The seeds for these 2011 playoffs were planted during batting practice of Game 1 of the 2009 World Series at Yankee Stadium.
While the Yankees were getting ready to face the Phillies on that Oct. 28, six days before they would proudly own world championship No. 27, Brian Cashman was starting to re-shape his team for the future. That’s the day he began to talk trade with Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski.
Nearly seven weeks later, the Yankees landed center fielder Curtis Granderson in a three-team trade with the Tigers and Diamondbacks. Now the three teams are in the playoffs as division winners, a classic baseball trade that helped all three teams.
“This,” Cashman told the Post, “was a blockbuster.” It sure was in so many ways. The Tigers sent Granderson to the Yankees and pitcher Edwin Jackson to Arizona. The Yankees shipped lefty reliever Phil Coke to Detroit along with young center fielder Austin Jackson and right-hander Ian Kennedy to the D’backs while Arizona traded pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth to Detroit.
All three teams have reaped the benefits of the deal.
“I knew Granderson would be a good player for us,” Cashman says now.
But even he didn’t know Granderson would become the weapon he has become.
Granderson blasted 41 home runs this season and stole 25 bases, the first Yankees player to accomplish the feat and the first American Leaguer to do so since Alex Rodriguez and Jose Canseco did it in 1998. The MVP candidate also drove in 119 runs and scored a whopping 136 runs.
“All I can say is that I’m thankful Curtis is doing so well because when you see what everybody else is doing, there is a lot of risk involved and a lot of exposure,” Cashman said of the monster deal.
Only Justin Verlander (24) won more games than Kennedy, who posted 21 wins and only four losses with a 2.88 ERA for the Diamondbacks. Austin Jackson, who finished second in Rookie of the Year balloting last season, is a defensive wizard and was a key component to the Tigers’ success while Coke fills the vital role of a gutsy left-hander out of the bullpen.
Looking back on the deal, Cashman said it shows the overall strength of the Yankees organization.
“We’ve drafted well and we’ve developed well and that’s what made this trade possible,” he said.
There’s an urban myth the trade was held up in the final hours so the Yankees could purchase a scanner to share medical information about the players involved in the deal. Cashman said that is simply not true.
These are the New York Yankees after all, not some small market franchise.
“Believe me; we are fully equipped as an organization,” Cashman said, noting the real reason for the delay was that some Yankees medical people were traveling at the time.
The bottom line is that Cashman was not afraid to go out and make a big deal with an American League rival, and now, as fate would have it, the two teams will square off in the ALDS, beginning tonight at Yankee Stadium.
This is one of those trades that will be talked about for years and it is one that shows you have to give something to get something.
Baseball, as is life, is all about give and take.
Granderson is thrilled to be playing his old team.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun, and playing in Detroit in the postseason will be special,” he said. “They get behind their sports teams there.” The center fielder was a fan favorite with the Tigers and was heavily involved in the community. He’s doing the same thing with the Yankees, a class act all the way. Cashman knew that when he acquired him.
Just be aware that if the Yankees make it back to the World Series and you see Cashman talking on the phone during batting practice of Game 1, he could be planting the seeds for a trade that will greatly impact the 2013 playoffs.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com