E43: Should Have Won? How The 2001 Diamondbacks Stunned The Yankees Dynasty

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Hello, and welcome to Fungos and Fastballs.
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On today's episode, we explore a little bit of a new series, should have won, exploring a team or series that you just were sure was going to go the other way.
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And joining us again for this episode is going to be our good friend Jordan Dove.
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But first, our trivia question.
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In only three World Series have the home team won every game in the series.
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Now, one is the series we're going to focus on today, the 2001 Yankees Diamondbacks World Series.
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What were the other two?
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I'll give you a hint about the other two.
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They were both won by the same team.
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Now hang on until the end of the show for the answer.
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And now we're going to bring in friend of the program, Jordan Dove.
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Jordan, thanks for coming on today.
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Thanks for having me.
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I always love being on fungus and fastballs.
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Always a pleasure, my friend.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Jordan's been on a few times.
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Unfortunately, our producer Brooke is taking the episode off from behind the mic.
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Fans love her, Jordan.
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We got people outside the studio with big poster boards, you know, unleash Brooke, but uh we need to bring it to compensate for her loss.
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I'm one of them.
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I'm one of them out there.
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Come on.
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So for this episode, I provided Jordan with a list of potential candidates of teams that surprisingly came up short in various games or series.
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He basically tossed that list in the waste paper basket, and he wanted to talk about the 2001 Yankees losing to the Diamondbacks in that famous World Series, which, as a diehard Yankees fan, I have revisited so many times in my head.
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I've needed hypnosis to forget about it.
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Uh, thank you, Jordan.
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I'm crushed.
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But why did you pick this series that for as something we should discuss today?
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Well, first of all, it was nothing personal.
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I hope you know that.
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I didn't I did not choose this to hurt you or bring back bad memories, although I know that's probably what's going to happen tonight.
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I I've thought about this team in this series quite a bit over my baseball watching life.
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You know, I just love baseball history.
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When you think about those Yankees teams at the turn of the century, you think about dominance and you think about what what a true dynasty looks like.
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Great players.
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You can, I can, you know, name all the players from those teams.
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And you think about the four titles in five years, the three-peat.
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And here they are in a position they had been in multiple times with the great Mariano Rivera.
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I don't think anybody would dispute his greatness.
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He is by far and away the best reliever that's ever played the game, unanimous Hall of Famer.
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You can name all the things.
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And here he is, and Yankees are up in game seven, and they're a frame away from forepeding, from winning their fifth title in that span.
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And they blow it, and and Mo blows it, and it's like you you watch that final frame, you blink, and it's like, what just happened?
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Arizona came back and not only won that game but won the series.
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It it still baffles me to this day that that they could allow that to happen.
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I think for all of manager Joe Torrey's triumph, this is definitely one that he and many of the players, including Paul O'Neill, who retired after the season, wishes they could have back.
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I mean, it was a surprise.
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Gosh, I was I was an adult with a couple of kids, probably 32 when this series came out.
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How old were you?
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Two.
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Two years old.
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And yet he knows this baseball series so well there.
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But don't take our word for it that this is going to be a tremendous series to discuss.
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You know, a little while back the MLB Network did a series of the 20 greatest games.
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I think you can actually find them on YouTube.
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This was the only series with two in the top 20.
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Uh, game four was number 12, game seven was number nine, and we're going to get to those games soon.
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And uh Jordan uh mentioned that it was a in a way a David and Goliath because of the Yankees' track record.
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Again, a sweep against the Padres, a sweep against Atlanta in 99, and then 4-1 win against the Mets in the Subway series of 2000, the Yankees had the experience.
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But you know, Arizona, though they lacked a lot of that World Series experience, playoff experience, they were they weren't rookies, were they, Jordan?
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No, not at all.
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They started in '98, right?
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Right when uh New York won their second title, Lendra Joe Torre, and was beginning the three-peat.
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And they were kind of, you know, creeping up there.
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They the first three years were under uh Bucke Buck Show Walter, and 98 is never good for any expansion team.
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You know, they weren't very good.
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99, they make some moves, and next thing you know, they're a hundred and one team.
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And by 2001, here they are, you know, they they get by the mighty Atlanta Braves and St.
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Louis, and there they are in the World Series.
