MLB Greatest Game #9: 2001 World Series Game 7

how good was the 2001 World Series well it provides two of the 20 spots on our countdown game for was number 12 and now the deciding seventh game checks in at number nine and game seven a classic game with a classic pitching matchup Curt Schilling against Roger Clemens well Rogers saved us from elimination one time before we felt he was that guy again here we go it's game 7 or no one it's game 9 on the countdown for only the third time in the last 14 [Music] [Applause] 95 miles-per-hour [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the picture to to bottom of the ninth Game seven of the World Series face the chance of a lifetime for Luis Gonzalez I get the ball tomorrow we're gonna win the World Series I there's I just I believe that my heart of hearts and I mean you'd be naive to think I'd be taking a ball thinking we're gonna lose but I'm we're gonna win Tom Verducci here as always Tim McCarver who called the series with Joe Buck comes back he was here for Game twelve on the countdown which was game for that series Joe Torre of course managed the Yankees and Curt Schilling was supremely confident even though you were gonna hand the ball to Roger Clemens here's a look at the season each had Clemens one the sixth of his seven career siyoung Awards Schilling very well could've won the National League sought young but for his teammate Randy Johnson who did get it now as we look at their career marks and this is to that point in the 2001 season Clemens who ultimately would go well beyond 300 career wins is at 280 Schilling at a more modest 132 and 101 however Schilling has already established himself as one of the great postseason pitchers in the game's history he'd wind up 11 and 2 in playoff and World Series competition er a barely over 2 whereas Tom Roger Clemens was only 12 and 8 I say 12 and 8 only because it's Roger Clemens his zra was 3.75 in the postseason right but no questions about the way he was throwing the ball this year for the Yankees remember he's 39 years old he's the oldest game 7 starter in World Series history and Joe you gave him the ball 36 times that you're coming into this game and 130 of those games I mean he just says jump on guys I'm gonna take you home and the only concern I ever had with Roger was you know the first inning or so where he was just trying to to get a little bit of rhythm cuz he you know he gets so pumped up that you know at times he just makes him a little while you think about the careers of both of these pitchers that pitch themselves into prominence by 2001 Roger Clemens an immediate star with the Red Sox back in the middle 80s and Curt Schilling meanwhile signing with the Red Sox traded to the Orioles traded to Houston it was a middle reliever and all of a sudden he became a star and Curt will tell you what turned his career around was a talking-to he got from Roger Clemens what happened in 1991 and Roger told him you've got a great arm but your wasting it you've got to respect the game a lot more than what you're showing and it really was the turnaround for Curt Schilling before we get to Game seven a look back to Game six which was won by the d-backs 15 to 2 but they were up 12 nothing like in the third or fourth inning with Randy Johnson on the mound Bob Brenly let him pitch seven innings as it turns out he still went to him in Game seven out of the bullpen but there were a lot of people who thought all right maybe five innings let him qualify for the win he got the big lead the Yankees aren't scoring any runs at all get him out of there and save him for Game seven what did you think I thought Bob Brenly should have taken him out before the before he had worked seven innings I mean you know you've got 12 runs to work with I think for Randy Johnson or anybody that should be enough well I mean for speaking as a manager I think the fifth inning would have been a little premature six innings I think would have been reasonable because you know you can you got your closer sitting there at the end and I always felt that you know the fewer outs that that bullpen has to get the better office and I always pulled for a free substitution in case you make a mistake chance to clinch your fourth straight title in game six with Andy Pettitte and the Diamondbacks hit him like they knew what was coming and they did he was tipping his pitches they throw up 22 hits the most ever in the World Series yeah I think my recollection serves me I think it was something in the way as his hands were here because I know Mel looked at the tape the next day and discovered there was a real picture all right now you got Roger Clemens going but Curt Schilling has been tough he won Game one Clemens by the way was the winning pitcher at Yankee Stadium in Game three Schilling pitched extremely well and left with a lead in Game four and you had the miracle comeback with the homers by Martinez and Jeter you've scored 12 runs through six games and now you're facing Schilling you must be thinking Clemens got to throw a shutout here well you know what about you know we won three straight World Series I know that doesn't get you a free ticket anywhere because you still have to you know prove yourself I just felt we were gonna we were gonna be there we were gonna be there we won two huge games at home on in games four and five and of course I must admit you know that game six knocked a little window out of our sails because we felt very comfortable and confident going into Game six after those three games at home but you know Roger was was gonna go out there and I figured we'd find a way to manufacture and score some runs because we just figured is this the time that that Schilling is not going to be Schilling and I remember having a meeting with several of the players in the corner of the dugout during that game seven same guys just yeah do the best you can I'm not gonna tell you to relax you can't relax in game seven I said you know this is for all the marbles and you know we really hadn't faced a Game seven you know we've you know we've had elimination games earlier in the series I mean in the postseason but this was something new for us a do-or-die right now so what does a manager say to his team before a game seven especially coming off that loss from Game six well I was just trying to lighten the mood and I'll tell you the way I started it was who were the players that I had speak yeah no I mean sorry unbeknownst to my head trainer gene Monahan who has been with the Yankees forever and ever-- Mantle years you know in all those years and I said gee no I get the team together I said gene oh say something and he got up there and gave a Knute Rockne speech like you've never heard about the pride of being in hankies and you know and guys were you know just all excited and then really to cap it off Mariana wanted to say something and he talked in a more spiritual way about you know it's up to us to do this and and and it was it was quite emotional and then when we of course we had the the one like run leading to the ninth inning i said the gino after the game or the next day i said well your speech almost worked just a little more before we get to the lineups and the action here's something to keep in mind i