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.