Matsui was the series' MVP despite starting only the three games that were played at Yankee Stadium, since the designated hitter position was not used in NL ballparks at the time.

[18] Notable player departures included Mike Mussina—who announced his retirement on November 20, 2008[19]—as well as Bobby Abreu,[20] Jason Giambi,[21] and Carl Pavano,[22] who all left as free agents.

[37] Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez drew particular focus in the media for his success in earlier rounds of the 2009 playoffs in contrast to past postseason performances.

[35] The starting pitchers for Game 1, CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee, were regarded as aces[36] who dominated the 2009 postseason with a 0.96 earned run average (ERA) between them.

[45] Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN criticized Girardi's strategy, arguing that Chad Gaudin should have pitched in Game 5 or 6, instead of A. J. Burnett or Andy Pettitte on reduced, three days' rest.

[46] Burnett had drawn some criticism, as he performed poorly in his last appearance before the World Series,[41] a start in Game 5 of the ALCS in which he allowed six runs over six innings.

Some believed Girardi settled on a three-man rotation because he had limited options for a fourth starting pitcher, either Gaudin or Joba Chamberlain, who had been inconsistent as starters in the regular season and had been shifted into the bullpen for the postseason.

[54] Earlier in the season Commissioner Bud Selig expressed interest in scheduling a World Series game during daylight hours instead of the evening.

[56][57] The Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) played across the street from Citizens Bank Park at Lincoln Financial Field on the day of Game 4.

[58] Similarly, Game 5 was played at Citizens Bank Park on the same day as the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL) at the Wachovia Center.

[73] Lee finished with a complete game allowing one unearned run on six hits and striking out ten batters, not walking any of the hitters he faced.

[76] There was much media interest in Martínez's "return to Yankee Stadium" for Game 2, as he told reporters at a pre-game press conference "When you have 60,000 people chanting your name, waiting for you to throw the ball, you have to consider yourself someone special, someone that really has a purpose out there.

[78] Martínez departed the game after giving up consecutive hits to Jerry Hairston Jr. and Melky Cabrera to start the seventh inning, and reliever Chan Ho Park gave up an RBI single to Jorge Posada.

Chris Colfer, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Mark Salling, Dianna Agron, and Kevin McHale) performed the national anthem, as part of a ceremony featuring a large American flag and several members of the armed services.

[94] Phil Hughes pitched a third of an inning in the bottom of the ninth and allowed a solo home run to Carlos Ruiz before being relieved by Mariano Rivera.

[110] The Phillies responded in the bottom of the inning with a single by Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino reaching after being hit by a pitch, and finally a three-run home run by Chase Utley to take the lead.

[110] The Phillies added to their lead in the third inning with Utley and Ryan Howard drawing walks followed by RBI singles by Jayson Werth and Raúl Ibañez.

[110] The first batter he faced, Jayson Werth, hit a deep drive to center field but it was caught for an out by Gardner, who collided with the outfield wall to complete the play.

[110] Damon singled to bring Teixeira to bat as the potential tying run, but Madson struck him out to record his first World Series save.

[117] The Phillies started Pedro Martínez, who called himself and opposing pitcher Andy Pettitte "old goats" and acknowledged that Red Sox fans were rooting for him: "I know that they don't like the Yankees to win, not even in Nintendo games.

"[118] The Yankees scored first with an Alex Rodriguez walk opening the bottom of the second inning followed by a two-run home run by designated hitter Hideki Matsui.

[119] Matsui answered back, adding to the Yankees lead again with a single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, scoring Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon.

[120] The Phillies made the game closer in the top of the sixth inning, as Chase Utley drew a walk and Ryan Howard followed him with a two-run home run, bringing the score to 7–3.

[119] After Raúl Ibañez hit a double into right field, Joba Chamberlain relieved Andy Pettitte and closed the sixth without allowing the Phillies to score.

Ruiz worked a walk from Rivera, but successive outs by Rollins and Victorino ended the game 7–3 to clinch the World Series for the Yankees.

[145] Several items related to the series were sent to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum including bats from Jeter and Matsui; caps from Rivera, Lee, and Pettitte; and Johnny Damon's cleats.

[148] The victory was noted by some sportswriters as a personal success for Alex Rodriguez, winning his first and only world championship and succeeding in the playoffs where some had previously claimed he was a "choker and a loser".

[152] Many players drew praise for their performances, including Series MVP Hideki Matsui;[120] free agents signed the previous offseason including Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and A. J. Burnett;[153] and the so-called "Core Four" of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada, who had all played a large role in the Yankees' past success in the 1990s.

The Phillies' 2008 postseason star pitchers, starter Cole Hamels and closer Brad Lidge, struggled in their only appearances of the 2009 World Series.

[170] Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN partially attributed the Phillies' loss to their lack of offensive production, citing the team's .227 batting average in the World Series.