don't care how great the team is be the 1927 Yankees any team you want to pick and your team in 1998 is one of the great single-season teams ever still it defies all probability going up against teams also good enough to at least make the playoffs in that particular season that a team would win 14 of 15 playoff and World Series and that's what you had done coming into game 7 so you must have believed without being overconfident and without disrespecting the opposition that somehow we'd win and make it 15 of 16 well Bob overconfidence never plays a part in it because otherwise you don't win 14 out of 15 you know cuz you you know you're too busy patting yourself on the back for looking what I just did you know you we never thought that way we just felt that you know we had to prove ourselves every day every year and we certainly didn't want to appear like we're where the Yankees we have to phone it in because it was all about hard work and and not only the physical part but the mental part alright let's take a look at Joe Tory's lineup now the big home runs by Martinez and Jeter and Brosius aside you didn't get much going through the first six games so you're just hoping that somebody can light a fire here yeah I mean it was and again if you notice Alfonso Soriano batting seventh now you don't have the D H and you can't batting eighth because he swings and misses and and you know when a pitcher knows you don't have to throw a free string a free swing or a strike you know he's not gonna really function so we moved him ahead of Brosius who had a little more experience in the eighth hole and as it turns out the graphic there says it's Paul Neal's final big league game you knew that it also turned out to be Scott Brosius as last yeah and you didn't know what the future of Tino Martinez Tino Martinez either because this contract was up so you you've had the core people and of course Chuck Knobloch was another one who was at the end of his run and you know he was a part of some special games in special years here's bob brenly's lineup for the d-backs a a series thus far dominated by pitching for the d-backs Tony Womack gave you guys a ton of problems and scouting reports are never made public but they're talked about so much before going into a series I would imagine your scouting report on Womack was to keep him off the bases and then and the Yankees didn't do a very good job of that well I'll keep him off the bases and throw strikes yeah you know don't walk them don't give him a free pass I know Zim used to and then Don Zimmer has the the thought process that any of these singles hitters they don't like that slow stuff like that slow stuff he stayed on the ball even breaking balls and he pulled him down that right-field line he was pretty impressive but again you you wanted to make him hit the ball and he just finally just found holds every time he swung a bat okay stage set game 7 2001 Curt Schilling on the mound Derek Jeter starts it off of the X Curt Schilling knew last night guaranteed a victory saying we're going to win lead it off against him Derek Jeter so the only thing I'll guarantee is that guarantee it will be fun you know we talk about great games I think you also talk about great players in this game you'll see 27 players in the game 20 of them all stars including three 20 game winners not 2/3 as we'll find out shelling must be saying himself here I'll take that strike zone gave them that pitch way off the outside corner for strike three it looked like and here's Paul O'Neill the 1o pitch into right centerfield [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] anytime you can get the third base with less than two out and especially with one out right it's it's it's a good it's a good try I mean they had to make perfect relays here and and of course you know counsel was just right on it to go back over the rudiments of the game it's a bad try if there are none out or two out with one out that's the time you want to try to get to third base so you can score on a cheap on a cheap out especially in a game that figures to be a pitcher's duel sure all right so Bernie Williams then flied out to center field scoreless top of the first yeah well you know it's here we go again here we go again you know we're gonna have to make sure we play tight defense and and really pull like crazy for Roger Clemens because we yeah you know even when we face the the Boston Red Sox so often we face Pedro so often it wasn't about beating Pedro it's not about beating Schilling it was about just going toe to toe and let's hope we can get the bullpen and and and beat them a ball game because that's pretty much the way we we are you know we operated for the you know might stay in New York so when we come back the rocket takes the hill you're watching MLB's 20 greatest games this is number nine on MLB Network reviewing game number nine on our countdown its game number seven of the O One World Series no score bottom of the first Roger Clemens on the mound facing the d-backs leadoff man Tony Womack and he's only hitting 222 boy it seems like a lot more doesn't it strike two 22 he's been on base almost every game well you keep them off base this time shallow center and Bernie Williams is going to take it well I mean that's that's the key if you're gonna make someone who can't hit a home run hit the ball you want him to hit it straightaway or the other way and say you want to pitch him away play him away and hope for the best you know at this point Craig Counsell has been in the big leagues for several years he qualifies as a veteran still looks like he's playing in a state high school championship Martinez knocks it down it's a fair ball and they can't complete the play he's one of those players that makes himself necessary as yogi likes to say you know cuz he can do a lot of things and and not the least of which is get on a base and steal a base enjoy I get the sense early on in this game yet just on this play how much the crowd might be a factor it was extremely loud well the crowd and you know Rogers had some issue with legs and stuff and anytime he's got to get off the mound and then try to you know really go hard to first base you we always hold your breath Counsell running on the pitch he takes second Martinez with the unassisted put out so Matt Williams will try and drive in the run with two down and early you get the feeling in this game that even something as as simple as a fielder's choice that pushes a runner to second base could be the difference if if either team got a key to out hit good splitter from Clemens and with these two pitchers going you know neither sides gonna see many breaking balls no it's gonna be power against power here I dare you and let her fly sometimes numbers are misleading 176 one homer two RBIs that one homer and those two RBIs saved Game four nothing can save them here against Schilling that's just flat nasty well I mean that's what makes the postseason so special because you don't have to really build up stats it's all about this one at-bat in this one situation that really makes makes or breaks a game this is gonna bring up Shane Spencer who earlier in the series had homered at Yankee Stadium off Schilling in Game four here is with two out and nobody