NEW YORK (AP) - Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees said throughout the postseason they wanted to win another title for George Steinbrenner.
The frail owner wasn't around when New York beat Philadelphia 7-3 on Wednesday night to win the World Series, but there's no doubt the outcome brought a smile to his face.
It was the 79-year-old Steinbrenner's seventh crown since he bought the team in 1973 and first since turning over the day-to-day operation of the team to his son, Hal, last November. Hal Steinbrenner was expected to accept the championship trophy.
George Steinbrenner has made few public appearances since his health deteriorated in recent years. He attended the first two games against the Phillies, returning to the new Yankee Stadium for the first time since opening day.
The Yankees' objective to win one for Steinbrenner was never more obvious than the Series opener last Wednesday, when the grounds crew donned T-shirts that read ``WIN IT FOR THE BOSS'' on the front and 27 on the back - New York won its 27th crown overall.
---
RECORDS: Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch in the third inning Wednesday night, tying two World Series records.
Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez each were plunked three times against the Phillies, joining Pittsburgh's Max Carey in 1925 as the only players to be hit three times in a single Series.
The 2009 Yankees, 1909 Pirates and 2001 Diamondbacks are the only clubs with six HBPs as a team in a Series.
---
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Ryan Howard broke out of his World Series slump but it wasn't enough for the Phillies to force a Game 7.
Howard hit an opposite-field, two-run homer to left off Andy Pettitte in the sixth inning to cut New York's lead to 7-3 but that was it for the Philadelphia offense. The big first baseman batted just .174 (4 for 23) against the Yankees with a Series-record 13 strikeouts.
Howard, who was MVP of the Phillies' NL championship series victory over Los Angeles, did finish with 17 RBIs in the postseason, tying the National League record set by San Francisco's Rich Aurilia in 2002 and equaled by Florida's Ivan Rodriguez in 2003.
---
ONE SPECIAL GUEST: Injured Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher wishes he was with his team preparing to face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Still, the World Series is pretty cool.
Urlacher was a guest of Yankees manager Joe Girardi for Game 6. The two got to know each other when Girardi played for the Cubs.
``I just like to watch sports,'' said Urlacher, who dislocated his right wrist in the Bears' season opener at Green Bay on Sept. 13 and is out for the season. ``They're great athletes and I'm excited to see it up close like this.''
Urlacher played baseball growing up - ``Everything but right field,'' he said with a grin - and wasn't worried about catching any flack from Jets or Giants fans while in New York. He also paid tribute to his buddy Girardi, who led the Yankees to their 27th World Series title.
``He's very even-keeled. He doesn't really get too high or too low,'' he said before the Yankees beat the Phillies 7-3 in the final game of the year.
---
FIRST FAN: Pennsylvania's first fan, Gov. Ed Rendell, took some time away from helping find a resolution to the Philadelphia transit strike to attend Game 6.
Rendell was visiting the new Yankee Stadium for the first time since it opened this year. He was impressed with the $1.5 billion palace but had hoped it would more closely resemble the ballpark he remembered from growing up in New York City.
``It's nice,'' he said. ``I thought it was a more accurate of a recreation of the old stadium. It really isn't, particularly with that monster video board, but it's still a very nice stadium.''
The second-term Democrat and former mayor of Philadelphia was hoping the Phillies would rally to win their second consecutive World Series title but the Yankees won 7-3 to clinch the crown.
---
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Charlie Manuel fully expected to win when he agreed to be the Phillies manager five years ago Wednesday.
``I had gone through our minor league system and I knew the players that we had,'' Manuel said before Game 6. ``I knew (Ryan) Howard was there, I knew (Chase) Utley was there, guys like that, and I knew (Ryan) Madson had a chance to be a good pitcher because I had seen him in Triple-A baseball and things like that, and he put all that together at the major league level. I could see if we kind of tweaked our team some and got the right pieces that we definitely could have a winner.''
Boy, was he right. Manuel took over on Nov. 4, 2004, for a team that went 86-76 and finished second in the NL East, 10 games back. Larry Bowa was fired with two games remaining in the season.
And the Phillies have not finished lower than second place in his five years at the helm, winning the NL East three straight years and the World Series title in 2008.
---
AP Sports Writer Howie Rumberg contributed to this report.
