The #10 guy(s) of 2009
Nick Swisher and the 2009 New York Yankees!
First of all, I don't want any haters on here complaining. It was a given, if you followed this blog or facebook or any of my other myriad of links to the online world that the Yankees were going to pop up sooner or later. My deep seeded love of the Yankees goes back to literally before my birth. With parents that hail from the same hometown as Don Mattingly (and a dad who played against one of Mattingly's younger brothers in some little league sport, yeah, I'm kind of bragging) it was inevitable that when we moved to Connecticut in 1985 we'd be Yankees fans. I remember the 80s drought that left Donnie Baseball World Series ring-less. I remember the early 90s when we could never catch a break against the hated Atlanta Braves. I remember the dynasty days too. But there seemed like an awfully long road to travel to get to 2009. Finally, with some trades and pick-ups made by Brian Cashman (who, going in was literally hanging by a thread in my book) things started to take shape. Finally there was a decent rotation, and then Xavier Nady went down. Seriously?! In steps the supposed-to-be-in-on-an-off-day right fielder Nick Swisher. Within mere days in April he showed his (pin)stripes. I don't think I'll ever forget the blowout loss against Tampa where he stepped in to pitch. Maybe it's his quirky humor, or his almost Paul O'Neill-esque response to a strike out. Maybe it's the fact that he kind of reminds me of my elementary school crush, but there's something about Swisher's swagger that I like that helped the Yankees clinch the AL East, then the Division, and finally bring the World Series back to the Bronx for one sweet victory!
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