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And I really don't know, you would have to speak to this, but even though they were a very talented team on paper and they had been building through those four years, I don't know how many watchers of baseball are really giving them a chance, but you do have this intriguing matchup of like like youth and experience, you know, kind of like building up after the expansion year meets this dynasty and this monster in the New York Yankees.
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So it's very intriguing.
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Yeah, and then we're gonna, I'm gonna you mentioned Buck Show Walter.
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I'm gonna do a little trivia alert, a little early in the going here.
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Uh Buck Showalter was the manager the year before the Diamondbacks made this World Series.
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He was also the manager of the New York Yankees the year before Joe Torrey took over and went to the 96 series.
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So uh Buck Show Walter really helped, you know, develop teams, but uh always the bridesmaid, unfortunately, never no, never uh won the World Series.
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But two teams that left him behind there.
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Arizona, while an expansion team four years earlier, uh didn't kind of do it like most expansion teams.
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They went out and spent money and got veterans.
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And they were not a bunch of, you know, they had no farm system, they didn't develop, you know, get cheap rookies, or they got some solid players.
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One would think the Yankees, having been there done that for a number of years, uh, were the aging team.
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And it is true, only only Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter were under 30, everyone else was over 30.
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Again, Paul O'Neill, third baseman, Scott Brocius retired after this season.
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But Arizona was actually and is actually, I believe, still the oldest team by age in World Series history.
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They didn't have anyone under 30.
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But you go back to the pitching in this, and you know, Arizona had that dual threat of, you know, Randy Johnson and Kurt Schilling, and they performed.
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And unfortunately, the Yankees, no pitching slouches themselves, with, you know, Andy Pettit, who, you know, Mike Andy Pettit, who probably should be in the Hall of Fame, uh, Mike Messina, who is in all the Hall of Fame, El Duque, Orlando Hernandez.
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I mean, just, you know, just solid pitching throughout.
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And and that showed, I think, especially on the Yankees side, because the Yankees' bats weren't hot all season.
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But let's go into the the the lead up to this, you know, the seasons these people had, the playoffs.
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And of course, we're bringing this to you here uh so close to September 11th, so close to the anniversary of the World Trade Center and uh and uh other terrorist attacks, because that was the specter of this World Series, really just 50 days before the World Series, the baseball season had been delayed.
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But let's talk about those two seasons.
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Yeah, so New York, and they're coming off of the the four championships and the and they had you know won the last three.
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I think a lot of people at the time, if I had to imagine, was thinking it was going to be Seattle's year and that they were going to take the American League.
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Of course, Seattle wins the 116 games.
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It really looked like it was destiny.
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They host the All-Star game that year.
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They've either gotten the the record or they tie the record for sending the most All-Stars.
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And I think a lot of people are thinking this might be the time when New York finally is dethroned and things like that.
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And Seattle had gotten so close the year before.
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And then you have this really spark, I think, after the attacks.
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There's this unity about the city, and the players are obviously coming together and come playoff time, they're on a mission.
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They're ready to win another championship, and they they get to the American League Championship series for a rematch against Seattle, and Seattle is no issue.
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New York takes them in five games.
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They get they get tremendous pitching and really limits Seattle's batters all series.
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And next thing you know, they're going to their what fifth World Series in that in that six-year time span under Joe Torrey.
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They have that same core of all those guys who really are locking in and playing well together.
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And yeah, just I mean, just still a great talent team, of course, all under the the eye of Joe Torrey and Roger Clemens got a uh Cy Young that year as well.
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And what a strange thing happened, because obviously in winning all those World Series, they were the evil empire.
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No one normally on the planet would have wanted New York to win another World Series.
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They were sick of New York unless you lived in the New York City area, kind of like the Dodgers, you know.
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If, hey, LA wants a three-peat, another three-peat, no one else wants the Dodgers to three-peat this year.
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I don't think.
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Maybe I'm mis misreading the room.
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But now you had teams supporting New York because of what happened on 9-11.
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Uh I mean, Boston is singing New York, New York on, you know, up in up in Fenway.
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You know, they went out to uh to play the White Sox, and there are signs of support there.
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So you had this, you know, kind of divide of people just, you know, wanting, in a way, the Yankees to lose, but also you know, pulling for the city of New York.
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And I think just because of the way the rest of that season went with the Yankees, uh, Joe Torrey said himself, they really thought they were the team of destiny.
