World Series Game Three: A New York Minute

November 4, 2009. Do you know what I was doing on that very day? I was watching Game Six of that year's World Series between the New York Yankees and the then-defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. I remember everything about that night. Hideki Matsui's six RBIs, Andy Pettitte's pitching gem, and the 27th out that got us #27. It was such an amazing moment to see the Yankees win the whole thing that night, and it was an amazing way to introduce the new Yankee Stadium that year.

Fast forward a week shy of the 15 year mark, and it's Game Three of this year's World Series between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees dropped both games in LA, but it's back to The Bronx for Game Three. I was so excited for this. The pinstripes would be worn. Derek Jeter, forever our captain, threw the first pitch. Thousands of Yankee fans were revved up for this night. The pitching matchup was Clarke Schmidt against Walker Buehler. It was time for the Yankees to get back in this and kick ass!

And then, Freddie Freeman homered. Again.

Freeman's third HR in this Series put the Yankees in a 2-0 hole in the 1st inning, but it was our turn to bat. Aaron Judge stepped up to the plate to a cheering Yankees crowd. This was the moment he needed, but sadly, the struggles continued for Judge. Mookie Betts added an RBI in the third to make it 3-0, meanwhile, the Yankees were not hitting. Literally. Our first hit wouldn't come until the fourth inning, and it was Giancarlo Stanton who gave us that. Volpe's hit saw Stanton try to score, but he was out at the plate. Seriously, sending him was a mistake, knowing his limited mobility. Enrique Hernandez made it 4-0 with an RBI of his own, and yeah, it was done by that point. We did have a spark in the ninth inning again, as Alex Verdugo hit a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth. But that would not be enough.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are now one win away from their second title in this decade, and their first in a full season since 1988. As I stated before, the Dodgers need this to get some respect back in their name, and to remove the doubts caused by the 2020 championship. As for the Yankees, the home cooking didn't cure any ills. Judge is still struggling at the plate. Verdugo, who was immensely maligned by Yankee fans this season, has now done more in this Series than Judge has. Let that sink in for a moment. The Yankees only had five hits in this game, but Stanton (another one who was immensely maligned by Yankee fans) had two of them.

Last year, Judge was sidelined for a good bit of that campaign, and as we know, the Yankees missed the postseason that year. The sentiment among Yankees fans was that if Judge was fully healthy, we at least play for the pennant, if not win it and beyond. Who would dare argue against it? This run has seen us get this far actually in spite of Judge, and it's really mind boggling. It would be like the Colorado Avalanche reaching the Cup Final despite Nathan MacKinnon having only two goals or something. It's quite disheartening that the main reason for our problems in this Series is the very player who will run away with the American League MVP yet again.

Game Four is Tuesday in The Bronx, and the Dodgers can finish it. We have not seen a World Series sweep since 2012. However, I want to put one thought into the minds of my fellow Yankee fans. Wouldn't it be beautiful if we actually pull off a reverse sweep? Especially against a certain manager of the Dodgers whose stolen base 20 years ago set off the paradigm shift to end all paradigm shifts in baseball? It would be the ultimate payback. One game at a time.

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