- The 2009 Yankees are the organization's last World Series champion
- Only one player from that team remains on the Yankees in 2021
- Two players from the team have already been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
Yankees fans are not used to waiting this long for a World Series championship. The team's last title came in 2009 and the 11 years since then is the most the organization has gone in between championships since the 18-year wait from 1978-96.
That 2009 team that defeated the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies four games to two is now fading into the shelves of history. While some of the club's players are still playing, most are retired and some have already been inducted into The Baseball Hall of Fame.
Here is what the members of that 2009 team have been up to since then:
Hideki Matsui claimed World Series MVP honors with three home runs and a staggering .615 batting average.
Matsui retired in 2013 and was appointed a special advisor to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman in 2015. In 2018, Matsui became the youngest inductee into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame at just 43 years of age.
CC Sabathia led the Yankees' pitching staff in the World Series, pitching 13.2 innings to a 3.29 ERA as the Yankees' new high-priced ace that season.
Sabathia famously overcame alcoholism during his later tenure with the Yankees. He retired in 2020 and now spends most of his time traveling with his son Little C, who is pursuing a baseball career of his own. He also co-hosts the "R2C2" podcast with ESPN's Ryan Ruocco.
Mark Teixeira was another high-priced free agent that was added to help push the Yankees over the top in 2009. Teixeira led the American League in home runs and RBI during the regular season.
Teixeira retired after the 2016 season. He joined ESPN as an MLB analyst in 2017 but left the network in December to finish his Bachelor's degree at Georgia Tech in Business Management. He is also growing his empire as a real estate investor, including a 70-acre development in Atlanta.
Source: Forbes
Derek Jeter, the Yankees captain, and franchise icon, batted .407 in the World Series and started at shortstop for every postseason game.
Jeter retired after the 2014 season and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020. Jeter is currently a minority owner and CEO of The Miami Marlins.
Mariano Rivera recorded the final out of the series as the team's longtime and legendary closing pitcher.
Rivera retired after the 2013 season as Baseball's all-time record holder for saves and games finished. Rivera became the first unanimous inductee into The Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom later that year.
Jorge Posada was a staple behind the plate for the Yankees dating back to their dynasty of the 1990s. He batted .263 with five RBI in the 2009 World Series.
Posada retired in 2011 and has spent much of his time in philanthropy as the founder of The Jorge Posada Foundation to treat Craniosynostosis, which his son suffers from. In 2019, Posada joined Jeter in the Marlins organization as a special advisor.
Andy Pettitte won both of his starts in the World Series, including a decisive Game 6 in which the Yankees clinched their 27th championship at home.
Pettitte originally retired in 2011 but came out of retirement to play for the Yankees in 2012-13. Pettitte then officially retired after the 2013 season. Pettitte's case to make the Hall of Fame is dampened by a PED scandal from 2008. His Hall of Fame case is a major controversy among voters and the media.
Alex Rodriguez won his first World Series title with the Yankees in 2009, batting .365 in the postseason with six home runs, one of which came in the World Series.
Rodriguez retired during the 2016 season and his Hall of Fame case is another major controversy due to multiple PED scandals. Rodriguez has worked as a baseball analyst for multiple TV networks including FOX and ESPN, and even hosted his own show on CNBC. Rodriguez is also the CEO of A-Rod Corp and the chairman of Presidente Beer. He is engaged to pop artist/actress Jennifer Lopez.
Robinson Cano was the Yankees' latest home-grown start in 2009 but only recorded three hits across all six World Series games.
Cano left the Yankees in 2014 to join the Seattle Mariners. Cano returned to New York in 2019 to join the Mets via trade, but has now been banned from baseball for the entire 2021 season after testing positive for PEDs.
Source: ESPN
Johnny Damon was the team's second-best hitter in the 2009 World Series, batting .440 with four RBI. He added four stolen bases and made a number of big plays in the outfield as well.
Damon never officially announced his retirement but was last on an MLB team in 2012 with Cleveland. Damon served as a committee member on former president Donald Trump's Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition. On February 19, Damon was arrested in Florida and charged with DUI and resisting arrest.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Brett Gardner was just a 25-year-old bench player for the Yankees in 2009 but did get his opportunities in the World Series. Gardner went 0-for-10 with four strikeouts but did score a run as a pinch-runner.
Gardner is set hold his spot as the last Yankee standing from the 2009 team after signing a one-year deal on February 19 to stay in pinstripes for the 2021 season. Gardner is now a respected veteran leader for the Yankees in addition to being the lone link to their last championship. However, he is once again projected to be a bench player in 2021 just as he was in 2009.
In the 90s, Joe Girardi was teammates with many of the players he managed in the 2009 World Series. His connections with those players empowered him to lead a team of accomplished veterans to a championship in just his second season as Yankees manager.
Girardi managed the Yankees up until 2017, and despite falling just one game short of getting them back to the World Series, he was fired after the season and replaced by Aaron Boone. After taking two years off, Girardi's journey came full circle, as he was hired to be the Phillies' manager in 2020.
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