In what has to be considered the upset of the decade, the New York Yankees somehow managed to overcome all odds and win the World Series against the might Philadelphia Phillies.
“It’s an amazing day to be a Yankee,” said Manager Joe Girardi. “It’s tough to put a good team together on a shoestring budget. Steinbrenner said $201.4 million was as high as he would go to buy a World Series. That really put the pressure on our team. It would have been nice to have a few expensive additions but the Yankees organization just can’t afford that.”
Alex Rodriguez, who had an amazing playoff run, said he had to take one for the benefit of the team this year. “It was a tough decision to stay in New York and only pull down $33 million,” said the Yankees third baseman. “But I thought this could be a special team so I decided to stay with it even though payroll is light. And this World Series makes the sacrifice well worth it.”
What makes this World Series run amazing is the number of low-budget players the Yankees have on the roster. Derek Jeter, the team’s captain, makes a paltry $21.6 million. The highest paid pitcher, A.J. Burnett, made $16.5 million this year.
“It’s the Yankees though,” said Burnett. “I probably could have gone elsewhere and made real money but I really wanted to play for these Yankee fans. They deserve this World Series. Looking at the record book, this is only their 27th. That has to be disappointing.”
The real question is whether this team will expand their budget next year or look to try to repeat on the same low end payroll. It will be difficult, no doubt.
“I hope management looks at what this team accomplished and opens up the wallet a little,” said Mark Teixeira, who is only making $20.6 million this year. “I understand wanting to get the payroll under control but these players work hard and I think they deserve to get paid a little more. I want to remain a Yankee for life but, obviously, they’re going to have to become a little less frugal. But that’s for later. Tonight, we celebrate a World Series!”
Please, sir, just a few dollars to put in our money clip
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