Final Thoughts: Part III

I think I’ve waited long enough, and now its time for me to give my 5 favorite memories/moments from the old Yankee Stadium.  I held off on posting this over the weekend since it would probably have been burried by football post, so here it is now to entertain you on another depressing Monday (unless you’re a Brewers fan, then you are probably too hung over to even care).  Just a quick reminder of what memories 10-6 were:

#10) Game 2 of the 1995 ALDS vs. Seattle: Jim Leyrtiz hits walkoff homerun

#9) July 1st vs. Boston: John Flaherty walk off win in 13 innings

#8) My first ballgame: Matt Nokes hits 2 homeruns in route of Baltimore

#7) Final Yankee Homegame: Bernie’s Return

#6) Game 5 of 2001 ALDS vs. Oakland: Post 9/11 Celebration

Okay so let’s pick up now with…..

#5) Game 5, 2001 World Series vs. Arizona

As Yogi Berra would say, “it’s like deja vu all over again”.   Coming off the heals of what was an unbelievable finish to game 4, one had to wonder if the Yankees had it in them to fight Arizona tooth and nail yet again.  I’ll never be able to explain exactly why the Yankee offense was shutdown by Miguel Batista for nearly 8 innings, but they found themselves again in a familiar situation.  Down 2 runs, 9th inning, two outs, one man on and Byung-Hyun Kim looking to close the game out of Arizona.  If it hadn’t happened the night before, I never would have thought the Yankees had a chance to tie it up.  But with a Scott Brosius at bat fresh in my mind from the night before, where he just nearly missed a winning homerun against Kim in extra innings, you had to at least imagine what seemed like the impossible.  And with one swing of the bat, boom, we were tied.  One thing I remember was a reporter asking Brosius after Game 4 how he thought Tino must have felt after tying the game with a 2 run homerun, and Scott’s response was “I don’t know I’ve never done that before, you’d have to ask him”.   You had to feel a tad bit sorry for Kim, although it was great seeing Schilling’s face turn from cockiness to disgust.  There was no doubt the Yankees were going to win this game, and finally in the bottom of the 12th Alfonso Soriano delivered with a single to right which scored Chuck Knoblauch. 

However as great as that homerun was, it wasn’t my favorite memory of the night.  Seeing as this was the final game at Yankee Stadium in 2001, the fans gave the ultimate sendoff to Paul O’Neill, who by now had made it clear this season would be his last.  Despite losing by 2 runs in the 8th inning, and looking at falling behind Arizona 3-1 in the series, the fans put the game aside for a second and begun chanting O’Neill’s name until he acknowledged them after the inning with a tip of the cap.  It was a touching moment, and a fitting send off for arguably the most popular Yankee of the 90’s.  The Yankees may not have won the World Series in the end, but at least O’Neill got to finish his stay in New York as a winner. 

#4: September 4th 1993 vs. Cleveland: Jim Abbott throws a no-hitter.

Obviously when you take into account Abbott being able to pitch in the majors leagues without a right hand, you have to realize what a special human being he is.  Then you factor in him being able to throw a no-hitter, and it makes this moment all the more special.  However the reason this ranks up so highly on the list for me is because it was one of my first great Yankee memories.  The Yankees were one of the worst teams in baseball in 1990, 1991 and 1992.  However in 1993 the tide began to turn a little bit.  They weren’t a great baseball team, but they were respectable and the overachieving players they had like Pat Kelly, Mike Gallego, Mike Stanley and Jim Abbott played hard everyday.   

Cleveland at this time was still a doormat in the American League, but they had promise for the first time in a long time.  But on September 3rd, the man with one hand managed to shut down this future legendary lineup, and showed us that on this day, a man’s heart and desire can outshine his physical abilities.  I probably watched the replay of the game on the MSG network a dozen times, and everytime I saw Carlos Baerga ground out to Mike Gallego to end the game, I got goosebumps. 

#3) Game 4, 2001 World Series vs. Arizona

Yes this series again.  As great as it was to see Brosius hit the homerun the following night, it paled in comparison to Tino refusing to say die in Game 4.  Tino was an easy target for Yankee fans when it came to taking abuse for postseason failures.  He did come through in the 1998 World Series with a grand slam against Mark Langston, however despite terrific regular season numbers during his run in New York, he always seemed to come up small in the postseason.  However Tino changed all of that with one swing that seemingly rescued the Yankees from the dead.  After winning a thrilling 2-1 game the night before, losing to Arizona the next night would have been crippling.  Yet Tino found a way to keep the Yankees alive, and give Derek Jeter the opportunity to become Mr. November one inning later.  Factor in all the emotion that was flowing through NY with 9/11, seeing Curt Schilling (yes him again) miss out on a chance to win his second game of the series, and you have a very special moment.  And although I wasn’t there (stupid college education), I’ve heard the stadium had never been louder.  Because of those 3 games at Yankee Stadium, the 2001 World Series will probably be my favorite World Series of all time, which is remarkable when you figure the Yankees didn’t even win it.

#2) Game 7, 2003 ALCS vs. Boston: Aaron Who?