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And even the challenges at the beginning of this series that the Yankees faced in Arizona, there was never any doubt.
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There was never any blinking.
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They really thought they were going to come back.
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It was quite something.
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Seattle 116 wins, that was Ishiro's rookie year, and he he won the AL MVP that year.
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The other thing is the Yankees, although they won the division, they were 13 and a half games ahead of the Red Sox, but they were not the second highest record.
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It that was the Oakland A's.
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Oakland A's were 102 and 60, and that's who the Yankees faced in the American League division series, and that's the opening scene of Moneyball.
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You remember the events of Moneyball happen after the A's lose to the Yankees and that famous Jeter flip to Posada at home plate that would cause them to win 3-2 in that divisional series before, as Jordan pointed out, going on to the Mariners.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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You could argue that's one of the the toughest roads to a World Series is the American League that year.
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New York literally having to go against the top two, and and you have one that won over a hundred games and another that's literally having a record-setting year and winning over 110 and winning 116 games.
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So but I mean it's that it's really that I think what got them through is like that veteran poise and that core that had won year in and year out.
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They had the they had all the experience.
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Yeah, all of the people are coming back, that core four, you know, of Mariano Rivera and Jeter and Jorge Posada and Andy Pettit, Bernie Williams was there.
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Again, Paul O'Neill, again, just household names at that time, especially uh to fans.
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Uh and then on the other side, you have the Diamondbacks, who, as Jordan mentioned, a great year.
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They bring in manager Bob Brentley after Show Ulter was fired.
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In April, at the end of the April, they were only one game over 500.
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But they had a great May and they were a half game behind the Dodgers in June.
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And in August got back and was first place in the West and never looked back.
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But with a veteran lineup, they were in uh the top ten of payroll that year, which you wouldn't think from Arizona.
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Yeah, very, very talented squad.
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I mean, Luis Gonzalez is the one I always think of in terms of just the hitters, had just a career year that year, top three in MVP voting that year, of course, behind Barry Bonds, who was in the middle of his streak, or I guess maybe that started his streak of uh those MVPs there in the early 2000s and behind Sammy Sosa, but he's a guy that just had a really good balance, especially that year, of being a really good home run hitter and RBI guy, but also hitting for average, and he was getting on base really well.
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And then you have him and just all these, all these veterans, and then you talk about the the pitching.
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I mean, Kurt Schilling and Randy Johnson that year were literally probably like paper thin in terms of like Cy Young voting.
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They literally finished one and two with Randy Johnson winning, but Kurt Schilling, interestingly enough, had one more win than he did and led the the National League that year in wins.
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But both of them were great.
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Schilling 298, ERA, uh Randy Johnson 249, and has to be mentioned again, you really already said it about the age, but this is not you know Schilling and Johnson in their 20s.
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This is a 34-year-old Kurt Schilling and a 37-year-old Randy Johnson, still just pitching with the best of them.
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I mean, literally the the best two pitchers in the National League that year, obviously get through St.
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Louis in a tough 3-2 series and then dethrone Atlanta and denying them a third a third matchup against the New York Yankees and doing it pretty handily, too, beating them in five games.
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And it's as I've said, it's like, you know, you blink and it's like, oh, Arizona's in their their fourth year and they're already in the World Series, pretty incredible, and they're matched up against the Evil Empire and the New York Yankees, and very, very, very intriguing team.
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And because of that pitching, Arizona had poise.
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Uh, I love the Kurt Schilling quote going into it.
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And Kurt Schilling is another one who should be all in the Hall of Fame.
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Uh, one of the few people who it's not he's not in the Hall of Fame because of PEDs.
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Uh, it's because basically people just think he's a jerk, and you know, in many ways he might be, but but uh he should be.
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I think, you know, I mean, if you look at these these two pitching stats, fantastic.
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But he was asked, you know, was he worried about uh facing the Yankees, the mis mystique and aura of the New York Yankees?
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And he said, Mystique and aura, those are dancers in the nightclub.
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Classic Kurt Schilling quote there.
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So they they did go in there with a little poise.
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And because of their their record, they were gonna have the opening and potentially closing games of the series.
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The first two games would would be in Arizona.
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And Jerry, there is something else to be said too about that Arizona team that you have to think about, like who really wants it more.
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You know, you could argue the Yankees, you know, hey, a three-peat is special, four-peat is even more special.
