Matsui's bat Cooperstown-bound

Hideki Matsui's bat and Johnny Damon's spikes are among the items from the Yankees' World Series title going to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Nearly a dozen pieces were donated after New York won Wednesday night. They will be displayed as part of an exhibit on baseball's postseason history.

They include the bat Matsui used to drive in a record-tying six runs in Game 6 and the spikes Damon wore when he stole two bases on one pitch in Game 4.

Other items include the cap worn by Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee during his dominant postseason, and the No. 46 jersey worn by Andy Pettitte during Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, when he set a record with his 16th postseason victory.

Parade today. New York City will host a ticker-tape parade and ceremony today in honor of the World Series champions.

The parade is scheduled to start on Broadway at Battery Place at 11 a.m. and continue north up the Canyon of Heroes to City Hall Plaza, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg will present the Bronx Bombers with the keys to the city.

Yankees fans had waited nine years since the team's previous World Series title, a Subway Series against their crosstown rivals, the Mets, in 2000.

Visiting Letterman. Andy Pettitte said on the Late Show with David Letterman that winning the World Series is especially gratifying in New York, where missing out on a championship is considered a failure.

Pettitte and Yankees teammates Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada appeared on the show last night, a day after winning the franchise's 27th title. World Series MVP Hideki Matsui later joined them on stage, carrying the championship trophy.

Ratings rebound. World Series television ratings bounced back from last year's record lows.

The Yankees' six-game victory over the Phillies on Fox averaged an 11.7 rating and 19 share. That's the highest since a 15.8/26 in 2004, when the Red Sox swept the Cardinals to end an 86-year championship drought. The rating is the percentage of households with televisions tuned to a program. The share is the percentage of homes watching among those with TVs in use at the time.

It was up 39 percent from the record-low 8.4/14 for the 2008 Phillies-Rays series. Fox said that was the biggest one-year increase ever.