Duration : 0:1:15

Technorati Tags: 2010, champions, Day, hideki, matsui, new, opening, World, yankees, york

NEW YORK — About an hour before the presentation of the 2009 World Series rings to the Yankees on the field prior to Tuesday’s home opener against the Angels, there was a private ceremony in the owners’ box at Yankee Stadium.

Manager Joe Girardi and captain Derek Jeter gave George Steinbrenner — the club’s principal owner — his ring, the seventh earned since the family bought the Yankees in 1973. New York defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win its 27th World Series in six hard-fought games, completing the first season played at the new Yankee Stadium.

“He’s the only one wearing one right now,” said Hal Steinbrenner, the younger son and managing general partner. “There was a lot of emotion. Everyone involved in this organization thinks we put a lot of hard work into last year. It was a long season. We weren’t playing well at times. He stuck through it. We all stuck through it.”

“The Boss,” long a fixture in the Bronx, has made himself scarce in recent years as he’s grown older and more frail. He attended the first two games of the World Series this past October, but he was not in attendance as the Yankees won Game 6 to wrap up the Fall Classic. The fact that he was present for another opener was certainly a positive sign.

Hal Steinbrenner said that his father sat in stunned silence as Jeter gave him the ring, and he put it on his hand to replace the one representing the 2000 World Series, which the Yankees won in five games over the Mets for their third in a row and fourth in five years.

“It’s been awhile, as you know, and I’m sure he has a lot of satisfaction, as any father would in seeing his sons and daughters and son-in-law be involved and successful,” Hal Steinbrenner said. “I guess I would have to call last year a success. I know he’s very proud. He put the ring on. He was very emotional.”

One more thing, Steinbrenner said. Jeter, who grew up in Michigan and whose first Yankees opener was in 1996, jokingly asked the elder Steinbrenner to remove his Ohio State ring.

“He didn’t do that — he took the 2000 ring off and put the new one on,” Hal Steinbrenner said. “Jeter is great at breaking the ice in situations like that. My dad looked right at him, pointed right at him, and said, ‘Michigan!’ I think it all came back to him. Other than that, he was just about speechless, which is what we expected.”

Robinson Cano
Johnny Damon
Brett Gardner
Derek Jeter
Hideki Matsui
Jorge Posada
Cody Ransom
C.C. Sabathia
Nick Swisher
Mark Teixeira
C Jorge Posada (100)
1B Mark Teixeira (152)
2B Robinson Cano (161)
3B Alex Rodriguez (116)
SS Derek Jeter (150)
LF Johnny Damon (132)
CF Melky Cabrera (103)
RF Nick Swisher (130)
DH Hideki Matsui (128)

SP A.J. Burnett
SP Joba Chamberlain
SP Andy Pettitte
SP C.C. Sabathia

RP Alfredo Aceves
RP Jonathan Albaladejo
RP Brian Bruney
RP Phil Coke
RP Phil Hughes
RP Damaso Marte
RP Edwar Ramirez
RP David Robertson
RP Jose Veras
CL Mariano Rivera

Duration : 0:3:1

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Duration : 0:4:48

Technorati Tags: andy, baseball, cbsepisode, david, derek, hideki, jeter, jorge, late, letterman, matsui, new, pettitte, posada, show, yankees, york

Duration : 0:5:1

Technorati Tags: andy, baseball, cbsepisode, david, derek, hideki, jeter, jorge, late, letterman, matsui, new, pettitte, posada, show, yankees, york