Printer-friendly

Contact Author

November 5, 2009

Prospectus Hit and Run

Anatomy of a Championship

by Jay Jaffe

Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter may be the Yankees for whom the spotlight shines the brightest, but it was Hideki Matsui who did the dirty work on Wednesday night. Tying a single-game World Series record with six RBI, Matsui collected big hits in his first three at-bats to help the Yankees pounce on Pedro Martinez and the Phillies early, building up a 7-1 lead by the end of the fifth inning. As the Yankees did two nights earlier when they found themselves in an early hole, the Phillies made a game of it by summoning a brief hint of their offensive firepower, but it was too little, too late. For the first time since 2000, the Yankees are the World Champions.

Matsui had punched a decisive solo homer off of Martinez in Game Two, and homered again in his first turn at bat, this time following a Rodriguez walk which led off the inning (oh, those bases on balls) to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. An inning later, with two outs, the bases loaded, and Martinez's night going down in flames, Matsui stroked a two-run single to widen the lead to 4-1. In the fifth inning, with one out, two on, and another Yankee run having crossed the plate, he greeted J.A. Happ with a two-run double to right-center to expand the lead to 7-1. I believe he also demonstrated his heretofore unknown prowess as a tenor by singing "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch, but I could be wrong, as by that point I was busy counting the remaining outs on my fingers.

For his performance, Matsui was named the World Series MVP, becoming the first designated hitter to ever win the award. Though he made just three starts and 14 plate appearances in the series, his .615/.643/1.385 showing (8-for-13 with a double and three home runs) ranked as the Yankees' most potent offensive force. Their lineup had its share of complementary performances, including Derek Jeter (.407/.429/.519), Johnny Damon (.364/.440/.455 and the series' most memorable play, his mad dash to third base in Game Four) and of course the ghost-chasing Rodriguez (.250/.423/.550 and six RBI, one plating the Game Four-winning run), but it was Matsui who not only led the team with eight RBI but was the only Bronx Bomber to hit more than one bomb, or to collect more than one game-winning hit. His showing was somewhat bittersweet, as it came in what well may have been his final appearance in pinstripes given his pending free agency and the Yankees' need to clear the DH spot for the aging stars above his pay grade. It left absolutely no doubt that the man can be a viable component on a championship team, so wherever he winds up next, Godspeed, Godzilla.

Martinez had baffled the Yankees for six innings in Game Two before faltering as he grew fatigued, but he couldn't summon the same kind of magic this time around. As Joe Sheehan noted prior to the game, he had a tougher task ahead of him given the return of switch-hitters Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher to the lineup, running the total of lefties he would face to seven; Martinez struck out just 11 percent of the lefty hitters he faced in 2009, compared to 30 percent of the righties.

Though Martinez's initial velocity was unimpressive—he didn't crack 85 mph until the second inning—his overall average was essentially the same as in his previous start according to Brooks Baseball. Still, he simply couldn't fool hitters with either his fastball or his changeup the second time around:

Fastball
Game  Tot  Ball  SS  SL   F   I
Two    39   14   1   10  11   3
Six    24   10   2    0   7   5
Changeup
Game  Tot  Ball  SS  SL   F   I
Two    44   14   7   10   8   5
Six    35   16   2    7   8   2