|
Everyone is familiar with a five o'clock shadow, but lightning starting at five has been used to describe the Yankees' ability to launch massive comebacks almost at will. The
following listing of such occurrences met the following
criterion: 1941
World Series: Game 4 Yankees vs. Dodgers "'I love Mickey Mantle' 'Mickey Who?' 'You know who'." For the faithful denizens of Brooklyn, New York, certainly not Mickey Owen on October 5th. Entering the ninth inning of the game, the Dodgers lead the Yankees 4-3. Tommy Henrich stood in the batter's box with a full count and two outs in the ballgame. Dodger reliever Hugh Casey, who had come in during the fifth inning and held the Yankees scoreless, uncorked a devastating curveball. Henrich swung futilely, but misses completely. Strike Three. Series tied.... Almost. Thirty-four thousand fans in Ebbets Field watched in stunned silence as the pitch not only fooled Henrich, but Dodger's catcher Mickey Owen, and proceeded to roll to the backstop. Henrich raced to first base and was met with disbelief by Dodger first baseman Dolph Camilli. What followed was a four-run, two-out rally spearheaded by two-run doubles by Charlie Keller and Joe Gordon. The Dodgers could not answer, and fell in five games to the Yankees.
1943
World Series: Game 3 Yankees vs. Cardinals A year earlier, the Cardinals had knocked off the Yankees in five games ending their run of sixteen years without a series loss. The '43 series carried a different tint to it, however as World War II's impact on the baseball diamond was being felt. Joe Dimaggio, Phil Rizzuto, and Red Ruffing were all in active duty. The series still featured stars with Charlie Keller, Joe Gordon, as well as Spud Chandler. Entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cardinals had hopes of repeating the 1942 World Series in which they won four straight after dropping the opening game to the Yankees, and had rookie Al Brazle who went 8-2 with a 1.53 era on the hill. The lefty took a 2-1 lead into the inning. Converted pitcher Johnny Lindell, who replaced Dimaggio in center, started the rally reaching second base on an error. George Stirnweiss was called on as a pinch hitter and attempted to bunt Lindell over to third. The ball was fielded by Cardinal first-baseman Ray Sanders who threw to third. The throw beat Lindell, but there was a collision and third-baseman Whitey Kurowski dropped the ball. Shortstop Frankie "Rose" Crosetti was intentionally walked to load the bases. Yankees' rookie third-baseman Billy Johnson belted a triple to clear the bases and put the Yankees ahead for good. The Yankees added two more runs in the inning but were not needed. The Yankees carried the momentum and won the next two games, closing out the Cards in five. 1996
World Series: Game 4 Yankees vs. Braves "Clueless Joe" they said. Joe Torre had been an all-star catcher, a solid announcer for ESPN (including covering the 1989 Giants/A's earthquake World Series), but was best known for as a trivia tidbit; the man who had been involved in the most games without a World Series. Hardly the man people expected to lead the Yankees out of their 18 year-old championship drought. "Donnie Baseball" the most popular Yankee player in decades had yielded to constant back pains, and the team replaced him with former Seattle Mariner Tino Martinez. The Yankees also rookie Derek Jeter at shortstop and second year setup-man Mariano Rivera. The Yankees were greeted to their first World Series in fifteen years rather unceremoniously by the defending World Champion Atlanta Braves, dropping the first two games by an aggregate score of 16 to 1, an were down 6-0 in the sixth inning, and 6-3 in the 8th of game four in Atlanta. The Yankees put two men on after an odd swinging bunt by Charlie Hayes that rolled fair, and Braves' second-baseman Rod Belliard booted a tailor-made double-play ball. Up to the plate walked Jim Leyritz who just a year earlier had hit a game winning solo shot to win game two of the ALDS in fifteen innings, to face one of the best closers in baseball, Mark Wohlers. Leyritz fouled off three consecutive fastballs, and then connected with Wohler's hanging slider, driving it over the left-field wall. In the
tenth, with Steve Avery pitching for the Braves, Joe Torre
called upon veteran Wade Boggs to bat with the bases loaded
and two outs. Boggs drew a huge walk which put the Yanks on
top 7-6. Braes manager pulled a double switch which resulted
in Ryan Klesko playing first baseman and leading off the
bottom of the tenth. The move backfired, as Klesko lost a
Hayes pop up in the lights, and the Yankees moved ahead 8-6.
Yankees closer John Wetteland, struck out Klesko and then
recorded two deep fly ball outs in left field, both of which
were recorded by Tim Raines (who fell over after catching
the final out). The Yankees would go on to win game five
1-0, and the World Series in six games.
|
How ya' doin? Best sites on 'da 'net! New York Yankees Mighty Yanks The Bombers NY Yankees Downtown.com Fast Facts: Betcha' didn't know His .333 lifetime World Series batting average is fourth with at least 75 ABs on the all-time series list. Known as "The Scooter", he played in the World Series 10 out of his 13 MLB years. "If you weighed 50 more pounds, I'd punch you." Babe Ruth to Miller Huggins Miller Huggins to Babe Ruth Everyfan.net has taken up the cause of the average NY sports fan who cannot access the Yankees on their cable system. www.everyfan.net Trivia: Who was the first NY Yankees pitcher to hit a home run and when did he hit it? Answer In Next Issue Have a trivia question? Email it to us and maybe we'll use it in an upcoming issue. |
