I attended all six games of the 2009 World Series over an eight-day span, alternating between the Yankees' new digs in New York (about an hour and a half from my house in NJ) and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (45 minutes from my house).
The teams split the opening two games in New York, with Cliff Lee dominating for the Phils in Game 1 and the Yankees taking out Pedro Martinez in Game 2 -- a rewarding win on my birthday! The series then shifted to Philadelphia, with the third game scheduled for Halloween, making for an eventful day.
(At the left is Hana as Hanna Montana, Maia as her sidekick Lily and Sadie as a Minnie Mouse witch...)
Had to make sure I got my share of chocolate!
With a few Reese's peanut butter cups and Snickers bars in my bag, I shot back to Citizens Bank Park. I got there just at the start of the Yankees' 8-5 victory in which Andy Pettitte got the W and even drove in a run -- the first by a Yankee pitcher in the World Series in 45 years.
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It's easy to get jaded by the sports world when you work in the industry, but this World Series definitely renewed my passion for the game in many ways.
Sometimes all it takes is a new perspective. In this case it was my 6-year-old nephew, Dante, for whom this World Series was the ultimate struggle of good and evil, as his beloved Phillies took on the hated Yankees. This was the first year that baseball really "clicked" for him and it was cool to see. He memorized the players, knew their positions and even tried to mimic their batting stances. When he played games in the backyard or on the Wii, invariably it would be the Phillies against the Yanks. His love of Chase Utley took me back to my youth, when Dave Winfield ensconced himself as my all-time favorite player by drilling long two home runs into the night air in the very first game I ever went to at Yankee Stadium.So when Dante got a chance to go to a World Series game in Philly with my bro-in-law, I couldn't be more psyched...
They went to Game 5, with the Phillies already down 3-1 in the series after a heart-breaking 7-4 loss in which they gave up three ninth-inning runs. It's hard to root against my team, but in this case, I was -- I wanted Dante to see a Phillies' win in his first World Series game, but also wanted to see the Yankees have a chance to close things out at home. Fittingly, Chase Utley cracked two homers to lead the Phillies the win and send him home happy...Two days later, the Yankees finished the job -- heading back home to the Bronx and wrapping up their record-extending 27th World Series championship as Hideki Matsui had a game for the ages, driving in six runs to snag MVP honors.
Before the start of the game, I interviewed Barry Larkin for a story I was doing on Derek Jeter and it proved to be a surreal experience, as I got to walk with him along the warning track to the door in the centerfield fence. I ended up being one of the last folks on the field before the start of the national anthem, a very cool experience..
When Mariano Rivera recorded the final out just before midnight, you bet I had the cell phone in hand ready to snap a picture:
I then high-tailed it down to the Yanks' locker room to join in the celebration. I was prepared -- wearing my rain jacket for the champagne spraying in every direction!
(Jeter ducks for cover!)
(Jeter ducks for cover!) 
(Champagne for everyone!!)
(Aceves gets a champagne shower!)
(A-Rod pops out from behind the tarps protecting the lockers..)
(And of course, the Captain, who slips out after a private celebration with Minka Kelly..)The one picture that I missed out on in the locker room was with Kurt Russell, who I've been told bears some physical resemblances to me (hopefully from his Snake Plisken years).
He was there wearing his Yankee jacket and hat, and I was very disappointed that I wasn't able to snag a pic as my camera died and then the media was ushered out before I was able to replace the batteries. Would have been a good one.
Ah well, there's always next year,
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