Game 7 of the 2001 World Series
Mariano Rivera and Yankees Fall to the Arizona Diamondbacks
The final game of the 2001 Fall Classic marked the end of an era in the Bronx.
The Setup for the 2001 World Series
It was less than two months after the Twin Towers and our illusion of national security came crashing down. New York City, and indeed the rest of the country, was still in mourning when the first World Series of the new millennium began. For perhaps the first time in history, fans from outside of New York were rooting for the Yankees, hoping that the team could help lift the spirits of a city in turmoil.
Even if just a little bit.
The First Six Game of the 2001 World Series Were Truly Classic
The first six games between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks lived up to the idea of baseball's World Series being a Fall Classic. The D-Backs took the first two games in Arizona. But upon the Series' return to the Bronx, the Yankees won three straight games, including Games 4 and 5, which were saved by heartstopping two-out ninth inning home runs by Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius, respectively. And during one of those games in Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter acquired the nickname Mr. November.
In Game 6, which was held back in Arizona, Randy Johnson shut down the Yankee bats and Arizona hammered Andy Pettitte to win the game 15-2. The series was tied at three games apiece, setting up a Game 7 pitching duel between the Yankees' Roger Clemens and the Diamondbacks' Curt Schilling.
The Pitching Duel Lived Up to the Hype
Clemens pitched the first seven innings for the Yankees, and he was absolutely brilliant, striking out ten and giving up just one run. Schilling was just as good, if not better, striking out nine and allowing just one run through the first seven frames.
In the top of the eighth inning, however, Schilling tried to sneak a low fastball past New York's rookie sensation Alfonso Soriano. Soriano hit a frozen rope that landed in the left field stands. The blast quieted the Arizona crowd, lit up the Yankees dugout, and put New York ahead by a score of 2-1.
In the bottom of the eighth, Mariano Rivera struck out the side. As the game moved into the ninth inning with the Sandman on the mound and pitching at his best, the Yankees seemed poised to capture their fourth-straight World Series title.
The Ninth Inning
In the top of the ninth, Randy Johnson -- who had pitched seven innings and thrown over 100 pitches the night before -- sat down the Yankees in order.
Rivera took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning. Here was the man who had been on the hill for the final outs of the 1998, 1999, and 2000 World Series wins. Here was the man who hadn't surrendered a run in more than 30 consecutive post-season innings. Here was the man who hadn't walked a batter in weeks and hadn't committed a single error in his post-season career.
On the first pitch of the inning, however, Mark Grace singled to center field. Diamondbacks' Manager Bruce Bochy sent in David Dellucci to pinch run for the lead-footed Grace. Catcher Damian Miller came to the plate next. He laid down a bunt that rolled straight to Rivera, who turned and threw the ball towards second base, going for the lead runner and perhaps even the double play.
But Rivera, who had committed just one error in his entire seven year career, threw the ball into center field. An error. It would prove to be a costly one.
Men on first and second, still nobody out. Midre Cummings came in to pinch run for Miller.
Jay Bell pinch hit for Randy Johnson, and laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. It was now second and third with one away. Rivera needed a strikeout. He didn't get one. Instead, Arizona's Tony Womack ripped a liner to right field that scored Dellucci and sent Cummings to third base. Rivera's remarkable post-season shutout streak was over, and the game was tied, 2-2.
But there was still the chance of extra innings. The Yankees had won Games 4 and 5 in ten and twelve innings, respectively. So if Rivera could get two outs, the Yankees knew they could come back. They had been overcoming this type of playoff adversity for the past six years.
But Rivera hit Craig Counsel on the second pitch. First and third, still only one out.
Yankee manager Joe Torre had a choice: play the infield back and hope for the double play, or pull them in and play for a throwout at the plate. He pulled the infield in.
Luis Gonzalez, who'd hit 57 home runs and knocked home 142 runs in 2001, came to the plate. On the second pitch of the at-bat, before many Yankee fans could register what was happening before their eyes, Gonzalez looped Rivera's famous cut fastball just over the head of shortstop Derek Jeter. The ball barely reached the outfield grass, but counted for a single and sent home Cummings.
The game was over. The Diamondbacks had won the game and the World Series.
The Fallout
The loss marked the first time that the Yankees lost a World Series in the Joe Torre era.
After the year ended, Paul O'Neill and Scott Brosius retired, and Tino Martinez left the team via free agency. With those three fixtures gone, the Yankee championship dynasty was over.
Johnson and Schilling were named co-MVPs of the World Series. Three years later, Schilling beat the New York Yankees again in a crucial spot, this time as a member of the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series.
Johnson would play two sub-par seasons for the Yankees in 2005 and 2006 before returning to the Diamondbacks in 2007.
To this day, Joe Torre still says that he wishes he'd have played for the double-play ball.
