MVP cranks Game 6 homerMVP cranks Game 6 homerBy Arturo Mora, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices columnist 2009

With a two-run homer, a two-run bases loaded single, and six RBI, World Series MVP Hideki Matsui put the nail in the Phillies coffin and sent the Yankees on the way to a 7-3 win and their 27th world championship, their first since 2000. Series vet Andy Pettitte did his part with 5 2/3 strong innings on only three days rest. It was a great ending to one of the best Series in years.

I was cheering for the Yankees to win it all. It wasn’t because of their nine-year drought—it’s hard to give them any sympathy for that when the Chicago Cubs are working on 102 years. I just think it’s nice if, once a while, the best team in baseball during the regular season wins the World Series. It’s a good reward for excellence.

Sure, it’s easy to say it’s all about the money, and the Yankees have more than enough of that. Their player payroll typically more than doubles the average team’s. But they’ve always had the most money, which has made it refreshing that some low payroll teams have knocked them out of the playoffs these past years. So I’ll begrudge them the one win, as long as they don’t start doing it every year.

I give a lot of the credit to manager Joe Girardi for keeping this collection of millionaires focused on the task at hand. He initially lobbyed for the Cubs’ manager job, practically begged for it, before settling for replacing the legendary Joe Torre. Girardi was cocky in picking 27 as his uniform number, to match the 27th championship he planned on. He would have been a God in Chicago if he’d brought them a championship, but bringing the Yankees back to primacy is a pretty good compensation prize.

There were a lot of good baseball stories in this Series besides Matsui’s big day. Alex Rodriguez threw off the playoff choke tag with his RBI and power show (6 homers, 18 RBI in the playoffs, 6 RBI in the Series, despite a .250 Series average). Workhorses C.C. Sabathia and Pettitte threw the lie to the conventional wisdom against pitching on three days rest. Johnny Damon stole two bases on one play.

It was weird watching baseball in November, but well worth the wait.