on and thus far scoreless game Spencer hits one to centerfield that was a big-time play right there directly over the center fielders head is probably the toughest play for a center fielder Finlay was always among the game's best know at centerfield what a career he had and a good world series he's having to mm-hmm so at this point what's Clemens body language what's he saying when he comes into the dugout anything different from a game in July he just comes in it's all the time he comes in come on guys get me some runs let's go and you know where Bob Gibson used to walk in the you know and and and sneer and you know I mean you used to sneer down there you know where score or not yeah but but Roger was a lot more animated and just really pretty much be a cheerleader you know coming in off the off the mound sometimes games show their personality very early and I thought that was the case in this game with the guy the two guys coming in with their resume sure but the way they were throwing the ball you saw a lot of swings and misses early in the game so no it's early not sure it's gonna be a one-run game but it sure looked like that after a couple of minutes well what you're doing here Tommy this is game 7 I mean there's no such thing as I'm not available he's not available everybody's available and what your pitchers are going out and they're showing you right here I'm gonna go as hard as I can for as long as I can and give you what I have and then it's up for the manager to line them up and bring him in one of the time yeah it's a last game of the season you know both pitchers are gonna throw fast balls for strikes and splitters for balls and that's what the opposing hitters have to have to try to decipher you know it may seem like a minor factor but it occurs to me because after this break we're gonna see Roger Clemens at the plate American League all year long obviously including the playoffs he starts Game three which is a d/h game at Yankee Stadium he's gonna swing a bat when it counts for the first time all year in Game seven of the World Series yeah I mean that's that's still frightening to this day where you have you know the American league pitchers hitting in national league ballparks and you have to hold your breath and you know over the last couple of years there have been some big injuries for pitchers on the basement what's the solution to that as an aside well I think the way they have it is the fairest right as long as you're gonna have it split yeah then you might as well play home team rules I suppose I think the answer is there is no easy solution but this one happens to be the best let's not get into a long d8 Roger Clemens grabs a bag you're watching MLB's 20 greatest games this is number nine on MLB Network he falls behind Clemens one ball one strike as Clemens almost took a seat after that swing 97 from Schilling to his counterpart Roger Clemens Clemens the strikeout Schilling's third of the night you know you got to say this you haven't batted all year 97 mile an hour fastball you're overmatched but he's not going gently you know he's taking these vicious hacks even though he has no chance breath in the dugout whether it's a leg or a ribcage or whatever you know but that's that's Roger you know he's 100 miles an hour all the time all right it's still a scoreless game after three to the top of the fourth Schilling on the mound Jeter at the plate here's a 2-2 pitch to Jeter leading off into right field for Bautista right feel a little more spacious in this ballpark than at Yankee Stadium well yeah there's more room out there it's it's a pitcher's ballpark if you keep in the middle of the field there's no question about it Paul O'Neill had doubled his last time up out at third trying to stretch it this time weak swing strike three that's that splitter we were talking about earlier [Music] disappearing out of the strike zone so both pitchers again continuing to throw fastball for strikes splitters four balls and knowing how hard Schilling throws or Roger for that matter the hitter has to really cheat in his own mind that he has to get the bat started so once it turns into a splitter now you really have trouble stopping the bat Bernie Williams down on strikes Schilling just humming along now to the bottom of the fourth Clemens facing Mark Grace there's already one out at this point Bautista had flied out and Mark Grace is just a flat-out good hitter yes he can hit his arm into left field and braces on for the second time tonight I know with me I'm flashing back to ten years earlier Game seven twins in the Braves Morris and Smoltz scoreless for nine innings 95 miles-per-hour and Clemens got it past Miller to strike him out for the second time tonight this is starting to look like the game you score first you got a good chance of winning that is a great point yeah you want to be the home team really preferably you're scoring the home so now Clemens does to Schilling what Schilling had done to him which was predictable enough and after for two of the game's best locked in a scoreless duel you know I know I had a habit of walking into the clubhouse a couple of times a game wall during the seasons just because I sit there you know so stoic Lee that I want to get up and move around in between innings and George Steinbrenner in the postseason is always sitting in our Clubhouse because he very rarely it's sitting the stands are in there in the box or whatever and I remember going in later in this game into my office and he's sitting in there and he oh he said well what do you think and for the most part in past years I said you know we'll be all right we'll be all right this is the only time I wasn't sure I just said to him I don't know the only because of our offense we couldn't generate anything we couldn't get men on base week you know you'd say yeah let's you know get an error get a break but it's really tough to get a break if there's nobody on base so it was really an uncomfortable feeling for me so if he was sitting in your office all the time didn't have to be careful about what you left behind I feel like doodling the boss is making me crazy and you just leave the stickum the post-it on the desk no I always told him that was 1996 you lose the first two games to Italy the first game today and in the first game he comes into my office before game two or facing Maddux and he says you know this is a must-win well first of all it's my first World Series and I'm tickled pink to be there I'm we're the underdog you know the Braves are world champs right here before and I said to him I said George I said you know we're out of whack and we haven't played in eight days because we clinched early and then we had a rainout the first game in the World Series and I said well you know we're out of whack I said they have Maddox pitching today I said we're liable to lose today I said but we'll we'll win three in Atlanta come back and win it for you Saturday night now walked out of the office they thought I was goofy but I had an extension of it that's exactly your contract expired during this world series that's right November 1st you're right yeah that's right come on I didn't have to win this game I wasn't on the contract although it's probably a good idea to