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There's there's really not a lot of teams that have done it.
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I don't think anybody's done it outside the Yankees organization.
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But the Diamond Backs, man, you had so many veterans and so many guys who had been in the league for such a long time.
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You have to think that all those guys wanted it just as much because of their longevity and really wanting to win that ring.
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There were there really wasn't many people on that team who had won before.
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I mean, maybe Craig Council and and maybe another one I'm forgetting, but I mean they all wanted it big time.
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Right.
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They did not have the they did not have the bling.
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So let's get to the series itself.
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It starts in Arizona game one and two.
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Not very exciting games, unless, of course, you're a Diamondbacks fan.
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These aren't the games that make it one of the contenders for greatest World Series ever.
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You know, you start out Schilling versus Mike Messina, and the Yanks have three hits.
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Arizona easily wins 9-1.
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The second one, Randy Johnson on the mound, again, three hits.
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This was a challenge with the Yankees.
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They could not get their bats going at all.
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They had the pitching through a lot of this, they could not get the bats out.
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And the, you know, usually unflappable Andy Pettit, who is second only to Whitey Ford in most World Series starts, and who is the leader in most playoff starts among any pitcher, he did not have a great game either.
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Arizona four for nothing.
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Again, Yankees three hits.
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Yeah, I mean, I think all a lot of the credit once again has to go to that pitching we talked about.
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I mean, Chilling was, you know, throwing lights out in game one.
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I mean, seven innings pitched.
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New York only finishes with one.
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They think, oh, it can't get any worse than that.
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Bad night.
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Then they get shut out.
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And Randy Johnson has an all-time great performance in game two against that lineup, just throwing the complete game.
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Don't see many of those anymore, especially in the postseason, and was just incredible.
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So, really, those first two games, yes, not where the series is looked at for exciting moments, but certainly for pitching performances, those two have to be mentioned.
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Yeah, and then you get to game three going back to New York, and this is where the emotions come in.
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You're back in New York City.
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Again, you know, the this is the latest the World Series had been held because of the delays of 9-11.
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You're just you're just 50 days post-uh-9-11.
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Uh, there's still smoke coming out of ground zero, and President George W.
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Bush is gonna throw out the first pitch.
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A couple of great stories about that.
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I mean, first of all, you know, Brentley and Tory have to, as managers, have to go to an umpire meeting uh before the game, and they're shaking hands.
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Tory's shaking hands with one of the umpires.
00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:44.640
He doesn't recognize one.
00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:45.680
Who's this umpire?
00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:47.039
I know all the playoff umpires.
00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:52.400
Well, it's a Secret Service guy who's gonna be dressed as an umpire when Bush has that first pitch.
00:17:52.640 --> 00:18:05.359
And then, you know, Bush practices a little bit, you know, in in you know, and you know, Derek Jeter gives him advice, and and he he gives W the advice, hey, uh don't throw it from in front of the pitcher's mound.
00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:08.960
You better stand on the pitcher's mound and throw this pitch, because it's New York.
00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:10.319
They will boo at you, Mr.
00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:10.960
President.
00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.200
And you know, Bush was a little nervous.
00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:14.559
And you know, any other advice?
00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:16.880
Yeah, don't bounce the ball, because they'll boo at you again.
00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:21.519
You know, New York's not Philly, but but we are uh we are an energetic uh fan base.
00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:29.119
Well, Bush pitches a strike, he claims it's one of the greatest moments of his presidency, and and uh we have a game.
00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:34.559
And it's gonna be uh Roger Clemens, the Rocket, pitching against Arizona Brian Anderson.
00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:40.880
There's a tattered flag hanging at Yankee Stadium that's taken from the ground zero site.
00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:43.200
So a lot of emotion going into this game.
00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:44.319
Yeah, absolutely.
00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:55.039
I I do think a lot of those, I think with game three, I think what a lot of people think of first is like the the pregame stuff, you know, obviously the the Bush pitch, which I think was so big.
00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:03.599
I mean, you know, you can give people a pass most times, but it's like in a moment like that as he's walking up and he, you know, he holds the thumbs up and everybody's cheering.
00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:05.839
It's like he had to throw a strike.
00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.599
He just had to, and he delivered and he and yes, he was on the mound.
