Pregame
There was a lot of excitement for the two fan bases involved in the 1995 ALDS. For the Yankees, it was their first postseason appearance since 1981, a drought that probably had their fans about ready to give up on the sport. The 14-year drought was the longest for the franchise since Babe Ruth led them to their first World Series in 1921.
Going up against them was the Seattle Mariners, making the first postseason appearance in franchise history. If that wasn't exciting enough for Seattle fans, the Mariners came back from 12.5 games back on August 20 to tie the Angels, then won a one-game playoff for the AL West title. It was, without question, the most exciting season the Mariners had yet had.
But then the Mariners had to face the Yankees, and they had to do so with their ace, Randy Johnson, likely available for only one of the five games. Since Seattle's pitching philosophy that year seemed to be "Randy Johnson, then score in double digits for 4 straight games," that didn't bode well.
The first two games of the ALCS couldn't have gone worse for Seattle. Not only did the Yankees win both games at home, but Game 2 was a 15-inning marathon that drained Seattle's already-suspect bullpen. The Mariners needed a big start from Johnson in Game 3, and he delivered, pitching seven innings and leading the Mariners to their first ever postseason victory. A five-run eighth inning lead to a 11-8 Mariners win in Game 4, setting up a winner-take-all Game 5.
The Game
The Mariners of the mid-90s centered around three transcendent stars. Aside from Johnson in the rotation, they had a lineup built around Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey, Jr., two of the most gifted hitters of their generation. The 1995 postseason was widely seen as merely the first of many future playoff appearances for that trio. And the Mariners knew they were going to need big performances from all three to win the series. Through four games, all three had delivered.
In a perfect world, the Mariners would have had Johnson pitching Game 5 at home. But with only one day off after his Game 3 start, he was considered unavailable for Game 5. If they were going to beat the Yankees, they would have to do it without him.
For seven innings, things didn't look good. The Yankees had jumped out to an early 4-2 lead, and David Cone was holding down the Mariners. He entered the eighth having already thrown 123 pitches, but Yankees manager Buck Showalter left him in. The Yankees had a young bullpen - including a rookie named Mariano Rivera - and he always showed a preference for veterans over young players.
And so it was Cone on the mound in the top of the eighth when, with one out, Griffey came up in what was the biggest at bat in Mariners history. He took one pitch, a ball. He didn't take the second one. And by the time it landed beyond the right field fence, the Kingdome was louder than perhaps it had ever been. And though they were still down a run when Griffey stepped on home plate, Seattle fans seemed to sense that something magical was going to happen that night.
Cone was still on the mound later that inning when Doug Strange drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring rookie Alex Rodriguez with the game-tying run. By then Showalter realized that Cone was cooked and took him out. But with the game tied and the Kingdome rocking, it was far too late.
If the Kingdome was loud after Griffey's home run, it got even louder in the top of the ninth when the bullpen doors opened and Randy Johnson came jogging to the mound. It didn't matter that two runners were on base with nobody out. With Johnson on the mound, Mariners fans were thinking, there was no way they were going to lose. He got out of the ninth. He struck out the side in the 10th. He was on a roll.
Then, the unthinkable. He gave up a run. The Yankees started the 11th with a walk and a sacrifice, then a seeing-eye single snuck through the left side of the infield to score the go-ahead run. It was stunning. How could Johnson have given up a run? After everything that had happened that year? He got the final two outs on strike outs, but the Mariners' magical season was down to its final three outs.
But look who was due up in the 11th. After Joey Cora, it was Griffey and Martinez. If the Mariners were going to go down, they were going down fighting. Showalter gave the Mariners a break, too, by not going to his closer, John Wetteland, to close out the series, and instead going with Jack McDowell a veteran starter who was making his first career relief appearance. Sure, Showalter liked the veterans, but this seemed ridiculous.
Cora, perhaps knowing he was destined to play just a bit role in the drama, placed a perfect bunt down the first-base line to lead off the inning with a single. Up came Griffey. Of course it was Griffey. He couldn't possibly hit another home run, could he? Well, no. But his single worked just fine. Besides - maybe it was fate. Because up next was Martinez. Johnson and Griffey had each made their marks on this game. Now it was Martinez's turn.
