The Yankees deserve to win the World Series every year because, after all, they are the Yankees.
The best team in baseball didn’t win the World Series. Again. The best team in baseball didn’t get to the World Series. Again. I know it, you know it, and Jonny Damon knows it:
“‘We still are the best team,’ said Johnny Damon after the Yankees lost to the Tigers, 8-3, and were knocked out of the American League Division Series in four games. ‘The best team doesn’t always win.'”
Please don’t bother me with the dictionary definition of “best.” I know that the “best” team in baseball is determined by a four-part process: 1) win enough games in the 162-game regular season to be one of the eight teams in the playoffs, 2) win three games in the five-game divisional series, 3) win four games in the seven-game league championship series, and 4) win four games to win the World Series and be officially crowned the “best” baseball team of the year.
Spare me the details. The 2006 Yankees are the best team period. I know it, you know it, and Hall-of-Famer Joe Morgan knows it:
“I do believe good pitching stops good hitting, but I didn’t believe that good pitching could stop great hitting.”
And we all know that this group of Yankees is the greatest group of hitters since the discovery of the stick. Please stop the Jeter and A-Rod bashing and let’s look at their magnificent statistics in the 2006 ALDS Game 1. Their performance in Games 2-4 was not their fault. It was the fault of defective equipment, unsupportive national media, Yankee fans, bad calls by the umpires, the ozone hole, and Canada:
2006 MVP Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter, Game 1: 5 for 5 (1.000 BA), 1 HR, 1 RBI
Derek Jeter, Games 2-4: 3 for 11 (.273 BA), 0 HR, 0 RBI
2005 MVP Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez, Game 1: 1 for 4 (.250 BA), 0 HR, 0 RBI
Alex Rodriguez, Games 2-4: 0 for 10 (.000 BA), 0 HR, 0 RBI
If those aren’t MVP numbers, then I don’t know what are.
The Yankees were ordained to be champions again this year. The Yankees deserve to win the World Series every year because, after all, they are the Yankees. And with a limited budget to work with, the Yankees overcame adversity this year while fielding a patchwork collection of all-star players. Do you think it’s easy to acquire every free agent all-star at the trading deadline?
So pity the Yankees. At least the Yankees have their loyal fans to welcome them home and a caring owner to keep the chemistry of this group of winners intact for future seasons.
