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I love a parade Yankees get ticker-tape treatment, City Hall rally
NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The world champion New York Yankees are very familiar with the parade route up Broadway's Canyon of Heroes. For the third straight year and fourth time in five years, the Yankees were honored with a ticker tape parade followed by a rally at City Hall. Perhaps Yankees manager Joe Torre summed it up best at the rally when he said of his team "They may get tired, but they never get tired of winning." Players and coaches, owner George Steinbrenner and New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani boarded floats for the parade up Broadway from Battery Park to the steps of City Hall in lower Manhattan. The parade began at noon EST and was followed by the City Hall ceremony, during which Giuliani, an avid Yankees fan, presented the team with keys to the city.
The festivities were hosted by Yankee radio announcers John Sterling and Michael Kay. On Thursday, the Yankees completed one of the most remarkable five-year runs in baseball history by defeating their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets, 4-2, to claim the first "Subway Series" in 44 years in five games. In winning three straight World Series titles, the Yankees compiled an amazing 12-1 record in the Fall Classic and had a 14-game World Series winning streak from Game Three in 1996 through Game Two this year. Shortstop Derek Jeter was named as the World Series MVP after batting .409 with two solo homers in the five games. "What can you say about this team that hasn't been said," Jeter said at today's rally. "We're resilient, hard-working, professional and I know one word that doesn't apply and that's finished."
The 1996-2000 Yankees join two past Yankee teams as the only clubs in baseball history to win four world titles in five years. They also won an uprecedented five consecutive crowns from 1949-1953 and four in a row from 1936-1939. At the conclusion of today's rally, Torre invited outfielder Paul O'Neill and pitcher David Cone to speak at the podium. Both are eligible for free agency and may not return. "I was part of this in 1996, 98, 99 and 2000 and may never get a chance like this again," Cone said. "Joe (Torre) said it right when he said we don't have a Yogi Berra or a Mickey Mantle, but you can still call us Yankees because we're champions." The Yankees lead all sports franchises with 26 championships.
Following the conclusion of the World Series, Giuliani invited the Mets to attend today's festivities, but the National League champions politely declined. They are expected to be honored at a ceremony in April.
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