New York Yankees Win 27th World Series -- but Unprecedented it is Not

If it is One Thing the Yankees Have Done in Major League Baseball, They Have Set Precedence

Like it or not, the New York Yankees are the Major League Baseball world champions again -- for the 27th time. They are now enjoying the spoils of victory, including a parade down the Canyon of Heroes. Well deserved, they out-hit and out-played the returning 2008 World Series champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, winning the series in six games. They were on fire and, except for Game 1, where Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee could do no wrong, they dominated the games, even out-hitting the Phillies in Game 5 in a ultimately losing effort (but they made the Phillies sweat in the 8th and 9th innings). The New York Yankees played like they wanted to win the World Series, and win it they did.

In reading a lot of the sports pages and blogs written after New York took home the championship title Wednesday night, some people have put the word "unprecedented" in front of the 27, but -- let's face it -- the New York Yankees winning an unprecedented World Series became extinct when George Steinbrenner took over ownership in 1973 and started buying a world class, world championship team. Some condemn Steinbrenner for driving up players salaries and being a heavy-handed owner, seeming sometimes to replace his managers at whim (remember Billy Martin, the in-and-out manager who held the position five different times?). But buying a team and building a team are pretty much the same thing and team loyalty is only as strong as the salaries owners are willing to pay. Steinbrenner has operated within the parameters of Major League Baseball's regulations and he's put together 7 World Series champions since 1973, giving the team World Series wins 21-27.

But the New York Yankees have been to 11 World Series during that time, including a period spanning eight years (1996-2003) where they won four World Series and appeared in six. Of the four they won, three were consecutive (1998, 1999, 2000). The fourth win was in 1996. The New York Yankees have been in every post-season since 1995, except for last year's bracket, and in that time span, have played for the American League pennant 13 times, winning it, of course, 11 times, to play in the World Series.