The 2009 World Series was the 105th edition of Major League Baseball's (MLB) championship series. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League (NL) and defending World Series champions, and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League (AL). The Yankees defeated the Phillies with a score of 4 games to 2, to win their 27th World Series championship. The series was played between October 28 and November 4, broadcast on Fox, and watched by an average of roughly 19 million viewers. Due to the start of the season being pushed back by the 2009 World Baseball Classic in March, this was the first World Series scheduled to be played into the month of November. (The 2001 World Series was pushed back into November due to the September 11 attacks.)