The impact of winning a World Series is displayed many ways by an organization: banners are raised in the stadium; memories and highlights are recorded in books and videos; and memorabilia and other artifacts are preserved as collector’s items.
But the men who earned those trophies carry the honor buried deep within their inner souls. It’s not something that fades over time. If anything, it becomes more cherished with age, an accomplishment that gives them an unshakable status within an organization and a sport where excellence is admired.
The 2009 Yankees joined an exclusive fraternity of winners. It is too fresh for them to fully understand the impact their victory will have in the years and decades to come.
“It’s something I carry with me and draw on a pretty regular basis,” said Scott Brosius, who won three World Series with the Yankees and was the World Series MVP in 1998. “As a baseball coach at the college level, one of the things I love to do with my guys is paint that picture of how great a feeling it is to achieve what you are ultimately trying to do, which is win a championship. Having been there and experienced that, you want that for the players you’re coaching.”
Win a World Series with the Yankees and you are different. You may not always feel different, but you are. You not only have won a championship, but you’ve done it with the most storied franchise in sports. Even on the days when you forget, the fans don’t.
“We’re a good 10 years removed from those days,” said Mike Stanton, a relief pitcher on the Yankees World Series teams from 1998-2000. “But you still get younger kids because of hearing it from their fathers and grandfathers that know of the history. So it seems to be going into the next generation.”
They don’t go around flashing the World Series rings, but winning a championship with the Yankees impacts their lives long after wearing the pinstripes. Stanton is the baseball coach at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. Brosius is the baseball coach at Linfield College in Oregon. Jeff Nelson talks baseball on XM Radio and on the MLB Network. Having won championships with the Yankees gives them “credibility” Nelson said.
“When you talk about baseball and what people are thinking during a given point in a game, you can back it up because you’ve been there before,” said Nelson, a reliever on four World Series winners with the Yankees. “You’ve got the trophies in your house. You’ve got the rings. That’s something you can never take away.”
Other former Yankees such as Paul O’Neill remain linked to the legacy through their broadcast work. Tino Martinez helped out during spring training. Now that players such as Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia have joined the champions club, they can look forward to added applause at future Old-Timers’ games.
“The fans make you feel special because they recognize you,” Nelson said. “Even if you’ve just won one World Series, you’ve done something some people haven’t experienced.”
george.willis@nypost.com