Rays manager and former Yankee Kevin Cash has fond memories of 2009
Former Yankee and current Rays manager Kevin Cash bats against the Minnesota Twins on May 17, 2009 at Yankee Stadium. Credit: Getty Images/Jim McIsaac
Rays manager Kevin Cash played eight years in the big leagues from 2002-10, a journeyman catcher who bounced between five different clubs in his career.
One of them was the 2009 Yankees.
And while Cash, whose 12 seasons managing the Rays make him the longest-tenured manager in the majors, appeared in just 10 big-leagues games with the ’09 Yankees, the experience has always stuck with him.
The 2009 Yankees, of course, won the franchise’s last World Series, its roster stocked with big names – from Derek Jeter to Mariano Rivera to Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Johnny Damon…and more.
“What I took (from it) was great appreciation for the franchise,” Cash said on the eve of Game 1 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field. “And then, you know, how cool was it to be the 25th player on the roster, and get to sit in the dugout, sit in the clubhouse, rub elbows with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Yankee legends, baseball legends. You take a lot from that. Alex Rodriguez, just a remarkable team. You understand why they won the World Series.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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