Mariner fans can still see it. The sharp line drive down the left field line. Left fielder Gerald Williams chasing it in vain. The television cutting to Griffey, heading toward third, running the bases faster than he ever had before. The throw coming in, but too late, as Griffey slid home into a pile of delirious teammates. The greatest moment in franchise history.
Postgame
As high as Seattle was flying after beating the Yankees, they still had some work to do. And it was hard work, facing Cleveland in the ALCS. Cleveland could have been seen as a Cinderella story, considering they hadn't been to the playoffs since 1954, but this team was scary good. The best American League team in at least a decade, if not longer.
But the Mariners gave it a good fight. Still flying high from their incredible Game 5 win, they won Game 1 3-2. Cleveland bounced back to take Game 2, but Game 3 was Johnson's turn. He went 8, the game went 11, and Seattle was back on top of the series.
But that was it. Cleveland won the next two at home to take a 3-2 series lead. Back home in Seattle for Game 6, the Mariners moved Johnson up a game. In theory, the move made sense, as you don't want to get eliminated with your best pitcher sitting and watching. And Johnson pitched valiantly in Game 6, and he was trailing only 1-0 as the game went to the eighth. But then the Yankees scored two runs on one passed ball, and then Johnson gave up a home run to make it 4-0. Lou Piniella took the ball from him at that point, and the Mariner fans gave him a standing ovation. In reality, it might have been an ovation for the entire team for giving them a ride unlike any the city had seen.
The Rundown
What am I doing? Go here to find out. The list so far:
3. Seattle 6, N.Y. Yankees 5 (1995 ALDS)
4. Colorado 9, San Diego 8 (2007 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
5. N.Y. Yankees 5, Boston 4 (1978 AL East tiebreaker)
6. San Francisco 6, Los Angeles 4 (1962 National League playoff)
7. Chicago 1, Minnesota 0 (2008 AL Central tiebreaker)
8. N.Y. Yankees 5, Boston 3 (1949 American League)
9. Arizona 2, St. Louis 1 (2001 NLDS)
10. Chicago 4, New York 2 (1908 National League makeup game)
11. Boston 12, Cleveland 8 (1999 ALDS)
12. Boston 5, Minnesota 3 (1967 American League)
13. Minnesota 5, Oakland 4 (2002 ALDS)
14. Boston 4, Oakland 3 (2003 ALDS)
15. Cleveland 4, N.Y. Yankees 3 (1997 ALDS)
16. L.A. Angels 5, N.Y. Yankees 3 (2005 ALDS)
17. Texas 5, Tampa Bay 1 (2010 ALDS)
18. San Francisco 3, Atlanta 1 (2002 NLDS)
19. N.Y. Yankees 5, Oakland 3 (2001 ALDS)
20. Seattle 3, Cleveland 1 (2001 ALDS)
21. Chicago 5, San Francisco 3 (1998 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
22. N.Y. Yankees 7, Oakland 5 (2000 ALDS)
23. Los Angeles 4, Houston 0 (1981 NL West Division Series)
24. Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0 (1981 NL East Division Series)
25. N.Y. Yankees 7, Milwaukee 3 (1981 AL East Division Series)
26. Seattle 9, California 1 (1995 AL West tiebreaker)
27. Chicago 5, Atlanta 1 (2003 NLDS)
28. Houston 12, Atlanta 3 (2004 NLDS)
29. N.Y. Mets 5, Cincinnati 0 (1999 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
30. Cleveland 8, Boston 3 (1948 American League tiebreaker)
31. Houston 7, Los Angeles 1 (1980 NL West tiebreaker)
Showing posts with label Edgar Martinez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edgar Martinez. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
2001 ALDS: The juggernaut slips by
Pregame
The 2001 Seattle Mariners were a juggernaut. Plain and simple. Some teams have spikes in their victory totals in expansion years, as the diluted talent around the league makes the good teams seem that much better. That wasn't the case in 2001; the effects of the 1998 expansion had settled down by then. No, the Mariners were simply great, following the lead of rookie sensation Ichiro Suzuki and cruising to a record-tying 116 wins.
