The New York Yankees and Ira Riklis

There’s no doubt about it, the Yankees have a great team. That, combined with fact that several players, including some seasoned veterans, had career years, helped propel Ira Riklis’ team to the World Championship last year. But what about next year? Can those players play up the same level? History says no. And that’s especially true for older players, whose numbers generally regress after a bounce-back season in their 30s.

Statistics also show that teams which have made the fewest player changes after a championship season tend to lose many more games the next year. Those are the facts facing team management and coaches as they prepare for 2010. Which players are likely to do well next year? Who should they keep? Which new players should they bring in? Ira Riklis knows that the team that takes the field next spring won’t be the same one that rode in the victory parade last October. But he hopes there’ll be another parade next October.

Now that the 2009 season is over and another World Championship in hand, Yankees fans like Ira Riklis are hoping their team will do it again next year. But Thanksgiving Day is a good time to reflect back on a week of hope team members provide to people off the field last July. The idea for HOPE Week began with Yankees public-relations man, Jason Zillo, who envisioned an event that would bring to light some extraordinary stories from the local community.

That initial concept soon blossomed into plans for a five-day event in which Yankees players and staff came to the aid of a specific group or individual each day. Among those who received the gift of hope and attention were two people in Washington Heights who have worked for years mentoring disadvantaged children there. Others included an army vet who had lost his limbs due to ALS and a Little Leaguer with cerebral palsy. The team and its members hope to expand on the event in future years. Ira Riklis knows that the team already has a long history of reaching out to the community including holding holiday food drives, fundraising for worthy causes and encouraging people to donate blood. It’s just one more reason Ira Riklis supports his home-town team. Like him, they work hard (while having fun) at their jobs and give back to their community.

Like most long-time Yankees fans, Ira Riklis has taken a liking to the team’s new stadium. After a bit of nostalgia for the old stadium, the new one feels like home. The fact that the team one a championship there in its first year didn’t hurt either! The team’s new home has many comforts and is full of superlatives. It’s got many new high-tech features that make an afternoon or evening spent there even more enjoyable, not surprising considering the old stadium was built in 1923.

Perhaps the one thing fans notice most on their first visit is the giant scoreboard that hangs above the batter’s eye in center field. As Ira Riklis knows from the games he attended this past season, the main video screen displays the line score in a strip across the bottom and player information with an enormous picture in the middle. Another strip at the top displays a radar gun reading for each pitch and a pitch count for whoever is on the mound.

The off-season motto for all but one team in Major League Baseball is “wait ‘til next year!” But for Ira Riklis’ home-town team, the World Champion New York Yankees, the question is “what do we change and what do we keep the same to stay on top?” At this time last year, the team was in the midst of major changes. After missing the playoffs, they were looking to strengthen the club. And with nearly $100 million coming off the payroll, they made a plunge into a deep pool of available free agents, signing pitchers C.C. Sabathia and A. J. Burnett along with first baseman Mark Teixeira.

This year (like every year) is different. This time, they enter the off-season as champions looking to fine-tune their roster. Some players have become free agents, others are aging, leaving open the question of whether younger players might serve the team better. The team only has about $50 million coming off the payroll this year, but since few teams expected to spend large amounts for players this winter, the Yankees can afford to wait while they consider their options. What will next year bring? The off-season has just begun, so we’ll all have to wait and see. But fans like Ira Riklis are placing their trust in team management to make the right decisions and put together another champion.

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira recently got some silver to go with their gold. These two stars of Ira Riklis’ home-town heroes, the New York Yankees, both won American League Silver Slugger awards last week. They earned the awards by being the top offensive performers at their respective positions. This comes after both received Rawlings Gold Glove awards for their defensive accomplishments.

It was the third Silver Slugger Award for switch-hitting first baseman Teixeira.  He led the leagues in RBIs and tied for the league lead in home runs. In doing so, he became one of just two players to have a least 100 runs scored and 35 homers in 2009.

Jeter earned his fourth consecutive AL Silver Slugger Award by batting .334 with 107 runs scored, 18 home runs, 66 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Fans like Ira Riklis, who follow the team and its players know that it’s been a good year for Jeter. In addition to Golden Glove and Silver Slugger awards, he also won the Hank Aaron Award as one of the AL’s top offensive player winning the votes of more than 1.6 million fans. And if that weren’t enough, he also won this years’ Roberto Clemente Award for his humanitarian contributions to Major League Baseball.