00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:15.759
He was wearing too the was it the New York Fire Department jacket as well.
00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:18.880
I think which I I think was really cool that he did that as well.
00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:21.759
Meets with both managers and then He was puffed up in that jacket.
00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:22.400
That's right, yeah.
00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:23.680
And then Because of the Bulletproof Vest.
00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:25.839
That's that's right, and the Bulletproof Vest, of course.
00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:32.720
And then and then Clemens always had his his pre-game ritual of going out to the Babe's The Aryan Monument Putting.
00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:38.559
Monument Monument, thank you, monument patting it, and then he's ready to go and pitches a really, really great game.
00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:43.599
He goes over seven innings and really finally limits Arizona.
00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:50.960
They they score like one run and after game two, you know, they had been they had had really I'm sorry, in the first two games, their their bats were on fire.
00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:55.279
So now after this game, you're there's a little bit of, you know, swing to it.
00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:57.119
It's like maybe New York's found themselves.
00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:04.000
And this was still, I mean, credit to Arizona, this was still a game after or uh like going through six, you know.
00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:10.480
It was one one, and New York takes the lead, and it remained pretty close the rest of the game and goes and ends 2-1.
00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:14.559
So first really good game of the series, I think, and it only gets better.
00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.839
Yeah, a close one, and the Yankees again still are not hitting.
00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:21.359
You know, Jorge Posada has that that uh second inning home run.
00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:26.319
You know, Rivera, Mariana Rivera has a great, you know, great close and two-inning close.
00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:28.319
But the Yankees are on the board.
00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:35.759
And so then we get to the next two games, games four and five, both of them again in New York.
00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.039
And Jordan, you you you like to pair these together.
00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:44.559
Uh I think you have to, because it's such a rarity in baseball, let alone the World Series on the biggest stage, right?
00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:48.160
Game four and five is absolutely unbelievable.
00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:52.640
You have in in both games, the Yankees are really on the ropes.
00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:56.079
Like, this is this is pretty much it here for them.
00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:00.799
And you got to think in in game four especially, like, man, these guys are about to fall down 3-1.
00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:04.960
These are the three-time defending champions, like, you know, what in the world?
00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:19.599
Both situations, Young Hung Kim is up, you know, who had been their their closer all year for Arizona, and New York in both situations is down to their last out, but does have a man on base, and they're down by two.
00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:22.400
And game four, they're down 3-1.
00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:33.359
Tino Martinez, who it's who was always one of the best postseason players, in my opinion, for those Yankees teams, he comes up and just absolutely smacks a two-run homer so clutch.
00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:36.480
Remember, it was down their last out, and they tie the game at three.
00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:40.319
To extend talking about game four a little bit more before I go into game five.
00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:44.079
Game four was the first baseball game ever played in November.
00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:47.680
And that's when Derek Jeter's nickname became Mr.
00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:51.920
November, because obviously he has the the walk off and extra innings there.
00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:53.759
And so New York survives.
00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:59.599
And after I you remember what I said about game three, you're thinking, okay, New York's kind of, you know, found their footing.
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:01.519
They might get some going after that game.
00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:10.000
You have to absolutely think the Yankees are going to run away with it the rest of the series because doing that in New York coming up clutch, ridiculous, right?
00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:15.759
Game five, it's the same situation, but this time they're down 2-0, but still down two runs.
00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:19.599
They have they're down to their last out and a man on base.
00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:24.960
The situation is exactly the same as it had been 24 hours before.
00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:35.680
This time, another veteran, Scott Brocius, who had been, who had was another great playoff performer in that Yankees dynasty, had won the 98 World Series MVP.
00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:40.319
He steps up and smacks a two-run shot that ties the game again.
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.039
And the Yankees go on to win it later on.
00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:59.920
And it's just, it is something that I I think about quite often when I think about this World Series, because it's it's just mirror images on back-to-back nights, and that never happens, let alone to the same reliever, let alone in the World Series.
00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:13.680
And you have to, you have to think if you're Arizona after losing those two games, like if they are if they are pulling out those two games in back-to-back nights in the same way, like, is it their destiny?
00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:18.640
Is is New York's destiny just to keep winning forever until they just can't?
00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:19.519
You know?
00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:24.480
And so this is when the series, in my opinion, Jerry gets starts to get really, really good.
00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:26.400
Yeah, I mean, how exciting is that?