try to do so yeah well you now head to the bottom of the fifth Tony Womack open by grounding out Craig Counsell was the hitter the one advantage Jeter has as far as fielding the ball with two hands is that play a lot of times early in his career he'd have a ball up the middle and try to catch it with two hands and then he was you know obvious so we kept telling him a Willie Randolph used to tell him you'll be able to reach farther if you only go one hand but he was in a habit of going with two hands all the time the 1 2 pitch to Gonzalez [Applause] Soriano can't handle this one and Gonzales beats the throw to first that was his third error of this world series at second base Matt Williams is the hitter now another chance for Jeter and that's that who's gonna break through that's what you got to be thinking well I think you saw as Derek was running off the field there he's hurt that ball when he came in on the trainer came out to take a look at him something happened there actually Joe I don't know if you remember during the ALDS against Oakland he went into the stands in the Yankee Stadium hard flipped in there trying to chase a pop-up he was red-hot at the plate up until that point he didn't hit at all after that yeah you know Derek he'll never admit that he was hurt but he wasn't the same player after that point and that particular play when he needed the attention you can see his body starting to break down there's no question I mean you know I could the only way I was able to give him an off day was to say do you want today or tomorrow because if I said which day do you want off is I'm okay I'm fine you know if he had a cold or anything you'd never know it because the only thing he knew when he opened his eyes in the morning is that he was playing a game that night okay so coming up next Danny Bautista will be up in a big spot you're watching MLB network's 20 greatest games it's number nine on the countdown on MLB Network scoreless after five in Game seven of the 2001 World Series the Yankees and the Diamondbacks top of the 6th Schilling on the mound Soriano at the plate there's a hero waiting to be found down there somewhere on that field right now two heroes are the two starters Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens bottom of the order here I thought that was a great line by my partner Joe Buck when he said there's a hero waiting to be made down there it wasn't Soriano and that at-bat and it won't be Brosius in this at-bat either yeah a minimum of four innings to find out uh I mean you go up there and you want to be confident you want to go up there being aggressive but when you realize he's got the 96 mile-an-hour fastball and he's got the splitter that is has the arm speed of a 96 mile an hour fastball it's a little disarming I mean and it's you know you you've got to just make up your mind you're gonna look in one place and hope the ball is there and I know one reason you couldn't be so confident with George Steinbrenner was you couldn't wear it down Schilling the way you normally did pitchers he's just too aggressive too much in around the zone yeah that was a big thing and I referred to Pedro is that you got the pitch count up where he had to come out of the game but that wasn't the case with Schilling because he was so economical plus I would imagine you had to assume that Randy Johnson's waiting in the bullpen to well did you know [Laughter] Schilling in the top of the sixth now he starts the bottom of the sixth against Finley Bobby made a good point about Clemens being playing now under National League rules he's used to Roger likes to go back in the clubhouse in between when his team is batting you don't have that luxury he made the third out here and then goes out to the mound and Joe you must have seen something because you get your bullpen up at this point here Mendoza begins to throw well I mean he had physical the physical ailments there's no question I mean he pitched game five against Oakland we knew he had you know the bad hammies and I told him I didn't need a hero I needed a winner that day so we knew it was there here's Bautista Danny Bautista delivers again [Applause] you're applauding the relay that cut down Bautista but they've got the lead one-nothing now they've got the lead but it's one run because there that was a man at third base and nobody out and that's what you know when you talk about don't make the first or third out at third base that's a perfect example of it right there make him make a great play and he's barely out well it was a great athletic play by Derek Jeter because the the relay throw was high and toward the third-base side he had to make the play in the air and throw the ball in the air or as he just hit the ground to get Bautista and all that base running but a great play by Jeter to get it all that hang time on that dive to third always a bad play though in that situation is it really a bad play that's a bad play in the third base standing up if it's one out and you make the same play it's ok Bob Brenly could have bunted there in fact he thought about it and decided let me give him a swing teesta was swinging that bat very well in fact let him explain it as we go to break here here's Brenly talking about what he was thinking about as Bautista settled into the box [Applause] my mind I'm gonna give him one lakh welcome back to MLB's 20 greatest games this is number nine on the countdown Game seven of the 2001 World Series Curt Schilling now has a single run to work with Derek Jeter leads off against him in the seventh I think that's where you wanted leading off I know I did Jeter is struck out he's flied to right but see still playing on a hop and the Yankees put their leadoff man there there are players that the game slows down for them you know Jeter certainly that guy you started him there on first pitch to Paul well you again I you know mention that it's helpless sitting there you're trying to get something going there's nobody on base you can't look for a break so I'm you know trying to knowing how many strikes that Schilling does throw let's try to put a guy in motion that I know got almost got by yeah he's got bad and you're trained if you're running on a play like that and it's close you keep going because because it Finley makes that play in the air he's got a shot at Jeter at first patient and and if you look at Jeter he's mad at himself when he stops at second because he knew he should have kept going or he could have kept going now Brenly has his bullpen going as Williams grounds to the right side they get the middle runner runners at the corners now with one out and then Tino comes up and he always seems to be that guy who you wanted the plate in certain situations and I'll tell you I give Schilling credit because even though he has first and third he's still going after people mm-hmm you know he's not gonna be cozy about what he's gonna do with this first pitch and for sure he's not looking to the bullpen he's not looking over his shoulder he's looking only at Martinez the corner Martina's would have base hit to right the Yankees have tied it well when you were on the brink in Game four martinez bailed you out with a two-run homer here it looked like one run might be enough for Arizona