2009 New York Yankees season
| 2009 New York Yankees | |
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American League East Champions American League Champions World Series Champions |
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President Barack Obama meets with
the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees at the White House |
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| Owner(s) | Hal Steinbrenner |
| General manager(s) | Brian Cashman |
| Manager(s) | Joe Girardi |
| Local television |
YES Network WWOR-TV (Michael Kay, Ken Singleton, several others as analysts) |
| Local radio |
New York Yankees Radio Network (John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 2009 New York Yankees season was the 107th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees opened their new Yankee Stadium on April 3, 2009, when they hosted an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. The new stadium hosted its first regular-season game on April 16, when the team played against the Cleveland Indians and their first playoff game against the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS on October 7, 2009. The Yankees swept the Twins in 3 games to win the divisional series. They won their 40th American League pennant on October 25, 2009, defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 6 games to advance to the World Series, where they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games to win their 27th World Series on November 4, 2009. The Yankees finished the regular season with 103 wins and 59 losses.
George Steinbrenner stepped down as the main decision maker for the team on November 20, as Major League Baseball's owners approved passing control to his youngest son, 39-year-old Hal Steinbrenner. The patriarch of the Yankees success over three and a half decades since buying the team from CBS in 1973 had been in failing health, and had been reducing his role in the ownership the last several seasons. Despite his limited role, he remained as a team chairman with his two sons until his death on July 13, 2010.
After the Yankees failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993, General Manager Brian Cashman made clear that there would be offseason changes. Mike Mussina retired from baseball on November 20, 2008. Infielder Wilson Betemit was traded to the Chicago White Sox in a trade for Nick Swisher on November 13, 2008. The Yankees declined options on first baseman Jason Giambi and starting pitcher Carl Pavano. Giambi went on to sign a one-year deal with the Oakland Athletics on January 1, 2009, and Pavano signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Indians on January 6, 2009. Right fielder Bobby Abreu signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and catcher Iván Rodríguez signed a one-year pact with the Houston Astros. From those departures, the Yankees shed nearly $89 million from their payroll, enabling them to spend money to fix their team. Furthermore, the Yankees non-tendered the contracts of Chris Britton and Justin Christian, allowing them to become free agents; Britton signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres and Christian signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles.
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