00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:30.000
Getting down to two outs, two nights in a row, bottom of the ninth there.
00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:31.440
And uh, you know, a few things.
00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:37.440
Definitely some some coaching, questionable coaching decisions by Arizona's Bob Brentley.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:45.200
If things had gone a different way, he might have been out on his ear after one year, like uh you know, like Buck before Buck Schwalter a year before.
00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:50.079
Schilling, you know, was pitching on three days rest, which you just often don't see.
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:51.599
And he's coming in that night.
00:23:51.759 --> 00:24:03.039
He only pitched 88 pitches when Brentley decides to pull him out of the game in the bottom of the eighth for BK Kim, you know, the the South Korean closer, to come on in and do that.
00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:04.880
And it did not work well.
00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:13.599
And then to have to have uh BK Kim come in the next night, you know, again, very interesting coaching decision.
00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:20.319
So, yes, I mean, two tremendous, tremendous games exciting, going back to Arizona.
00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:28.240
Now Arizona's coming back home for one or two final games, but they're behind 3-2 with the Yankees having all the momentum.
00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:29.279
That's right.
00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:35.440
And I and I didn't even talk about New York's side, but I mean, think about the confidence they were feeling flying back to Arizona.
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:43.039
You know, they're thinking, okay, we didn't we didn't grab the first two road games, but I mean, what we did in New York was absolutely historic.
00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:46.880
Certainly with our experience, we can close out the series being up 3-2.
00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:50.160
I mean, as we're going to talk about, it just did not happen that way.
00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:57.200
No, game six, Andy Pettit, so such a great pitcher for them in the postseason.
00:24:57.680 --> 00:25:06.319
It looks like he was the the Arizona figured out that he was tipping his pitches, the way he would kind of bring his arms based on, you know, uh fastball or otherwise.
00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:16.000
And he gets drubbed, drubbed uh as the Yankees wind up getting just just beaten down 15-2 by Arizona in game six.
00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:21.279
Arizona had 22 hits, which was the most in World Series history, with no homers.
00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:28.720
And Randy Johnson on the other side just had a fantastic game, seven innings in that game.
00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:33.759
Bobby Witt, by the way, relieved Rancy Johnson, not Bobby Witt Jr., but his dad, Bobby Witt Sr.
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:35.359
A little trivia there.
00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:39.039
So now, hey, three and three, go into game seven.
00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:40.240
And what a game.
00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:44.720
As I said before, uh felt to be one of the best games in baseball history.
00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:48.799
Clemens versus Schilling, yeah, bottom of the eighth, Yankees are up 2-1.
00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:51.119
And so it is tight there.
00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:59.200
And Clemens, by the way, 39 years old, like several of the Yankees, Paul O'Neill, Jarek Jeter, kind of nursing injuries too.
00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:02.000
But he was the oldest Game 7 starter there, Clemens.
00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:02.720
Yes.
00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:03.440
Yeah.
00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:06.079
So it's exactly what you want from a Game 7.
00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.359
You know, everybody wants the close, tight game.
00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:17.440
But, you know, as you get into the ninth inning, you start to feel that, okay, this is New York's bread and butter.
00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:24.160
They've always come through in the in the close games, and this is where the ride really ends for Arizona.
00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:34.480
I don't think anybody has any doubt, you know, despite, you know, the valiant effort they had, that in the final frame in the in the bottom of the ninth, that Arizona's really going to do anything.
00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:39.039
And once again, history and the game said otherwise.
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:42.720
A few things before we get into that, that the end of the game.
00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:54.880
I mean, first of all, one wild thing that it's tough tough to forget about, but uh Joe Torrey in that MLB Network series says this is the first time all year Roger Clemens comes to bat.
00:26:55.200 --> 00:27:04.799
Because, again, the DH rule, remember at that time National League did not have the DH, American League did, and you did not have that inter, you know, interleague play.
00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:10.319
And so all of a sudden, you're in Arizona, National League Stadium, your pitcher has to bat.
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:20.960
And there's always, and this is one of the reasons that you know the American League hated this, because there's always the risk that your pitcher is, you know, gonna pull something or injure your something, your your your ace.
00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:23.039
Happily he did not.
00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:33.119
And and Jordan mentioned it before, and this was again a little questionable with Bob Brentley, because Johnson had pitched in game six 104 pitches.