but Martinez got you even right away that seems to be what happens when you hang a splitter that ball right around the waist right around you know you even knew you're gearing for the fastball when that's an off-speed pitch and it still it's pretty good velocity on it it's it's there for you and Tina was ready to swing it so at that point the Yankees have tied the game they have two on with one out but Schilling gets Posada and Spencer to fly out so it's a 1-1 game and now one of the questions that Joe will face how much longer does he go with Roger Clemens we're back after this so Game seven is tied at one as we head to the bottom of the seventh Clemens on the mound Schilling at the plate McCarver at the mic I'm surprised at this move by Bob Brenly I guess you got to figure each other Curt Schilling may have said something to Bob briteling about continuing in this ballgame on 1 and 2 Schilling strikes out looking you only have nine outs left with which to play you've wasted one of them and keep in mind you've got Randy Johnson in the bullpen just in case Schilling can't do it anymore bud Johnson pitched seven innings the night before and Schilling is pitching very well at this point so he may think it's more important to have him on the mound and sacrifice the out Womack follows with a single and now Joe you've got to decide what to do well you know we get to the seventh inning yeah Roger Clemens you know he's nursing injuries his legs and the whole thing so you know at this point in time naturally I have Mel down by my side Mel stottlemyre who certainly is great counsel for me and it was just time to go get him and you know it gives you everything he's got and he's really a horse and I thought he pitched very courageously before that inning started had you you and Mel said if somebody gets on he's gone well there's no question that we'll have somebody ready to go you know it's still gonna be based on what we see but you know yeah you have a left hand pitcher coming in and you have wool mac at first base he is sort of trying to neutralize that also counsel is the hitter go-ahead run at first for Arizona one out runner is going even though Posada kind of double clutched he was still able to get them it I think it was either a hit-and-run or a delayed steal we even talked about it being a delayed steal he certainly but your point well taken bringing Stanton in to hold the runner at first absolutely maybe events to half a step you hold him there but to see counsel chase a pitch out of the strike zone by that much I got to believe it probably was it I think it was a hit and run where the first base the base runner is not going to try to get a jump and he pops it up and that's gonna finish the d-backs in the seventh so we're going to the top of the eighth and the game is still tied 1-1 and you know my pitcher is the third hitter so I have a big conversation with mr. Zimmer at this point in time don't you love these National League rules oh you know it's exciting and as there's much more to think about when you're managing in the National League is there more decisions to make more fur for fans ii guess and i you know to me that's the that's the real core of this game what jus and sim say well I'll tell you what he said he says who are you gonna bring in and I said Mendoza and he says why not Mariano why not mo I said because we're on the road I said I got a tie game I'm gonna you know if we're gonna win this game I'm gonna need somebody to save this game and who would I trust to do that and I was sure what I was saying was for sure the more I thought about it later on the more I was thinking that you know if I ever lose this game in Mariano never sees the mound I'm wrong suppose you hadn't scored in the top of the eighth you go to the bottom of the eighth still tied and it's tough to hold Rivera back yeah yeah but I think I probably would have with my mind said at that time and you know we're watching it and we're arguing on the fence we're on the railing and we're arguing in Merrion I mean Soriano comes up to hit you know just to trying to find a middle ground I said well if he happens to hit one out and no word no sooner the words come out of my mouth his balls out of the ball get out of here stop right there because when we come back Alfonso Soriano had had his problems in the field this series and even in this game but as you may remember or as you've just been tipped off he's about to make up for that okay top of the 8th inning Schilling still on the hill for Arizona and Alfonso Soriano starts it all for the Yanks Tim I know you talked about fast balls up and splitters down with these two pitchers this is exactly the sequence that Curt Schilling wants here against Soriano especially when he jumps ahead of him here oh and two he can do just about anything he wants with him watch this pitch Soria I was gonna chase it up above his eyes mm-hmm Schilling's got him set up perfectly he wants to throw this splitter as low as he can possibly throw it and you'll see the result [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so now you turn to Zimmer and say well you're gonna get your way we have the lead oh I mean we got a little excited about that I said now it's it's no brainer you know in Mariano's up Mariano's in and my managing days are over for this year because once you get him on the mound there's really no other decision to make for me Joe it from my observation of you in a Yankee uniform I don't think I ever saw you go that and do that right because I didn't have to make a decision that's right and relief was the word he's still trying to figure out how Soriano went down and got that ball and bite it out it was on the inner half and that ball just just fell right onto the fat of his bat that wasn't that was a big difference with that splitter Schilling finishes Brosius here now you can use justice to hit for stamp but one out nobody on justice grabs it up the middle and now Brenly takes Schilling out and Schilling it guaranteed before the game I get the ball we're gonna win he leaves for the moment on the losing end of a 2-1 score and in comes Batista the way the way I saw that that made the non move in the bottom of the seventh inning was Schilling leading off much more egregious from Brenly situation right as it turned out he gave up the leadoff out in a tie game in the seventh to get one more out from his starting pitcher that's right [Applause] that's the third player out at second and that's all the Diamondbacks can get two away that's because the bobble was made by Craig Counsell after he stepped on the bag they could have had the double play here but counsel wasn't quite able to handle it he does have control as he's on the bag then he bobbles it when he comes off well O'Neal is coming up Bob Brenly is coming out and Randy Johnson is coming in last night's starter Randy Johnson in the game for the Diamondbacks so here he is you thought you'd never see him again there he is that's right now yeah I use Knobloch to pinch-hit for Paul O'Neill because you know Randy's a little tough on left-handers knowing although it can't be your consideration that you have now told Paul O'Neill his career is over well I didn't tell him but I thought we could have one more