2009 World Series

The 2009 World Series was the 105th edition of Major League Baseball's (MLB) championship series. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League (NL) and defending World Series champions, and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League (AL). The Yankees defeated the Phillies, four games to two, to win the franchise's 27th World Series championship. The series was played between October 28 and November 4, broadcast on Fox, and watched by an average of roughly 19 million viewers.

Home field advantage for the Series went to the AL for the eighth straight year as a result of its 4–3 win in the All-Star Game. The Phillies earned their berth into the playoffs by winning the National League East. The Yankees won the American League East to earn their berth, posting the best record in the Major Leagues. The Phillies reached the World Series by defeating the Colorado Rockies in the best-of-five National League Division Series, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-seven Championship Series (NLCS). The Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the Championship Series (ALCS) to advance to their first World Series since 2003.

Cliff Lee brought the Phillies victory in Game 1, allowing only one unearned run during his complete game win. Solo home runs by Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui helped the Yankees win Game 2 by a score of 3–1. After a rain delayed start, Game 3 featured more offense, with a combined six home runs and thirteen total runs en route to a Yankee victory. The Yankees won Game 4 after scoring the decisive three runs in the ninth inning, helped by Johnny Damon's baserunning. The Phillies avoided elimination by winning Game 5 on the back of Utley's second two-home run game of the series. The Yankees secured their World Series victory by winning Game 6 aided by Matsui's third home run of the series. He was named Most Valuable Player of the series, making him the first Japanese-born player and the first full-time designated hitter to win the award. He won the award despite the fact that he was only a starter for the three games that were played at Yankee Stadium, since the designated hitter position is not used in National League ballparks.

Several records were tied, extended, or broken during this World Series, including team championships (Yankees with 27), career postseason wins (Andy Pettitte with 18), career saves in the World Series (Mariano Rivera with 11), home runs in a World Series (Chase Utley with 5), strikeouts by a hitter in a World Series (Ryan Howard with 13), and RBI in a single World Series game (Hideki Matsui with 6).

Read more about 2009 World Series:  Series Summary, Statistics, Broadcasting, Impact and Aftermath

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