2009 American League Championship Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season New York Yankees (4) Joe Girardi 103–59, .636, GA: 8 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2) Mike Scioscia 97–65, .599, GA: 10
Dates	October 16–25
MVP	CC Sabathia (New York)
Umpires	Tim McClelland (crew chief),Laz Diaz,Bill Miller,Jerry Layne,Fieldin Culbreth,Dale Scott
Broadcast
Television	Fox MLB International
TV announcers	Joe Buck andTim McCarver (Fox) Dave O'Brien andRick Sutcliffe (MLB International)
Radio	ESPN (national) WCBS-AM (Yankees) KLAA-AM (Angels)
Radio announcers	Jon Miller andJoe Morgan (ESPN) John Sterling andSuzyn Waldman (WCBS) Terry Smith andRory Markas (KLAA)
ALDS	New York Yankees overMinnesota Twins (3–0) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim overBoston Red Sox (3–0)
← 2008 ALCS 2010 →

The2009American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the American League side inMajor League Baseball's2009 postseason, was a best-of-seven-game series matching the two winners of the2009 American League Division Series. The AL East Division champions and overall #1 seed, theNew York Yankees, defeated the AL West Division champions, the second-seededLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim, four games to two, to advance to the2009 World Series, their first since2003.^[1] This was the third time that these two teams faced each other in the playoffs. They met in the2002 ALDS and2005 ALDS with the Angels winning both series by 3–1 and 3–2.

The Yankees held home-field advantage because they had a better regular-season record than Los Angeles Angels. The series, the 39th in league history, began on October 16 and ended on October 25.Fox Sports carried all games withJoe Buck andTim McCarver in the broadcast booth. Starting with the 2009 season, weeknight games began 40 minutes earlier as suggested by CommissionerBud Selig.^[2]

The Yankees won the series four games to two, and went on to defeat thePhiladelphia Phillies 4–2 in theWorld Series.

New York won the series, 4–2.

† Game 6 was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, October 24, but was postponed because of rain.

On a blustery night where the official game time temperature was 45 °F (7 °C),^[9] starterCC Sabathia limited the Angels to one run on four hits and a walk in eight innings, striking out seven in a 4–1 Yankee win.^[9]

The Yankees staked Sabathia to a 2–0 lead in the bottom of the first on anAlex Rodriguez sacrifice fly and an unusual RBI infield single fromHideki Matsui. Matsui hit a short popup to the left side of the infield, but there was a miscommunication between third basemanChone Figgins and shortstopErick Aybar and the ball fell in for a single, enablingJohnny Damon to score from second.^[9]Vladimir Guerrero set up the Angels' only run in the top of the fourth, hitting a high fly ball to deep left field that looked to be a home run but bounced in front of the fence for a double instead, possibly due to the windy conditions. Guerrero scored two batters later onKendrys Morales' single. The Yankees added a run in the fifth on Matsui's second run-scoring single of the night, and a pair of Angels errors led to New York's fourth run in the sixth. After reaching base on a walk,Melky Cabrera advanced to second onJohn Lackey's errant pickoff attempt.^[9]Derek Jeter then singled up the middle, butTorii Hunter overran the ball, allowing Cabrera to score without a play at the plate.^[9]

Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth, recording his 36th career postseason save.^[9]

Once again, the Yankees struck first in the second inning. AfterNick Swisher worked a two-outwalk—his first in this postseason—Robinson Canó hit his first career postseason triple to deep right-center field to score Swisher. In the bottom of the third,Derek Jeter hit a solohome run to right field to give the Yankees a 2–0 advantage.The Angels fought back in the fifth. AfterMaicer Izturis hit a leadoffground rule double to right field,Erick Aybar's one-out single brought Izturis home to cut the lead in half. Later in the inning, New YorkstarterA. J. Burnett'sbases-loadedwild pitch caused the game to be tied at two. Both teams threatened multiple times in the ensuing innings, but neither scored and the game was sent toextra innings. In the top half of the 11th,Gary Matthews Jr. drew a walk off Yankees relieverAlfredo Aceves, advanced to second on asacrifice bunt by Erick Aybar, and scored on anRBI single byChone Figgins. At this point, the weather took a turn for the worse, which included rain and snow falling, but the Yankees battled back. In the bottom half of the frame,Alex Rodriguez tied the game with a leadoff home run off AngelscloserBrian Fuentes. Then, the Yankees won the game in the bottom of the 13th inning.Jerry Hairston Jr. led off with a single and advanced to second on a groundout. Angels relieverErvin Santana then intentionally walkedRobinson Cano to set up a force play. Then,Melky Cabrera hit a ground ball to second. Maicer Izturis had the option of throwing to first for the second out and leaving runners on second and third, but instead attempted a tough throw to force Cano out at second and get a potential double play. However, Izturis's throw completely missed shortstop Aybar and went towards third base. Figgins, who was backing up the play, came up with the ball in an attempt to throw out Hairston at home, but the ball slipped out of his hand and Hairston scored the game-winning run.