celebration before he goes he had never lost a World Series he had won four of them with you and won in 1990 with the Cincinnati Reds he was going for ring number six and he knew that this was the last game in which he would ever play and of course you did the logical thing but a guy like Paul O'Neill nobody wants to come out of a game like this but Paul O'Neill to come out of a game like this yeah you know we made the double switch so to speak because we had justice hit for the pitcher and we left him in the game in the outfield and this way Mariano if he had a pitch well he pitched the more than one anymore situation so a game that began with Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling as the starting pitchers is now down to Randy Johnson and Mariano Rivera out of the bullpen that's why this is on the list that's why let's take a look just to close the book at how the starters fared now that Schilling is out and Clemens had gone out earlier well unbelievable night Roger actually tied a game seven record with those 10 strikeouts Schilling right behind him and the others with the 10 strikeouts fellows by the name of Bob Gibson's Sandy Koufax and how Neuhauser that'll work boy I mean that one for the ages I mean it's this World Series was full of emotion for me not only the fact that it was 911 but the fact that we had so many players that potentially weren't going to be there the next spring and it meant a lot when you give yourself time to think about you know all the changes that we're going to be made and just what those players and the core of those players being together represented it was pretty special time so the Yankees are up 2 to 1 they are six outs away from their fourth consecutive World Championship and their fifth in six years and they got Mariano Rivera set to wrap it up we're coming back after this we have a guy like Mariano Rivera and his success throughout the season and postseason it certainly makes your decisions very easy the two to one out oh and 2 on Matt Williams with one out nobody on the Oh 2 pitch 2 up right now this is the guy the Diamondbacks won at the plate one on two-out [Music] ok good morning good afternoon and good night and you're feeling pretty good I feel really good because he's the man you want on the mound you could see he didn't go through a deep pitch count there in the eighth inning so it's just a matter of you know hanging on after these next three outs next inning just like Delilah with the sheers and Sampson Mariano Rivera has robbed hitters of power for 50 years I've been sitting on that for 10 days let's just hope that unlike Delilah the editor doesn't take the scissors and get that out of there because that was good Randy Johnson comes on he's actually already in the game but this is his first full inning of relief he will deal with Bernie Williams Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada now let's remember Randy Johnson is 38 years old he threw a hundred and four pitches the previous night and he's wearing a corset underneath his uniform because he's got a bad back and here he is out there in Game seven out of the bullpen well that corset didn't make him any shorter an awesome presence on that mound circles it so Martinez is the second out and here's Posada two down nobody on Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson the one-two punch for Arizona giving the Yankees all they can handle all right so Johnson has done what Brentley is asked him to do keep it reasonably close it's a 2-1 game but you got Mariano and just to set the stage here at this point in his career Mariano Rivera had had twenty five postseason save opportunities he'd been successful on 24 of them the only time he failed was that sandy Alomar home run in Cleveland in 1997 in the division series his career postseason ara at that moment was 0.7 oh and and in all fairness to Mariano that was the first year he was a closer that he gave up his wetland for the wetland before that so he was so still cutting his teeth at that point in time yeah he's money in the bank there's no question about it am I gonna sit back and say well he saved all these games in a row is this the time for no I never even thought about it you know we were so confident especially scoring the way we did and to to you know be three outs away plus the fact we went through the middle of their batting order in the eighth inning you know you thought you were in good shape with that well when we come back it's the faithful bottom of the ninth you're watching MLB's 20 greatest games this is number nine on the list on MLB Network well a remarkable season has come down to this bottom of ninth Game seven in Arizona Yankees to D backs won Mariano Rivera on the mound Mark Grace starts it off for Arizona bottom of the ninth inning last chance for the Diamondbacks down two to one Mark Grace first up against Mariano Rivera who struck out the side in the eighth [Applause] in the Senate fear to get stood for Arizona Grace with his third head David Dellucci runs for grace they had Collbran coming to the plate he was in the on-deck circle and took grace got on now they have Miller up to bunt grace was the key there he got inside the cutter it was able to and his style of hitting theirs was certainly perfect for that where he could keep the ball fair and hit it in the middle of the field and now it becomes the bunt situation [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and Bernie's credit he was back back and up there where the runner stays at second and Jeter's beaten up a little bit right here Joe Buck and I talk about the inability of some pitchers to throw the ball for out said bases because they're used to throwing pitches that move particularly Mariano Rivera even though I've got to believe that sometimes a ring finger becomes involved when you throwing the ball and that may have been what happened Mariano there well you know plus the fact when Mariano turned around his front side and you'll see it here his front side opens up and if with doing in doing that his ball just sailed to the right hand side he just never really stayed close like a pitcher you know making a pitch so now first and second instead of man on first one out first and second nobody out and what I'm saying there on the mound is let's just get an out let's let's not let this thing you know get out of control here let's get an out they're gonna bunt and let's just think one out at a time and in saying that you know I walked off the mound because I said you know second and third I'm not gonna worry about Mariano because he's gotten out of jams like that before and then you know the next hitter comes up and it's gonna be Jay Bell Randy Johnson actually the scheduled hitter Jay Bell veteran pinch hits and he's gonna lay one down everybody knows he's gonna lay one down you know he's going to bunt you're not worried because even though Rivera threw a ball away you know how quickly is - well you know he's so he's so positive and what he does and he's so aggressive he's yeah I mean if you watch him during batting practice he's taking fly balls in center field he's an athlete he's not a pitcher he's an athlete and you know I didn't have a concern that we were gonna get it out and uh you