In baseball, as in many other sports, it’s the offense that seems most exciting. Everybody loves the thrill of home runs, extra-base hits and stellar base running. But Ira Riklis knows that solid defense—though often overlooked—is equally important. Fittingly for World Champions, the 2009 Yankees were the only American League team with two players awarded Gold Gloves for their fielding: Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter.

Both have won the award before. This is the fourth time for Jeter, who received awards from 2004 through 2006 seasons. At 35, he’s the second-oldest shortstop to win the award. (True baseball fans like Ira Riklis may remember that Luis Aparicio won it in 1970 when he was 36.) First baseman Teixeira won Gold Gloves in 2005 and 2006. This season, he made only four errors and had a .997 fielding percentage. Both players take pride in their defensive play. And Yankees fans know that it was the combination of solid fielding in addition to great batting that helped propel them to the championship.

The new Yankee stadium holds 4,611 fewer people that old one. Yet, even adjusted for inflation, it cost fifty times more to build than the old stadium. At a cost of $1.5 billion and a capacity of 52,325, Ira Riklis calculates that’s an investment of $29,000 per seat! How will the team recoup that money? By raising ticket prices to scary levels, especially for premium seating.

After getting over the sticker shock, Ira Riklis decided against buying a seat license and season tickets. Instead, since he’s likely to be able to attend just a few games a year, he bought tickets to just three games, but chose premium seats in the Legends Suite. He reasoned that he might as well splurge for the very best seats since for the few games he could attend. He was more than happy about his decision. After he got passed the ridiculous p of money that he was spending for a few hours of recreation, the seats and the suite were quite luxurious.

For the 27th time in team history, it was ticker-tape-parade time for the Yankees last Friday. There’s no word on whether Ira Riklis was there, but hundreds of thousands of people lined the parade route through Lower Manhattan to celebrate the Yankees’ latest World Championship. The parade began at Battery Park Place and ended two hours later at city hall where Mayor Bloomberg gave the team the keys to the city.

For the team and for fans like Ira Riklis, this title seemed a long time coming. After the Yankees successes in the 1990s, they hadn’t won the title since 2000, which made this trip through the Canyon of Heroes all the sweeter. What will next season hold? This team included many veterans, some of whom have won five titles. Will they all be back? What will the off season bring in terms of trades? No one knows. But for now, it’s a time for celebration of this year’s accomplishments!

After nine years, Ira Riklis’ Yankees are back on top! They beat the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies last night to win their 27th world championship. There were plenty of heroes to go around. Hideki Matsui, who tied a World Series record by driving in six runs, was named the series’ most valuable player. Andy Pettitte was credited with the win, becoming only the second pitcher to win all three clinching games of a postseason. And Mariano Rivera, considered by some as the greatest bullpen force in baseball history, collected the final five outs to close the game.

In winning the championship, the Yankees provided a fitting end to their first season in their new stadium, fueling expectations more great seasons ahead and establishing a bit of a tradition. The Yankees won their first World Series in 1923—the first year in their previous stadium. Fans like Ira Riklis are celebrating today, and the city will host a grand parade for the team tomorrow. After that, it will be a few months of the stove-pipe league then on to next season!

Many defining moments live on in Yankees lore. And last night fans like Ira Riklis saw some heads-up base running that is sure to become one of those signature moments in team (and baseball) history. The plays came with the score tied and the Yankees at bat in the top of the ninth and the Phillies seeking to even the series 2-2. With two out and nobody on, Phillies closer Brad Lidge—who had not blown a save this postseason—faced Johnny Damon.

Damon kept himself alive, fouling off three sliders and two fastballs before lining the ninth pitch to left for a single. But Damon’s heroics had just begun. On the first pitch to the next batter, he broke for second and slid in safely. But the throw pulled the Phillies fielder off the base and reacting quickly, Damon got up and raced for third. Two stolen bases on one play! Perhaps rattled by the play, Lidge hit the next batter. Next up was A-Rod, who doubled in the go-ahead runs. Just like that, Ira Riklis’ hometown heroes were one game away from becoming World Champions once again!