The last team to repeat as World Series champions was the New York Yankees, who won three World Series in a row from 1998-2000. No National League team has accomplished the back-to-back feat since the 1975-1976 Cincinnati Reds.
But after dispatching the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers to return to the Fall Classic, this year's Philadelphia Phillies are looking to defy history and start a dynasty of their own.
Manager Charlie Manuel's squad has already etched its name into the history books by becoming the first team to win consecutive National League Pennants since the 1995-1996 Atlanta Braves. But the Phillies are not ready to stop just yet.
When the World Series begins on Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Phillies will be up against their most formidable opponent yet — a Yankees team that won 103 games during the regular season. New York breezed through the Division Series and Championship Series, losing only two games to the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels along the way. But similarly, the Phillies made quick work of the Dodgers and Rockies, taking care of business with only two losses as well.
As CC Sabathia prepares to deliver the first pitch of Game 1, here are five reasons to believe the Phillies can get past the final, gargantuan obstacle standing between them and another taste of postseason glory.
1. Recent History: The Phillies and Yankees met for a three-game interleague series in the Bronx on May 22-24 of this year, and Philadelphia won two of the three contests. The Phillies' sluggers took full advantage of the bandbox that is the new Yankees Stadium, bashing six total homers and outscoring the host Bombers 15-11.
In that series, the Yankees' three starting pitchers were CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte — the very same trio that manager Joe Girardi will send to the mound in the first three games. If the Phillies were able to handle New York's best in May, there's no reason to believe that they won't be able to do so again.
Having experienced success against their impending opponent should give the Phillies confidence heading into the Fall Classic while putting the pressure on the Yankees to exorcise their demons and reverse their fortunes. And speaking of experience …
2. World Series Experience: Virtually all of the players on Charlie Manuel's roster have been here before. They know what it's like to play on baseball's biggest stage, having defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in five games last October. But the two primary differences between this year's Phillies roster and last year's are Raul Ibanez supplanting Pat Burrell in left field and Pedro Martinez joining the starting rotation. Ibanez is a seasoned veteran who should have no trouble adjusting to the spotlight, while Pedro has certainly been there and done that in his career.
Meanwhile, the Yankees definitely have their share of seasoned veterans — from Derek Jeter to Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte to Jorge Posada. But they also have plenty of youngsters, for whom this will be a wholly new experience. Outfielder Nick Swisher — a relative rookie when it comes to late-October play — has been mired in a deep slump for much of the postseason.
Additionally, relievers Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain — New York's primary setup crew for closer Mariano Rivera — clearly had some jitters in the ALCS.
Those Yankee nerves will only be magnified in the Fall Classic, especially when the youngsters are pitching in front of the cruelest fan base in the league at Citizens Bank Park, and that ties directly into …
3. Home-field advantage, or lack thereof: The Yankees had the best home record in MLB during the regular season at 57-24, and they are undefeated at the new Yankees Stadium so far in the playoffs. But the Phillies have everything it takes to topple the Bombers in the Bronx — including the best regular season road record and a 3-1 mark away from Philly so far in the playoffs.
New York's hitters love to utilize the short porch in right-field, but those dimensions will play right into the hands of the Phillies' sluggers as well, with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez all possessing deadly pull power from the left side. Meanwhile, with Charlie Manuel tossing two lefties in the series, the Yankees' switch-hitters will bat right-handed, further neutralizing their ability to take advantage of the homer-friendly aspect of their ballpark.
And about those southpaws — one of them has been on a mission, making him the second-most significant factor backing Philadelphia.
4. Cliff Lee: Fans in the Bronx are gushing over CC Sabathia's 3-0 record and 1.19 ERA through his first three postseason starts in pinstripes. But Sabathia's former teammate with the Cleveland Indians, Cliff Lee, has been even better through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Lee is 2-0 with a 0.74 ERA in the first three starts of his postseason career, the best ERA of any pitcher with at least three playoff starts in Major League history, and Lee has the arsenal to continue his dominance through the World Series.
Lee and Sabathia figure to tangle at least twice in the Fall Classic, in Games 1 and 4, and they'll meet again should it go the distance in what could be a duel for the ages in Game 7. Given the way Lee has been pitching, odds are he should prevail in at least two of those three.
5. Charlie Manuel vs. Joe Girardi: In the playoffs, managerial moves are put under a microscope. Every pinch-hitter and pinch-runner can come back to bite a team in the end. Every quick hook on a starter could have ramifications on the bullpen down the road, but leaving one in too long could put a game out of reach.
So far this postseason, Charlie Manuel has managed his Phillies masterfully, while Joe Girardi has at times shown his inexperience, opting for pinch-runners in bizarre circumstances and blatantly misusing his relief corps. A single contest won in a managerial chess match could be the difference in a best-of-seven series.
By the time the final out of the 2009 campaign is recorded, if the hypothetical managers' column of the line score reads "Manuel 1; Girardi 0," the Phillies will be the ones in a dogpile and the Yankees recede defeated into their clubhouse. Simply put, whoever outmanages the other will win the World Series.
And that is why the Phillies will be the last ones standing, seven thrilling games into the Fall Classic, having ridden the dominance of their ace and the steady hand of their skipper to a second consecutive world championship.