00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:35.119
He really didn't need to stay in that long.
00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:44.400
He didn't need to go that long because the hope was that they were gonna use Randy Johnson in relief the next night after Schilling got tired or if he got if he got tagged.
00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:48.960
But why keep him in so long in a in a blowout there?
00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:50.400
He's wearing a corset.
00:27:50.559 --> 00:27:52.160
We talked about the Yankees' injuries.
00:27:52.319 --> 00:28:02.559
You know, Johnson was standing tall, taller than usual, because he's got a bad back and he's wearing a corset, and yet he's ready for relief in that in those final you know innings there.
00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:07.599
But let's get to, you know, the the uh eighth and ninth inning.
00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:11.039
You know, I mentioned the Yankees were ahead 2-1.
00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:18.240
Mariano Rivera comes in for the eighth inning, has a great inning, fantastic, struck out the side.
00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:24.079
And then in the ninth, you know, Mariano comes out again and things start to change, right, Jordan?
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:25.039
That's right.
00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:25.599
Yes.
00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:28.319
So this is where you know it gets tough.
00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:34.480
And by the way, Randy Johnson had a terrific top frame where he comes in and and and shuts down the Yankees.
00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:43.839
But yes, bottom of the ninth, Rivera comes in and you think it's gonna be, you know, typical, like he had always come up big, you know, and it's gonna be a fourth straight title.
00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:50.240
And then after I mean 23 straight postseason saves for Mariano Rivera.
00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:50.720
Wow.
00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:54.880
Again, there's a reason he's the only person elected unanimously into the Hall of Fame.
00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:56.000
So go on, Jordan.
00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:56.720
That's it.
00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:57.119
That's it.
00:28:57.279 --> 00:29:02.240
So first up was Mark Grace and Damian Miller who get on base pretty easily.
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:07.279
He they they get Rivera on like a few pitches, you know, don't get too deep into the count.
00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:15.839
And then you have this great uh uh bunt that was done by Jay Bell and a force out, so you get your first out there.
00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:28.319
But the the play, or I'm sorry, the hit that really makes all the difference to me is the the Tony Womack hit that goes deep into right field, hits the corner, and and brings in the tying run.
00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:30.720
Next thing you know, it's like, okay, what's happened?
00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:32.720
There's been there's four batters that have come out.
00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:36.720
This thing, like you feel like should already be over, but they're still very much a lot of things.
00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:38.960
Hold on as just one out.
00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:41.680
Hold on, because Jordan's only two here.
00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:46.640
He does not paint the ninth inning as disastrous as it really was.
00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:47.920
It was very disastrous.
00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:52.559
Because he's right, you know, Damian Miller, the catcher, bunts and uh to Rivera.
00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:56.400
Rivera takes the ball and throws it to second base to Jeter.
00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:58.000
Terrible throw.
00:29:58.240 --> 00:30:02.400
Jeter gets tangled up in the pinch runner, David Deucci sliding.
00:30:02.559 --> 00:30:03.759
The ball goes over his head.
00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:06.319
That was another just horrible play.
00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:10.799
But you have the Womac hit, and now it's like, oh, this is a game.
00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:14.640
Like, even if if he takes care of the rest, like, okay, we're going to extras.
00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:17.279
And it can it can't get any worse, right?
00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:19.519
Craig Counsel comes up and gets hit by the pitch.
00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:20.240
It's like, what?
00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:21.119
You're wondering.
00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:31.039
This is the greatest reliever ever, and this is a position he's been in before, and this this frame, this inning is turning into an absolute disaster.
00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:53.119
And yeah, and then once again, just like when I said the cards fell exactly right for Arizona coming back game six and seven, having first Johnson and then Schilling, you have your your best hitter you've had all year, an MVP candidate, and Luis Gonzalez, and you have to think that, okay, if anyone's gonna come up big, I mean they all have, right?
00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:55.759
But if anyone's gonna do this, it's gonna be him.
00:30:55.920 --> 00:31:10.880
And it's like the storybook endings is forming, and we've seen the play, you know, Rivera throws in, Gonzalez hits a hits a RBI single, and Jay Bell's running in with his arms up, and you see them celebrating.
00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:19.759
And then I remember that shot of Torrey and the Yankees, and I feel like everybody who watched that game and even that inning is like wondering the same thing.
