It felt like a birthright early in their careers. They were young and Yankees, and that meant a lifetime in the World Series.
Maybe there would be a one-year hiatus from the Fall Classic or two years between trips up the Canyon of Heroes. But for Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, it appeared as if their parade was going to be regularly scheduled between those for Columbus Day and Thanksgiving.
“When you think to back then, you do think about how easy it seemed to be,” Posada said.
And then easy took a vacation. The Yankees’ payroll and pressure mounted, and so did their annual disappointment. When the 2000 Subway World Series ended, Jeter was 26, Pettitte 28, Posada 29 and Rivera 30. They were primetime stars with four rings each. Jeter was boldly talking about hunting down Yogi Berra and his 10 rings.
But here they are now, the cast of thirtysomethings still in pursuit of that fifth ring. All four lost the World Series together in 2001 and 2003, Pettitte lost in the World Series in 2005 as an Astro. They all shared in the indignity of not even making the playoffs together last year.
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“We (the Yanks) haven’t been here since 2003, so that is why this is so special to all of us,” Posada said. “You never know when this situation will come again.”
In the end that is why the 105th World Series is so dear to the Dynasty Boys. They know now that it is not their birthright to play the final outs of a season. And, despite terrific years for the entire quartet, they see their baseball mortality sets in. Maybe Pettitte will be re-signed and they will all do this together again next year.
But they know that assuming the best — of health and performance — is folly. There are no promises about tomorrow, even with record payrolls and a cast of stars. So you seize the moment, capitalize in the here and now.
“Once you are here, you want to do whatever it takes to win it,” Rivera said.
Think about all the people brought in at great fanfare and large expense who never won it: There was Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano. There has been roughly $1.5 billion spent since the last World Series win for the Yankees, and a zillion recriminations.
Joe Torre ultimately had to go, and so too did Mussina, Giambi, Sheffield, Johnson, Pavano and Yankee Stadium. George Steinbrenner faded, and his eldest son, Hank, had 15 minutes of fame.
But here are Jeter, Pettitte, Posada and Rivera still chasing, still trying to make it feel around a new Yankee Stadium like the old days — when they were young. When they still thought this was the way it was always going to be.
“I was more optimistic about this team than any team in a long time,” Jeter said.
And the good vibes of spring — about the talent and temperament — have translated to a date tonight, World Series Game 1 against the Phillies. Berra is now unrealistic to Jeter, but one for thumb isn’t. Jeter, in fact, says he jokes now that Berra had it easy, since there was only one round of playoffs in Yogi’s day. There also was not the level of scrutiny that seemed to crush Yankee teams of recent vintage.
“We lost one game in Anaheim and everyone was talking about the collapse (against Boston in the ALCS) of 2004,” Pettitte said. “It is a different monster playing here. That is what is most gratifying about getting back.”
They have again conquered the monster, returned to what seemed their birthright. Now the Phillies stand in the way of a parade. A long journey from then to now, a long journey still to go.
“I always believe we are going to get to this place,” Rivera said. Then he looks up, making a point that maybe it would have been difficult for twentysomethings to conceive nearly a decade ago: “But it is hard to get here.”