Alex Rodriguez's 11th-inning home run was his second late-inning game-tying home run in this postseason. Both were off the opposing team's closer (theMinnesota Twins'Joe Nathan, inALDS Game 2).

For the third game in a row the Yankees scored first, this time onDerek Jeter's leadoffhome run off Angels starterJered Weaver. They extended their lead on solo home runs byAlex Rodriguez in the fourth inning andJohnny Damon in the fifth, both off Weaver. Yankees starterAndy Pettitte held the Angels scoreless until the fifth inning, when he yielded a solo home run toHowie Kendrick in the fifth. The next inning,Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run home run, also off Pettitte, to tie the game. The Angels took the lead in the seventh, thanks to Kendrick's one-out triple andMaicer Izturis'sacrifice fly, both offJoba Chamberlain. However, aJorge Posada solo home run offKevin Jepsen—the sixth in the game—tied it again in the eighth.

Another Angels' gaffe proved costly. In the eighth inningAbreu led off with a double but attempted to stretch it into a triple. An alert Jeter called for the ball at second and tossed toMark Teixeira who was covering second, sinceRobinson Canó was in the outfield, to tag Abreu for the out.

For the second consecutive time in the series, the Yankees and Angels playedextra innings. The Angelsloaded the bases with one out in the tenth inning againstMariano Rivera, but were unable to score. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Yankees pitcherDavid Robertson retired the two Angels batters he faced and was one out away from forcing a 12th inning whenmanagerJoe Girardi replaced him withAlfredo Aceves, a decision that would later be criticized by the New York media. Aceves, who yielded a go-ahead run to the Angels in the 11th inning of Game 2 that was later erased by Rodriguez' home run, yielded a single to Kendrick on a 3–1count.Jeff Mathis, the Angels' backupcatcher who was inserted into the game in the eighth inning, followed with adouble to deep left field, scoring Kendrick from first and winning the game in a walk-off.

YankeesaceCC Sabathia started Game 4 on three days' rest, which proved to be no problem, as he pitched eight strong innings, allowing only oneearned run on a home run byKendrys Morales in the fifth, fivehits, and twowalks, whilestriking out five. For the fourth straight game in the series the Yankees scored first. With runners on second and third and one out,Robinson Cano hit into a fielder's choice to scoreAlex Rodriguez. After a walk loaded the bases,Melky Cabrera's two-run single made it 3–0 Yankees. Next inning,Mark Teixeira hit a leadoff single and Angels' starterScott Kazmir was relieved byJason Bulger, who allowed a two-run home run to Rodriguez, tying a postseason record set byLou Gehrig andRyan Howard for recording anRBI in eight consecutive games. In the eighth, Cabrera walked off ofErvin Santana who was relieved byMatt Palmer.Johnny Damon's home run made it 7–1 Yankees. Rodriguez doubled to lead off the ninth and scored onJorge Posada's sacrifice fly. One out later,Robinson Cano walked andBrett Gardner singled before both scored on a double by Cabrera, giving him four RBIs.Chad Gaudin relieved Sabathia in the bottom of the ninth and retired the Angels in order as the Yankees were one win away from their first World Series since 2003. The game included three controversial calls by the umpiring crew that third base umpire and crew chiefTim McClelland—who made two of the three calls in question—admitted were in error,^[10] drawing more attention to the argument for instant replay in baseball.^[11]

