Joe DiMaggio surrounded by his teammates Sometime during the summer of 1947, my father and I went to Boston to see a double header at Fenway Park. He was a big time Red Sox fan.

In those days it wasn't easy to drive to Boston. Most people took the train. We drove. It was a two lane road all the way and we were in our 1941 Chevy that my father had bought new from Cross Brothers in late 1940 for $900.

When we left Fenway after the game, the traffic jam was so bad that the car overheated in the wait to bust through to Brookline Avenue.

The Red Sox were playing the Yankees. It was a very big deal because Joe DiMaggio was playing for the Yankees and his brother Dom was playing for the Red Sox.

Dom was the youngest of three brothers who each became major league center fielders. His oldest brother Vince played for five National League teams. Dom's height, 5 foot nine inches, and eyeglasses earned him the nickname "The Little Professor." A little ditty from Dom's playing days said:

"Who hits the ball and makes it go? Dominic DiMaggio.

Who runs the bases fast, not slow? Dominic DiMaggio.

Who's better than his brother Joe? Dominic DiMaggio.

But when it comes to gettin' dough, they give it all to brother Joe."

I didn't like the Yankees very much in those days. They seemed to win the World Series every year and we were just bored with them winning all the time.

A lot of my friends here in Northfield hated the Yankees too, with their money and their swagger. So far as I know, this trend continued even after we became adults.

Being a Red Sox fan was a very hard thing. Boston was left in the drink more often than not.

Then came 2004 and the greatest playoff comeback in baseball history, when the Red Sox beat the Yankees. When the Red Sox went on to sweep the Cardinals in the World Series, it was redemption for all Red Sox fans.

I heard that someone in Philadelphia had a batch of tee shirts printed with "Phillies Do It Two Years in a Row." Those shirts will go down in the dust bin of history along with the headline "Dewey Beats Truman."

The Yankees have always seemed to have a great ball club, at least that was the case until 2000. Since then, they sort of fell apart.

This year was their first win since winning three straight from 1998-2000.

Matsui, the Series MVP, powered a quick rout of old foe Pedro Martinez. When Mariano Rivera got the final out, it must have been ecstasy in the Bronx for George Steinbrenner.

His new $1.5 billion ball park has had a great initial season ending a lot better than it started with a steroid scandal and A-Rod's hip surgery.

"My teammates, coaches and the organization stood by me and now we stand here as world champions," said Rodriguez. "We're going to enjoy it, and we're going to party!"

In a fitting coincidence, the last game of this series came eight years to the day after the Yankees lost game 7 back in 2001 in Arizona.

Mr. Steinbrenner has spent billions trying to win another Series and finally, he has.

The giant screen in center field screamed out "Boss, this is for you," during post game ceremonies while his son, Hal, the team's managing general partner, accepted the championship trophy.

Moments after the final out, Joba Chamberlain and Nick Swisher led a victory lap around the warning track, carrying flags that read "2009 World Series champions."

"We think we can be back here again and again. We have a great squad," Brad Lidge, a closing pitcher said.

While nine years between titles is hardly

drought for most teams, it was almost an eternity for the Yankees.

New York's eight seasons without a championship was the thirdlongest stretch for the Yankees since their first one, following gaps of 17

1979-95) and 14 (1963- 76).

It had been nearly fifty years since players had won five titles with one team. The last to do it were Yogi Berra with ten titles, Mickey Mantle with seven and Whitey Ford with six.

The man with the most World Series rings is Yogi, "It's not over 'til it's over," Berra with ten. In

record 75 World Series games as a catcher, outfielder and pinch-hitter on 14 pennant winners from 1947 to 1963, he had 12 home runs, 39 runs batted in, 10 doubles, a .274 average, 32 walks, only 17 strikeouts.

Next in line with 9 rings is Joe DiMaggio. He batted .271 with 8 homers and 30 R.B.I. as the classic center fielder on Yankees teams from 1936 to 1951 that beat the Giants and the Dodgers three times each, and the Cubs, the Reds and the Phillies once. His only Series loss was to the 1942 Cardinals.

In contrast, Babe Ruth appeared in seven Series for the Yankees, batted .375, slugged 15 homers and drove in 30 runs. In a 1928 sweep of the Cardinals, he hit .625 with 3 homers. He hit three homers in a game twice. Against the Cubs in 1932, he supposedly called his home run at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

This year, being a Yankee fan wasn't so bad after all. At least, after the season was over and it was a choice between Philadelphia and New York.

I think the reason has to do with the makeup of this particular Yankees team.

It is the Yankees' Four Horsemen that do it. What a group, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, all of whom have been with the team for so long, and played so well.

The once-bombastic George Steinbrenner is now old and sick.

Then A-Rod finally learned to keep his mouth shut and just play ball.

Besides, how can a Red Sox fan complain about all the money the Yankees spend to buy players. The Red Sox do the exact same thing.