know unfortunately the in looking at it again you you know we had a chance to get more than one well let's let's look at it here it is Jay Bell at the plate two on nobody out and now the Yankees will be shortened up expecting another bunch Jay Bell led the National Aiken Bunch in 1990 with 39 sacrifice is one of the better bunters in the National League he would want to bunt it down the third base line to make Brosius feel the ball two on nobody out in the Bunter Rivera throws to third out but as you could see where there is so quick the third base that Brosius actually had a play at first now right away Tim you picked up on the fact that well they got the out they got the lead runner Brosius gave up on the play and look where Bella's yeah yeah he is watch when Brosius gets the ball Belle's a little past the halfway mark Brosius had a shot at him at first base I think Joe you got to err on the side of caution anywhere there yeah you know in that particular yeah I had no problem with it I didn't realize it until later on but you you know when he gets that throw from Mariano and you give Mariano credit even though he threw one away he was gonna come off that mound and grab the ball and get that force at third base and the runner is really behind Mariano where you can really probably see it in the background if you're the third baseman but I think it was in his mind to get this out Brosius the first peek for him was the runner at second base making sure he wasn't making a big turn and in doing that he really gave up the opportunity to get the second out at first so Miller becomes the lead runner at second he is then removed by Brentley who goes with one of his speediest guys Cummings as Womack comes to the plate right and again left-handed hitter who's going to shorten up you still have to like your chances with Mariano obviously you did get at least one out but the shorter the swing the better the results for the hitter and I don't think Mariano gets this ball in enough where Womack can get there Yankees lead in Game seven to the 109 two on one out and it comes Cummings it's time going to third is down Tony Womack delivers it's 2-2 he was really short to the ball right here and even though he didn't you know hit it on the screws he certainly was able to pull it which is not that easy to do against Mariano if you're a left-hand hitter so coming Sprint's home bell goes to third on the wall Mac double now you got first base open counsels the hitter but Gonzales is behind him so obviously you're gonna work the counsel oh well yeah we're definitely going to go to counsel because again he's the guy that Mariano can get out I mean I'm I have a great deal of confidence against any hitter but you know you certainly would rather pitch to counsel than to Gonzales because Gonzales had a big year he's not only a power hitter but he's a good hitter on top of that four years earlier in the bottom of the ninth of Game seven of the World Series between the Indians and the Marlins Craig Counsell came up in a spot where a sacrifice fly would tie the game he delivered that sacrifice fly here a sacrifice fly wins the World Series great counsel who scored the winning run in Game seven of the 97 World Series for Florida against Cleveland trying to drive home the winning run in game 7 against the Yankees hit by the pitch and the bases are loaded and and I'll tell you that pitch right there I think was trying to make up or throw it a little bit better than he threw it to Womack well he didn't get it in enough so he tried to get that pitch in enough where he wasn't gonna let him get the fat of the bat on the ball and again it just had cut in where it got him on the wrist you got the bases loaded now is there any thought at all is it even conceivable that you would play the infield back at DoublePlay depth in this situation no and and the big part of it is the fact that very few hitters will hit Mariano on the fat of the bat and if I'm playing back for the DoublePlay I would really have trouble forgiving myself if there was a ground ball to shortstop even though Gonzalez isn't the fast runner that you can't get a double play on and you don't even make a play for the guy at the plate because you're trying to get to so I think we have to make the play for the guide to play probably driving over here to these Studios today you told me that if you plant at Yankee Stadium you probably do it if I'm home if I'm home I could probably go two ways here I could say you know play back you know for the double play but anything it's soft go home because you're gonna have another time at bat here in the bottom air for the inning but I cannot in good conscience allow that run to score without even making a play on him and let's go back to Louise Gonzalez you talked about first time seeing Mariano for a second time he always batted with his pinky finger and actually his ring finger all the way on the knob of the bat for the first and only time in his life he decided to choke up against Mariano Rivera for this at-bat took a cue from Mark Grace normally but even more so against Mariano Womack Gonzalez and and Mariano is no secret when you go up to hit you're gonna get a cutter and especially I mean if you're a left-hander you're gonna get it on your hands and so they know what they're gonna get and it's just a matter of being able to do something about it and you're about to hear in my view there's the perfect example of how a play-by-play man and an analyst do their job Joe Buck is about to say chance of a lifetime for luis gonzalez which may be obvious but somebody needs to say it to set the drama and then you make the point that turns out to be what the last pitch of the World Series turns on here we go the chance of a lifetime for Luis Gonzales 2 to bottom of the ninth Game seven of the World Series bases loaded in field in one out strike one the one problem is Rivera throws inside the left-handers left-handers get a lot of broken bat hits into shallow outfield the shallow part of the outfield that's the danger in bringing the infield in with a guy like Rivera on the mound [Applause] that didn't even really make the shallow outfield barely made the grass but there was no way that you could play the infield back in that situation I hope nobody in baseball not would ever consider that ever yeah I couldn't because you know the possibility of a ground ball you know how many other you know balls that were hit in this game when he pitched you know were softly hit balls on the ground and I just couldn't let that happen of course if I have doubts in what I'm thinking I've got a guy named Zimmer next to me who's certainly sort of validated what our decision was well you know when you have the infield in it's very interesting and I've always found it interesting you want you want a pitcher to throw a pitch where a hitter hits the ball hard enough in this particular instance to get the force at home ideally even hard enough for a middle infield to turn a double play a six to three double player five to three or one two three but Rivera what goes against him in a situation like that is that he doesn't throw balls to the fat part of the bat to allow a hitter to hit the ball hard enough to hit it to where a guy can force