When the 2001 playoffs began, the question didn't seem to be whether the Mariners would win the title, but if anybody could challenge them along the way. But something funny happened along the way: the Cleveland Indians gave them everything they could handle.
In 2001, Cleveland was on the tail end of a dynasty that had started in 1995. Thought not nearly as good as their World Series teams of 1995 and 1997, the Indians still had several holdovers from those teams in 2001 and were in the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. Though they weren't expected to give the Mariners much of a fight, their ace, Bartolo Colon, shut the Mariners out in Game 1 to give Cleveland the series lead.
Four first-inning runs helped Seattle to a 5-1 victory in Game 2, but then Cleveland pounded four Seattle pitchers for a 17-2 win in Game 3. Suddenly, the 116-game winners were one loss away from a shocking elimination.
The Game 1 starters returned for Game 4, and Colon again held the Mariners scoreless for the first six innings. Seattle finally got to their nemesis for three seventh-inning runs and pulled away for a 6-2 win, sending the series back to Seattle for Game 5.
The Game
The deciding game was one of those where the score looked closer than it actually was. Seattle kept getting baserunner after baserunner, but they had trouble getting that clutch hit to put the game away.
In the bottom of the second, Cleveland's Chuck Finley walked the first two batters, then hit a batter to load the bases with nobody out. He struck out the next two hitters before Mark McLemore hit a first-pitch single to score two runs. The Mariners still had two runners on base with the great Ichiro at bat, but Mike Cameron was fooled by the old "pitcher steps toward one base and throws to the base behind him" play and was picked off to end the inning.
Cleveland came right back to score a run in the top of the third and loaded the bases with one out and future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar batting. The speedy Alomar grounded into a double play to end the threat. Little did they know it at the time, but that was Cleveland's last chance; they never got a runner past first base the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, Seattle kept doing its best to keep Cleveland in the game. The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the fifth but couldn't bring a run home, then left two runners on in the sixth. They finally broke through in the seventh when Mr. Mariner himself, Edgar Martinez, drove home his team's third run with a single. Even still, the Mariners left two more runners on base that inning.
Though Cleveland was technically still in the game - the score was only 3-1, after all - the Indians would have to come back against Seattle's vaunted bullpen. Jeff Nelson, Arthur Rhodes, and Kaz Sazaki had been phenomenal at the ends of games for Seattle all season, and this game was no exception, as they swept through the final three innings while giving up only one hit between them. Seattle held on to win 3-1.
Postgame
Perhaps they were worn down by the five-game epic against Cleveland, or perhaps Cleveland simply exposed them and their lofty record as fraudulant. Either way, Seattle didn't fare well in the ALCS. Though heavy favorites against the three-time defending champion Yankees, the Mariners lost the first two games at home on their way to a surprisingly meek five-game defeat. Seattle only batted .211 as a team in the series, a number that was inflated by the Mariners' 14-run outburst in their only win in Game 3.
It was a disappointing end to a magical season, and it marked the beginning of a dry spell for the Mariners. Though they won 93 games each of the next two seasons, they missed the playoffs in the tough AL West. In fact, the Mariners haven't been back to the postseason since their 116-victory season.
The Rundown
19. Seattle 3, Cleveland 1 (2001 ALDS)
20. Chicago 5, San Francisco 3 (1998 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
21. N.Y. Yankees 7, Oakland 5 (2000 ALDS)
22. Los Angeles 4, Houston 0 (1981 NL West Division Series)
23. Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0 (1981 NL East Division Series)
24. N.Y. Yankees 7, Milwaukee 3 (1981 AL East Division Series)
25. Seattle 9, California 1 (1995 AL West tiebreaker)
26. Chicago 5, Atlanta 1 (2003 NLDS)
27. Houston 12, Atlanta 3 (2004 NLDS)
28. N.Y. Mets 5, Cincinnati 0 (1999 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
29. Cleveland 8, Boston 3 (1948 AL tiebreaker)
30. Houston 7, Los Angeles 1 (1980 NL West tiebreaker)
The 2001 Seattle Mariners were a juggernaut. Plain and simple. Some teams have spikes in their victory totals in expansion years, as the diluted talent around the league makes the good teams seem that much better. That wasn't the case in 2001; the effects of the 1998 expansion had settled down by then. No, the Mariners were simply great, following the lead of rookie sensation Ichiro Suzuki and cruising to a record-tying 116 wins.
