(AP) — Raul Ibanez was hoping to make it to his first World Series when he agreed to a free-agent deal with the defending champion Phillies in the offseason.
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Now that he's here, he's determined to make the most of the opportunity.
Ibanez bounced a two-run single into right field to help Philadelphia beat the New York Yankees 6-1 in Game 1 of the Fall Classic on Wednesday night. The hit off David Robertson made it 4-0 and came after the designated hitter went hitless with two strikeouts in his first three at-bats against CC Sabathia.
"Two different pitchers," Ibanez said. "I didn't change my approach, just tried to put the ball into play."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who has been playing the matchups all postseason, curiously stayed with the right-handed Robertson when the lefty-batting Ibanez came to the plate.
"Robby just almost got out of it, and they hit a ground ball in the hole," Girardi said.
Ibanez got off to a fast start after agreeing to a $31.5 million, three-year contract with Philadelphia in the offseason, making his first career All-Star team. He slowed down in the second half when he was bothered by a sore groin but still finished with a career-high 34 homers.
"Everybody in here is a grinder," Ibanez said. "They grind things out. They grind at-bats out. They play hard. They hustle. They do things the right way."
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STAR POWER: There were plenty of stars off the field, too.
Alec Baldwin, Matthew McConaughey, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, former New York Rangers captain Mark Messier, ex-Homeland Security head Tom Ridge and movie directors Spike Lee and Steven Spielberg were all in attendance for the first Series game at the new Yankee Stadium.
Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter's actress girlfriends were in their usual spots. Kate Hudson was sitting up front and Minka Kelly was in Jeter's suite.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in his front row seat next to the Yankees dugout along the first-base line.
He expected to see many famous faces in the Bronx for one simple reason.
"New York's the capital of the world," Giuliani told The Associated Press while standing on the field before the game.
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THE BOSS IS BACK: George Steinbrenner watched Game 1 of the World Series from his suite above home plate, returning to the new Yankee Stadium for the first time since opening day.
Steinbrenner arrived about 45 minutes before New York's 6-1 loss to the Phillies and was driven in a dark minivan with tinted windows all the way to the elevators that lead up the suites at the $1.5 billion palace.
The frail owner, who has made few public appearances since his health deteriorated, was helped out of his car and into a wheelchair in the stadium tunnel. General manager Brian Cashman then accompanied him on the elevator trip to his box.
Steinbrenner has kept a low profile since turning over the day-to-day operation of the team to his son, Hal Steinbrenner, last November. He sat in the last row of his box during the first inning and took time to visit with Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra in the middle of the game.
The Yankees have said throughout the postseason that they hope to win a seventh World Series title for the 79-year-old Steinbrenner, who bought the team in 1973. The grounds crew donned T-shirts that read "WIN IT FOR THE BOSS" on the front and 27 on the back — New York is seeking its 27th crown overall.
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LOTS OF GOOD NUMBERS: The Phillies won Game 1 of the World Series on the road for the second consecutive year and have won four straight Series games overall. They beat the Rays 3-2 in the opener last year and went on to win the title in five games.
"We treat every game the same, whether it's the first game or the last game," second baseman Chase Utley said. "We prepare and we play hard and we play to win, and when that game is over, we'll focus on the next game. It is nice to get off on a good start, but for us, it starts tomorrow."
Philadelphia also has won its last seven World Series games when it scored first.
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PRICEY TIX: Want to go to a World Series game? Try the Big Apple.
The average ticket price for the first two games at Yankee Stadium was $600 on Wednesday afternoon, compared with $1,400 for Games 3-5 at Citizens Bank Park. The cheapest tickets were going for about $310 in New York and $475 in Philadelphia.
FanSnap.com, an Internet search engine that finds tickets on resale sites, reported there were more than 6,000 tickets available for Game 1 and 4,000-plus for Game 2 on Thursday night, with some sellers wanting more than $2,600 for a nice seat to watch Pedro Martinez's highly anticipated start for the Phillies.
There were more than 15,000 tickets listed for the next three games in Philadelphia, with the highest-priced seats advertised for almost $3,000 for Game 5, according to FanSnap.com.
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PIONEER: Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman became the first woman to call a World Series game on the radio.
Waldman was on WCBS-AM in New York for Game 1 between the Yankees and Phillies.
Waldman became the Yankees' color commentator in 2005, joining John Sterling in the booth and becoming the first woman to hold a full-time position as a major league broadcaster, according to the team media guide.
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