ever really liked the guy whose in the number one slot but the Yankees still deserve some respect.

Defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games and making it look relatively easy, the Yankees did it in their brand new Yankee Stadium as a bonus. 

Hideki Matsui came through big and cemented his place in Yankee history with a World Series record six RBIs in game six. Matsui is the first Japanese-born MLB player and only the second designated hitter to win the World Series MVP honours.

During the six game series, there were only two changes of the lead and three lacklustre games.

Chase Utley was one of the lone bright spots for the Phillies and tied the record for most home runs in a single World Series with five. To balance things out, Ryan Howard tied the all-time records for strike outs in a World Series with 12.

With a payroll of $201 million, the Yankees spent over $50 million more than the next biggest spender, the neighbouring New York Mets. 

This World Series will quickly fade into the sports media abyss in Canada after the Blue Jays missed the post-season yet again. It only seems as if baseball in Canada matters if Toronto makes the playoffs — which is next to never. The World Series was also overshadowed in Canada because the NHL season has just heated up.

However, the post-game story behind Yankees manager Joe Girardi seemed to provide the most excitement of the series.

After celebrating the victory, Girardi was driving home with his wife when they came across an accident. Girardi had his wife call 911 and ran across the freeway to help a 27-year-old woman from her badly damaged vehicle that was at risk of being hit by traffic on the busy New York freeway.

“Her SUV looked horrible,” Girardi said Thursday afternoon on WFAN radio. “I told her, ‘You need to get out’.”Â 

Girardi remained with the shaken woman until police arrived minutes later. 

While the World Series win is bound to satisfy the legions of Yankee fans across the world for the meantime, the team has some work to do in the off season with Matsui and Johnny Damon up for free agency this summer.

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photo: Keith Allison