The Yankees take on the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight in the Game 1 opener at The BOB in Phoenix, poised to seize their fourth straight World Series championship.
They’re honed, they’re hyped, they’re hungry. Resistance is useless.
In honor of their impending victory, we’ve compiled 20 compelling, obscure and completely trivial facts about baseball’s most storied franchise.
1. When a Yankee comes to bat, he has his own musical identity to psyche himself and rally the fans: Bernie Williams starts with Prince’s “1999,” Paul O’Neill opts for classic rock and Tino Martinez hits to Ozzy Osbourne, Rush and Blue Oyster Cult.
2. The balls being used in the Yankees vs. Diamondbacks World Series games bear a patriotic Stars and Stripes pattern.
3. Few Yankees actually live in New York City. Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada are Manhattanites, but the rest of the team members hang their hats in New Jersey, Westchester County and Connecticut.
4. Chuck Knoblauch and Jeter are the party boys of the team – Noel Ashman’s downtown hotspot, Veruka, is virtually their second home.
5. That bottled water coach Joe Torre swigs constantly in the dugout? It’s Deer Park.
6. Throughout history, Yankees and glam starlets have been magnetically attracted to each other – from Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe, to David Justice and Halle Berry, and Jeter and Mariah Carey.
7. Slugger Williams plays classical guitar, and veteran right-fielder O’Neill likes to pound the skins.
8. Mariano Rivera has the dubious honor of being the team’s most prolific on-field spitter.
9. Former shipbuilder George Steinbrenner, who bought the Yankees in 1973 for a reported $10 million, always wears a white turtleneck and a blue blazer.
10. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is undoubtedly the Yankees’ No. 1 fan, but other celebs who rarely miss a game are Billy Crystal, Paul McCartney, Chuck Zito and WWF wrestler Mankind.
11. Legendary announcer Bob Sheppard has been the stadium voice of the Yankees since 1951.
12. “Challenger,” the bald eagle that traces a flight path from center field to the pitcher’s mound following the national anthem at every postseason game, has become so domesticated that he keeps coming back when turned loose.
13. Last year, Jeter became the first player to snaffle the MVP award in both a World Series and an All-Star game in the same season.
14. Robert Merrill, a former Metropolitan Opera baritone, is the primary anthem singer at Yankee Stadium.
15. Ball players are among the most superstitious folk around – and the Yankees are no different. Many players believe it’s bad luck to step on the first-base line as they run on and off the field. O’Neill turns his back pocket inside out to help himself hit better and Knoblauch once bleached his hair to step up his performance.
16. The Bronx Bombers have won a record 38 pennants and 26 World Series championships.
17. At the end of the fifth inning, the grounds crew traditionally leads the fans in a choreographed dance to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”
18. Eddie Layton, who has a college degree in meteorology, has been the official organist for the Yankees since 1967.
19. Super-slugger Mickey Mantle holds the record for hitting the most home runs in Series history – he notched up 18 during his career.
20. In April 1998, a 500-pound steel joint fell from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium, prompting the team to play a home game at Shea Stadium and trade three home games with the Detroit Tigers.