Unlike the previous four games, this time the Angels scored first. WithChone Figgins on third base andBobby Abreu on first,Torii Hunter singled to center field, scoring both Figgins and Abreu. Hunter then scored on anRBIdouble byVladimir Guerrero, followed by aKendrys Morales RBIsingle that scored Guerrero from second. All this was done before the firstout was recorded. From that point on, neither starter—John Lackey for the Angels andA. J. Burnett for the Yankees—allowed arun until the seventh inning. In the top half of that inning, Lackey worked into abases-loaded jam with twoouts when managerMike Scioscia replaced him withDarren Oliver.Mark Teixeira connected with Oliver's first pitch for a double that scored all threeinherited runners—Melky Cabrera,Jorge Posada, andDerek Jeter. After anintentional walk toAlex Rodriguez,Hideki Matsui singled, scoring Teixeira and tying the game. Oliver was replaced withKevin Jepsen, who yielded atriple toRobinson Canó that scored Rodriguez and Matsui, giving the Yankees a two-run lead. In the bottom half of the seventh, Abreu hit an RBI groundout that scoredJeff Mathis from third. Hunter then drew awalk, followed by a Guerrero single that scoredErick Aybar, and a Morales single that scored Hunter, giving the Angels a one-run lead. The Yankees threatened AngelscloserBrian Fuentes in the ninth inning. With two outs, Fuentes loaded the bases, butNick Swisher popped out to end the game.

As of today, this remains the Angels last post-season victory.

Game 6 was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, October 24, but was postponed because of rain. Angels gaffes once again proved costly. In the top of the second, baserunnerVladimir Guerrero ran too far from first base on a fly ball out and wasdoubled off. The game remained scoreless until the top of the third inning whenBobby Abreu singled homeJeff Mathis, who singled to lead off and moved to second on a groundout, to give the Angels the early lead. The Yankees left six men on base in the first and second innings before they finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth afterJohnny Damon lined a two-run single with the bases loaded off ofJoe Saunders to give them the lead for the remainder of the game. A single reloaded the bases beforeAlex Rodriguezwalked to force in another run. Saunders was then removed in favor ofDarren Oliver, who pitched2+2⁄3 shutout innings.

Andy Pettitte pitched a strong game, allowing one run in6+1⁄3 innings while striking out six.Mariano Rivera entered the game in the eighth inning for a six-out save.Chone Figgins hit a leadoff single in the eighth, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a Guerrero single with two outs to close the gap to 3–2. In the bottom of the eighth,Robinson Cano drew a leadoff walk off ofErvin Santana, who was relieved byScott Kazmir. The Angels misfielded two sacrifice bunts by the Yankees, a fielding error byHowie Kendrick and a throwing error by pitcherScott Kazmir, allowing a run to score. A walk loaded the bases beforeMark Teixeira's sacrifice fly made it 5–2 Yankees. Rivera retired the side in the ninth to record the Yankees' 40th American League pennant.

2009 ALCS(4–2):New York Yankees overLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim

A week and a half later, the Yankees would defeat thePhiladelphia Phillies in theWorld Series in six games. It was the fifth and final ring for theCore Four era Yankees (fourth for Posada who was left off the playoff roster in1996) and the only one for star players such asAlex Rodriguez,CC Sabathia, andHideki Matsui. It was the team's 27th World Series and their last to date; the Yankees have been to the ALCS six times since (2010,2012,2017,2019,2022,2024), losing on each occasion until 2024.

In regards to Matsui, on December 16, 2009, the2009 World Series MVP agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim worth $6.5 million. Matsui toldYomiuri Shimbun that he "loved the Yankees the best" but that he no longer felt valued and when his agent called to negotiate, "The Yankees had nothing prepared [in terms of contract conditions]." He made up his mind to sign with the Angels quickly. "I really felt their high expectations of me," he said.^[12] On April 13, 2010, Matsui returned to Yankee Stadium as a member of the Angels and received his championship ring and a long standing ovation.

The 2009 American League Championship Series marked the end of the most successful era in Angels franchise history. From 2002 to 2009, they made six postseason appearances, which was highlighted by the by team winning the2002 American League pennant andWorld Series. Before 2002, they had been to the postseason just three times in franchise history (1979,1982, and1986), never winning a postseason series. Since 2009, the Angels have made the postseason just once (in2014) and have not won a postseason game since Game 5 of the 2009 ALCS.

• 2009 ALCS at Baseball-Reference
• 2009 ALCS at ESPN

• 2009 Major League Baseball season
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