somebody at home play yeah his strengths turned out to be the weakness in that particular situation well Joe your teams to that point were 45 and OH taking a lead to the ninth inning Mariano obviously a huge part of that when you watch this just now what are your emotions as they've run toward your team and from Mariano it just it's such an empty feeling it really is and my feeling goes to you know Mariano I mean you know there's no gray area when you're a closer it's either good or it's bad throws the ball in the center field comes back and puts himself in the position to get out of the inning and then he gave up you know he made a pitch that's the one thing I could say you know on grace I give grace a lot of credit for getting inside the ball Womack he didn't throw the pitch in enough he did on council but happened to be up and settled like you know in here where it was waist high he threw it up were counseled with that unorthodox stance gets a first pitch to Gonzales he threw it where he wanted to he fouled it off next pitch he threw it where he wanted to also unfortunately you know Gonzales you know being the the good hitter that that he was was able to maybe start the battle a little bit sooner and and get to make the adjustment for his you know his second swing as we mentioned earlier you guys had won 14 out of 15 playoff and World Series coming in you had blown away a team like the Atlanta Braves who were thought to be a very very good team you had to come back on them in 96 in 99 you swept them game three were down five nothing you came back and won the game you're down Oh to to Oakland earlier in this postseason you come back to Jeter flip you win three games in a row Seattle had won 116 you beat them in five you win games four and five of this series with two run two-out homers in the bottom of the ninth launching you to that position you had to come to believe again not being overconfident not disrespecting anybody it has to be shocking to lose yeah I'm happy to say it was shocking to lose because we as I say we expect good things and we've had a history that showed us that you know we could make things happen the toughest part I mean aside from the game itself was going around that Clubhouse and and hugging you know Paul O'Neill wanted no part of it I mean he was respectful he was limp body then and then before we boarded the buses to go to the airport after the game you know to say goodbye to Knobloch and Brosius because they were going right home from there they won't come back to New York and that that was a tough time because you know to me baseball yeah it's about wins and losses it's it's about competing but it's about people because I think sometimes even like now in this technology age were we're so numb to the fact that blood runs through these guys veins and we think it's just numbers yeah it's all about people and and if you get people all pulling in the same direction it's really very satisfying to see what you can accomplish but Joe what do you remember the first time you saw George Steinbrenner after the game well I was in the clubhouse he was just standing there you know and just with his head down and he wasn't angry he was just so disappointed and I know and Tommy you reported on you know his issue with putting up the celebratory stuff before the game was over didn't want to jinx it I understand you know he'd be chasing these people out of the clubhouse don't do that don't do that and of course they have to and then having to pull them down and go in the other Clubhouse it was it was a very bitter I came and say bittersweet but it was very bitter times and then there's Mariano I think back to the meeting before the game began in which he said guys were going to win but no matter what happens this is in God's hands and then I remember him after the game and it was really not very many minutes after the game was lost he was right at his locker answering questions and for you Joe was there a moment either right after the game or later on when things kind of calmed down you had a private time with Mariano you know I think probably on the plane going back private time would Mariano happen more for me earlier in his career back in in 97 when you know he gave up the home run to Sandy Alomar I got him on the tarmac getting off the plane I said let me tell you something I said we wouldn't have been in this situation unless you had done your job and at that point and I think we we know by Eckersley giving up the home run to Kirk Gibson and Mariano doing this you go one way or the other the great ones go away Mariano did and Eckersley did it's it's what it's about I mean it's it's it's not exciting to succeed unless there's the danger of failure and that's where we are and did you see the way he walked off even that is telling no histrionics a lot of athletes in all sports now are aware that cameras on them and be it good or bad they'll sometimes put on a performance that's meant to Telegraph their emotions he walked off with the same elegance with which he would enter again you know we all possessed we like to teach that seems to be what separates Mariano from most other athletes yeah I mean let's do the best we can and sometimes it's it's not within our power to control the ending and as we said earlier in this program all this happens in the aftermath of 9/11 and after this game Joe you spoke with Fox's Kevin Kennedy about what your team meant to the city of New York well Kevin I think we picked up the personality and the inspiration of the people in New York and all the you know all the heroes and and all the people who who gave of themselves there and and you know no question that inspired us you don't always win you know I always base my opinion on people on the effort and the desire and the dedication and then this ball club you know filled every one of those well you didn't win another World Series after 2000 this was the beginning of where to in a certain sense your luck turn you still made the postseason every year but you didn't win the World Series again no we didn't of course let me say I'm sitting with my wife Ali having dinner after Game three in 1998 in San Diego is just the two of us which was unusual the World Series time that we didn't have any people hanging out but was sitting there and I looked at her and I said you know why are all these good things happening to me you know I I never I always felt very blessed along the way that I was able to experience this you know for a guy who had never been to a World Series other than the sit in the seat in the stands during my playing career too you know from my 56 birthday on had nothing but postseason activity it was pretty darn special Joe thanks Tim thanks Tom as always that's it for number nine on MLB's 20 greatest games and as we leave you let's listen to the Diamondbacks radio call from Greg Schulte see you next time with number eight on the countdown Gonzalez digs into the plate the stretch and the o1 delivery and a little Cooper [Music] [Applause] [Applause]

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Views: 8,433

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Id: RycqXV97MGI

Length: 65min 30sec (3930 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 09 2020