2009 World Series DVD Review

My dad and I finally found a night to watch the 2009 World Series DVD. In one sentence: It was a well-produced, exciting recap of the World Series that reminds you how much you’ll miss Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera this year.

Recapping the season highlights: The DVD’s quick review of the regular season’s most memorable moments encouraged me to look at some of my old posts just for other exciting clips of the season. That’s the main reason why I bought the DVD, just so the year will stick in my brain forever. What a year to start this blog!

Included:
- A new taste to the clubhouse with A.J. Burnett and Nick Swisher
- The three walk-off win series against the Twins
- Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera major milestones
- Beating the Red Sox (a little more of that would have been nice!)
- Most comeback wins in the baseball, 51
- Yankees hit 244 homers in the season to lead the AL and set a franchise record
- Phillies hit 224 homers in the season to lead the NL

Didn’t include:
- Nick Swisher’s April, especially his inning on the mound
- Alex Rodriguez’s walk-off homer against Boston
- The crashing and burning of Chien-Ming Wang
- Love for Alfredo Aceves (he went 10-1)
- Robinson Cano (I don’t think they used his name once in the entire DVD! I guess hitting .320 is meaningless)
- Brett Gardner’s inside-the-parker (a truly inspiring story)
- Perhaps most importantly, the steroid controversy around A-Rod in the beginning of spring

Recapping the postseason: The majority of the DVD is the review of the World Series, so, along with the season, the ALDS and ALCS were zipped through. So they highlighted A-Rod’s turnaround.

To me, he’s only hit like that in one other stretch as a Yankee. That would be April 2007. Obviously that was a little longer of a stretch, but during both spans you got the same feeling whenever he stepped up to the plate. I remember that month vividly.

Recapping the World Series: How sweet it was. One thing that stood out to me was the decision-making by Joe Girardi in Game 3. To name a few of the series-altering decisions: Swisher having a huge game after resting Game 2, keeping Damaso Marte in to face Ryan Howard, and Matsui’s pinch-hit homer.

I liked how the DVD included interviews from the Yankees and the Phillies players/managers. It was nice to get the other perspective, especially after Jimmy Rollins opened his big mouth before the series began.

Best quote: “I was born ready” – Mo, when asked about his preparation for the series.

2nd best quote: “the most influential player that ever stepped into that stadium” – Pedro, before starting Game 2 at Yankee Stadium.

Highlights:
- Cliff Lee was unhittable in Game 1
- Matsui slugs homer off Pedro in Game 2 (foreshadowing) after Mark Teixeira’s low-lined homer to tie it
- Mo got a six-out save to tie series
- Everything went right for Girardi in Game 3
- Blanton bombed in Game 4
- A-Rod kept his cool after being hit three times in two games
- Utley had three homers off Sabathia in the series
- Damon’s double-steal in Game 4 is turning point
- Arkansas boys Burnett and Lee in Game 5 (I didn’t know that!)
- Utley ties Reggie Jackson’s five homers in World Series
- Game 6 Pedro, Pettitte (a lot of history between the two)
- Matsui 2-run homer, 2-run single, 2-run double, tying Bobby Richardson’s record

Annoying: The players always said something along the lines of, “got a good pitch to hit and put the barrel of the bat on the ball” when asked about a big hit. That got a little old, but what can you do?

Cool: The DVD used interesting facts as transitions throughout the season. At the end, it listed a bunch of cool facts. One of which has sparked the “Is Pettitte a Hall of Famer” debate. I’ll touch on the topic before the season begins.

Shh. I’m secretly taking this back to school with me. Until my dad reads this post, that is.