When the 2001 playoffs began, the question didn't seem to be whether the Mariners would win the title, but if anybody could challenge them along the way. But something funny happened along the way: the Cleveland Indians gave them everything they could handle.
In 2001, Cleveland was on the tail end of a dynasty that had started in 1995. Thought not nearly as good as their World Series teams of 1995 and 1997, the Indians still had several holdovers from those teams in 2001 and were in the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. Though they weren't expected to give the Mariners much of a fight, their ace, Bartolo Colon, shut the Mariners out in Game 1 to give Cleveland the series lead.
Four first-inning runs helped Seattle to a 5-1 victory in Game 2, but then Cleveland pounded four Seattle pitchers for a 17-2 win in Game 3. Suddenly, the 116-game winners were one loss away from a shocking elimination.
The Game 1 starters returned for Game 4, and Colon again held the Mariners scoreless for the first six innings. Seattle finally got to their nemesis for three seventh-inning runs and pulled away for a 6-2 win, sending the series back to Seattle for Game 5.
The Game
The deciding game was one of those where the score looked closer than it actually was. Seattle kept getting baserunner after baserunner, but they had trouble getting that clutch hit to put the game away.
In the bottom of the second, Cleveland's Chuck Finley walked the first two batters, then hit a batter to load the bases with nobody out. He struck out the next two hitters before Mark McLemore hit a first-pitch single to score two runs. The Mariners still had two runners on base with the great Ichiro at bat, but Mike Cameron was fooled by the old "pitcher steps toward one base and throws to the base behind him" play and was picked off to end the inning.
Cleveland came right back to score a run in the top of the third and loaded the bases with one out and future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar batting. The speedy Alomar grounded into a double play to end the threat. Little did they know it at the time, but that was Cleveland's last chance; they never got a runner past first base the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, Seattle kept doing its best to keep Cleveland in the game. The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the fifth but couldn't bring a run home, then left two runners on in the sixth. They finally broke through in the seventh when Mr. Mariner himself, Edgar Martinez, drove home his team's third run with a single. Even still, the Mariners left two more runners on base that inning.
Though Cleveland was technically still in the game - the score was only 3-1, after all - the Indians would have to come back against Seattle's vaunted bullpen. Jeff Nelson, Arthur Rhodes, and Kaz Sazaki had been phenomenal at the ends of games for Seattle all season, and this game was no exception, as they swept through the final three innings while giving up only one hit between them. Seattle held on to win 3-1.
Postgame
Perhaps they were worn down by the five-game epic against Cleveland, or perhaps Cleveland simply exposed them and their lofty record as fraudulant. Either way, Seattle didn't fare well in the ALCS. Though heavy favorites against the three-time defending champion Yankees, the Mariners lost the first two games at home on their way to a surprisingly meek five-game defeat. Seattle only batted .211 as a team in the series, a number that was inflated by the Mariners' 14-run outburst in their only win in Game 3.
It was a disappointing end to a magical season, and it marked the beginning of a dry spell for the Mariners. Though they won 93 games each of the next two seasons, they missed the playoffs in the tough AL West. In fact, the Mariners haven't been back to the postseason since their 116-victory season.
The Rundown
19. Seattle 3, Cleveland 1 (2001 ALDS)
20. Chicago 5, San Francisco 3 (1998 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
21. N.Y. Yankees 7, Oakland 5 (2000 ALDS)
22. Los Angeles 4, Houston 0 (1981 NL West Division Series)
23. Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0 (1981 NL East Division Series)
24. N.Y. Yankees 7, Milwaukee 3 (1981 AL East Division Series)
25. Seattle 9, California 1 (1995 AL West tiebreaker)
26. Chicago 5, Atlanta 1 (2003 NLDS)
27. Houston 12, Atlanta 3 (2004 NLDS)
28. N.Y. Mets 5, Cincinnati 0 (1999 NL Wild Card tiebreaker)
29. Cleveland 8, Boston 3 (1948 AL tiebreaker)
30. Houston 7, Los Angeles 1 (1980 NL West tiebreaker)
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