Yankee Bashing: An Exercise in Futility.

• Author: BARRETT, WAYNE M.
• Position: The dominance of the New York Yankees has been revived, following 18 years without a World Series victory - Brief Article

IN THE WORLD SERIES after I was born, the Yankees beat the Braves. Four decades later, in the World Series after my daughter was born, the Yankees beat the Braves. In the World Series after my second son was born, the Yankees beat the Braves. (Notice a disturbing pattern developing.) It took my oldest son to break the mold. In the World Series after he was born, the Yankees didn't beat the Braves; they beat the Padres, to finish the year an unprecedented 75 games over .500, capping off what some say is the greatest season in baseball history. As a Yankee-hating household, we're obviously doing a lousy job.

No wonder they used to say that rooting for the Yankees is like investing in U.S. Steel: you can't lose. Of course, the luster eventually came off the steel industry. Same for the Yanks, or so we thought. The Bronx Bombers went from 1978 to 1996--18 blissful years--without a world's championship, the longest span in their history. Now that was truly an era of Nirvana for those who cringe at the mere mention of pinstripes. (There was one other "Golden Age" of Bronx doldrums. New York went from 1964 to 1976 without an American League pennant and from 1962 to 1977 without a World Series crown. Ah, those were the good old days.)

But boom! It was all shattered when the Yankees ripped off three titles in the last four years of the century to close the millennium as the greatest superpower in sports. (They now have 25 World Series wins in 36 appearances, topping the Montreal Canadiens' 24 Stanley Cup championships.) Considering the Yanks' first Series triumph came in 1923, that means they have averaged a world title every three years for three-quarters of a century. For a little perspective, the Chicago Cubs haven't won even a single championship since 1908; the Chicago White Sox since 1917; the Boston Red Sox since 1918; the Cleveland Indians since 1948; and the Giants (now San Francisco, then New York) since 1954.

At least all these franchises have multiple titles. Pity the poor Philadelphia Phillies, who entered the National League in 1883 and didn't win their one and only World Series until 1980 (although it must be pointed out that there was no World Series until 1903). Moreover, the Phillies captured just two pennants (1915 and 1950) and won just a single World Series game (1915) before going all the way in 1980.

The real suffering, however, takes place in Chicago. The Cubs haven't even been in the World Series since 1945. The White Sox...