In 2009, no one really knew that Robertson would become a star setup man and eventually replace Mariano Rivera. What we did know was that the guy had nasty stuff. He could strike out batters big time. He had an outrageous 13 strikeouts per 9 innings, which went nice with his decent 3.30 ERA. His 20 games finished can be seen as a foreshadowing to his future closer days with New York.

In 4.1 postseason innings in 2009, Robertson gave up zero runs, 2 wins, and 2 games finished. He also pitched a clutch gem in the ALDS that set up the heroics for Mark Teixeira.

While his time with New York wasn’t too memorable, Hinske’s championship makes him a unique player. He appeared in the 2007 World Series with Boston, 2008 with Tampa, and 2009 with Tampa. Three straight years, three different teams.

The 2002 Rookie of the Year contributed 7 homers in 39 games.

The Yanks picked up Hairston at the trade deadline for his utility abilities. In his 45 games with New York, he played third base, shortstop, left field, right field, second base, designated hitter, and centerfield.

His most memorable moment of 2009 was scoring the winning run in Game 2 of the ALCS.

Bruney had a stellar 2008, going with a 1.83 ERA. 2009 wasn’t as stellar, dealing with an injury and having a ERA nearing 4.00.

The most memorable moment for him from 2009 was his confrontation with Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez. After K-rod and the Mets lost a stunning game, Bruney criticized K-rod:

“Unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like that. I have, but in high school. It couldn’t happen to a better guy on the mound, either. He’s got a tired act.

Read more of his comments and Rodriguez' comeback here. Later in the series, the two confronted each other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a8ZRSlM03I#t=49

Jose Molina got a lot of playing time in 2009 being back up catcher and AJ Burnett’s personal catcher. Molina, just like his brother Yadier, was known for his top-notch defense. In 2008 with New York, he led all catchers in caught-stealing percentage with 44%.

One of his biggest moments of the year was a nice surprise of offense with a grand slam. His biggest though was showing off his well-known great defense with a clutch pickoff in World Series play.

After being taken under A-Rod’s wing, Robby seemed destined to a have a monster year. Cano had his best season to that point in 2009. He had shown batting before; in fact his .342 in 2006 is his best to date. But it all came together in 2009, with a .320 clip, 25 homers, and 204 hits. He and teammate Derek Jeter are the only middle-infield combo to both have 200 hits in the same season. He also led the league in games played.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hezhbD1Tfc

Wang’s success came, and then seemingly it was gone. Wang was outstanding in 2006 and 2007, winning 19 games each year.

Then in 2008, he sustained an injury in his right food that cost him the whole year. Coming into 2009, some speculated that maybe his foot still wasn’t healed. His 9.64 ERA in 9 starts summed up his horrendous season before having shoulder surgery to end the year. And just like that, Wang’s career with New York was sadly over.

Despite being a third-string catcher, the Yanks saw quite a bit of Cervelli in 2009. Or at least it seemed that way. He only had 101 plate appearances, in which he hit .298 with only one home run. But Cervelli was more than that; he emphatically pumped his fist after his pitcher got a strikeout and he let out a big clap with his hands after he got a hit. Perhaps he got on some people’s nerves, but he was entertaining. The passionate Italian-Venezuelan remained the backup catcher to the Yanks until 2014.

Welcome to New York, Tex!

The Yankees signed Teixeira in the offseason to eight years, 180 million dollars. Teixeira was worth every penny of his 20,625,000 dollars made in 2009. Tex hit a league leading 39 homers, won a Gold Glove, won a Silver Slugger, led the league with 122 RBI and 344 total bases, and finished second in the MVP voting.

His biggest moment of the year was a walk-off home run in the ALDS against the Twins.

Joba was one of the most exciting relievers in the game from 2007 to 2008. He was young, one of the few Native-American baseball players, and always had a passionate rage of happiness whenever he got out of a jam.

Starting in 2009, they messed with something that was already great: they turned the dominant Joba into a starting pitcher. While he wasn’t horrible as a starter, he was never the same. His ERA skyrocketed to 4.75. Instead of sticking to their decision, in 2010 he went back to relief pitching, where he was no where near as good as 2008.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twt5Ge4PTyQ&index=307&list=PLL-lmlkrmJanqH6DP3dvQUGJ3ekB1NmAj