00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:21.440
Like, what just happened?
00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:24.720
I mean, is is this a way they go out?
00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:26.319
There was just no way.
00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:28.160
There was no way that was gonna happen.
00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:29.680
Yeah, there's a little debate.
00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:36.079
Tory played the in, you know, the infield up, I think, you know, certainly hoping for maybe the double play or a short ball.
00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:49.200
And unfortunately, against lefties, uh, Rivera sometimes, you know, produced these broken back bloops, you know, into the, you know, the the near near outfield, and that's exactly what happened with Luis Gonzalez.
00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:53.839
And and you're right, Jay Bell scores, you know, Arizona wins.
00:31:54.079 --> 00:32:00.799
It was it was just unbelievable because as I mentioned before, Rivera had 23 postseason saves.
00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:04.960
He hits a guy, he overthrows second or poorly throws to second.
00:32:05.119 --> 00:32:12.720
And Torrey, up to that point as manager, if you were in the lead in the ninth inning, if the Yankees were in the lead, he was 45-0.
00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:16.799
So you could not even imagine uh them blowing this game.
00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:18.160
I'll tell you another one.
00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:23.759
Chuck Knobloch, that was his first career playoff series loss.
00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:27.680
He had never lost a playoff series before that night.
00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:28.319
Yeah.
00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:34.000
Uh so the Diamondbacks win, they win the series just after a four-year expansion.
00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:37.279
Schilling and Johnson actually split the MVP.
00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:44.799
It was the first time since 1981 with the Dodgers with a split MVP, and I don't think anyone's split the MVP since in the World Series.
00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:56.799
I I would say this series really stands out for a number of reasons, but the biggest thing I want to like hone in on is that it was such a, I think, perfect ending, you know, whether you're a Yankees fan or not.
00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:01.759
I think if you're just a baseball fan, I think it was just a perfect ending to an already great and memorable season.
00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:05.359
It really was the culmination of a lot of things that happened that year.
00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:23.680
You think of all the different things that happened in 2001, all the memorable moments, and then you think about fans coming together after the September 11th attacks, and they they were treated, you know, baseball was like an escape, and they were treated to an just an all-time memorable World Series, and certainly one that'll be talked about until the end of time.
00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:31.519
The Yankees, you look, they would win the World Series in 2009, they would be back a couple of years after this series and lose to the Florida Marlins.
00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:38.319
But your your group started to, you know, retire, divvy up, get a little older.
00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:46.000
Great buster-only book, which is called The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty, talking about that World Series.
00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:55.359
Because although it's an unfair title, because again, they would have several years of success there, uh, not quite the the power of the Yankees Dynasty.
00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:56.480
That's right.
00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:58.160
So great discussion.
00:33:58.559 --> 00:33:59.519
Tremendous series.
00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:00.160
Loved it.
00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:01.839
Loved uh loved talking about it.
00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:03.519
I loved having Jordan on.
00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:04.640
I thank you, Jordan.
00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:05.440
Thank you.
00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:06.480
Always a pleasure, my friend.
00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:08.480
So let's get back to that trivia question.
00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:13.519
Three World Series have had all games won by the home team, all seven game series.
00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:16.880
We mentioned the 2001 series uh that we just talked about was one.
00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:18.960
The other two was won by the same team.
00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:22.880
That team, the Minnesota Twins, 1987 versus the St.
00:34:23.039 --> 00:34:26.400
Louis Cardinals, and 1991 versus the Atlanta Brave.
00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:30.079
Jordan, we uh we covered that one together way back in episode 19.
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:31.440
Another memorable series.
00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:33.280
Man, I I love talking about that one.
00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:34.400
That was a great series as well.
00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:35.760
Well, that's our show today.
00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:41.519
Join us next episode as we go over uh the career home run history record.
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Um, sure to be fun.
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Uh, I want to once again thanks Jordan.
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Uh, and in absentia, my producer Brooke.
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Also, shout out to Brooks physical therapist Josh, who assured me he'd be listening.
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Uh, any of our listeners can email us at fungosandfastballs at gmail.com.
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We'd love to hear from you.
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As always, we're happy you're listening and watching.
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Uh, subscribe to us on your favorite platform.
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Uh, heading back to the locker room, this is Jerry Dines of Fungos and Fastballs.