The 1996 World Series was emotional because it had been so long for the Yankees, while the 2001 World Series was special because of the events of 9/11.  However the 2003 ALCS was special because this was baseball at its purest sense, two rivals, two heavyweights, battling it out on the grandest stage of them all to determine who would represent the AL in the World Series.  It was so intense I remember telling my friend Zach that I didn’t care if the Yankees won or lost the World Series, I just wanted them to defeat Boston.  And while it looked as if that dream wasn’t going to happen through 7 1/3 innings, it all changed so quickly.  Call it luck, call it destiny, call it the Grady Little effect, but whatever it was it was captivating television.  I remember it oh so clearly, double by Jeter, single by Bernie, ground-rule double by Matsui and then a bloop double by Posada.  Whenever someone says to me that baseball players only care about the money these days, I tell them to watch the footage of Posada standing at second after Matsui scored the tying run. 

There’s also the memory of Mariano Rivera pitching 3 innings of shutout relief, refusing to lose.  Which finally set the stage for pinch-hitter Aaron Boone, who had been a huge disappointment since coming over in a trade from Cincinnati to replace the well liked Robin Ventura.  Quick story….my friend Zach for whatever reason was a big Aaron Boone fan.  If you knew Zach you’d know he doesn’t like many Yankee players easily.  I’ve been trying to convince him to give Phil Hughes a chance for 2 years now, and he’s probably the only person in the world that had a personal vendetta against Ruben Sierra.  Yet he liked Boone and I didn’t, since other than a fluky 2003 season in a hitters park in Cincinnati, he had done nothing in his career.  So prior to the game through text messages, we joked about who would hit the winning homerun.  I joked with him that if Aaron Boone hit a walkoff, I’d…well I probably shouldn’t type this here, so let’s just say I promised to make him a satisfied man (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  And of course, Aaron Boone managed to satisfy all Yankee fans that night.  The emotional release after that homerun cleared the leftfield wall was like none other that night.  All the pressure, hatred, etc went away with one swing, and after a grueling week Yankee fans were finally allowed to sleep in peace.  Ironically, this was probably the last great moment in Yankee Stadium, other than the final celebration two weeks ago.  And in case you are wondering (you sick bastards you), Zach and I agreed my promise was null and void, although I’ll have to allow him to continue to hate on Big Ruben Sierra (not that there’s anything wrong with that)!

#1) Game 6, 1996 World Series vs. Atlanta: The Final Out

Okay I admit it, I’ve been spoiled.  I didn’t have to suffer from 1981 to 1996 like a lot of Yankee fans.  But that doesn’t mean I should be allowed to enjoy the final game of the 1996 World Series any less.  It was a likeable team (aside from Wade Boggs and his horse), a team that probably had no business leading the Braves 3-2 in the series.  Yet behind; rookie Derek Jeter, gimpy right fielder Paul O’Neil, emerging star Bernie Williams, Joe ‘i’m not Mike Stanley” Girardi, Mariano “we play today, we win today, das it’ Duncan, Big Daddy Cecil Fielder, a rejuvinated Daryl Strawberry, a bullpen of young Mariano Rivera, Aussie Graeme Lloyd, David Weathers, John Wetteland and starting pitcher Jimmy Key; the 1996 Yankees were one win away from the impossible.  Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy since they were facing Greg Maddux. 

As great as the enite game was to watch for a Yankee fan, it can be condensed into two moments.  The first was Joe Girardi, who had felt the brunt of Yankee fans after they brought in this light hiting catcher in favor of fan favorite Mike Stanley, hitting a triple over the head of Marquis Grissom in centerfield.  Girardi was fast for a catcher, but still a catcher none the less.  Yet when the ball dropped in for an RBI, Girardi didn’t hesitate in motoring into 3rd with a triple, which people say had the stadium literally rocking.  Two more runs followed that inning, and although JImmy Key only lasted 5 1/3 innings, he gave the Yankees exactly what they needed.  Weathers to Lloyd to Rivera to Wetteland with the Yankees up 3-1 in the 9th. 

And in typical John Wetteland fashion, he made it interesting, giving up a run and allowing the tying run to advance to 3rd with two outs.  With the tough Mark Lemke standing at the plate, Wetteland pumped in fastball after fastball before Lemke finally fouled a ball off that managed to stay in play.  And then came the call…..”to the left side, Hayes waits….the Yankees are Champions of baseball!”. (think it was Joe Buck’s call, not completely sure).  And with that one out, Joe Torre finally got the monkey off his back of never winning a world series and a dynasty was born.  And as a 13 year old, if there was any doubt before, I instantly became a Yankee fan for life.  Hence the reason it ranks #1 on my list of favorite Yankee memories/moments. 

- So there you have it, now if this were a list of the greatest moments in Yankee Stadium history it would probably have included Gehrig’s farewell speach, Don Larsen’s no hitter, Maris’ 61st homerun, Reggie’s 3 homeruns in the world series, Murcer’s walkoff hit against Baltimore after Thurman Munson’s funeral and many other great moments which happened before 1993. (Btw if you were wondering I didn’t include the perfect games by Wells or Cone, and the reason for this is because I didn’t see these games live.  I lived in Canada at the time and got to watch so few Yankee games).  But for me these are the memories I will carry over to the new ballpark.  Hope you enjoyed them, even if you aren’t a Yankee fan. 

However here we are in 2008 and the Yankees have been eliminated from the postseaon and the old Yankee Stadium is no more.  So I hope you follow along as I cover all the Yankee hot stove news throughout the postseason, and enjoy the 2008 playoffs, which for the first time in along time are completely wide open.  Thoughts or comments can be sent to josephgallo@sportstalkbuzz.com.  See ya!

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