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)
Showing posts with label Ichiro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ichiro. Show all posts
Friday, June 3, 2011
Friday, April 2, 2010
April 2, 2001: First-born son
SEATTLE - There was no way to prepare for what was coming.
American baseball fans were told that it was a big deal that Ichiro Suzuki was joining the Seattle Mariners for the 2001 season. They had been told that he was, by far, the most popular athlete in Japan. They had been told that he was, without question, the best player in Japanese baseball.
But there's no way anybody could have predicted the tidal wave that came next.
From deciding to put only his first name on the back of his jersey (his name meaning "first-born son"), from the odd stretching routine he went through before each pitch, to the awkward, jerky swing he used, Ichiro seemed like nothing more than an curiosity.
Except that his every move was documented by the hoards of Japanese reporters and photographers who shadowed him. Ichiro would jog in the outfield before a game, and the photographers would take pictures. He'd chat with a teammate, and photographers would take pictures. He'd sit on the bench doing nothing, an photographers would take pictures. They ignored his other teammates, focused solely on documenting Japan's favorite son as he tried to make it in the big leagues.
Oh, and did he ever make it. Starting on opening day on April 2, when he got two hits to lead the Mariners to a comeback victory, Ichiro immediately proved that he was worth the hype. If he dropped a bunt in front of you, there was no throwing him out. If you played the infield close to defend against the bunt, he laced a pitch into the gap for a double. If you dared to try to take the extra base against him, he threw you out, even if he had to uncork a 330-foot laser beam to nail you by a whisker at third.
In short, Ichiro was a phenomenon. And with him at the top of the lineup, the Mariners became a juggernaut. Despite losing mega stars Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, and Alex Rodriguez the previous three seasons for budgetary reasons, Seattle ran roughshod through the American League, going 20-5 in April and 20-7 in May, finishing with a record-tying 116 wins before getting upset in the playoffs by the Yankees. And Ichiro was the catalyst, leading the league in batting average, stolen bases, and hits, cruising to both the Rookie of the Year and the MVP awards.
Nine years after becoming the first native Japanese player to play every day in the majors, Ichiro is still going strong, displaying a remarkable consistency. His 9 straight years with at least 200 hits is a major-league record, and since his debut he leads all major leaguers in runs, hits, and stolen bases, and trails Albert Pujols by one batting average point. And he is still followed by hoards of photographers everywhere he goes.
American baseball fans were told that it was a big deal that Ichiro Suzuki was joining the Seattle Mariners for the 2001 season. They had been told that he was, by far, the most popular athlete in Japan. They had been told that he was, without question, the best player in Japanese baseball.
But there's no way anybody could have predicted the tidal wave that came next.
From deciding to put only his first name on the back of his jersey (his name meaning "first-born son"), from the odd stretching routine he went through before each pitch, to the awkward, jerky swing he used, Ichiro seemed like nothing more than an curiosity.
Except that his every move was documented by the hoards of Japanese reporters and photographers who shadowed him. Ichiro would jog in the outfield before a game, and the photographers would take pictures. He'd chat with a teammate, and photographers would take pictures. He'd sit on the bench doing nothing, an photographers would take pictures. They ignored his other teammates, focused solely on documenting Japan's favorite son as he tried to make it in the big leagues.
Oh, and did he ever make it. Starting on opening day on April 2, when he got two hits to lead the Mariners to a comeback victory, Ichiro immediately proved that he was worth the hype. If he dropped a bunt in front of you, there was no throwing him out. If you played the infield close to defend against the bunt, he laced a pitch into the gap for a double. If you dared to try to take the extra base against him, he threw you out, even if he had to uncork a 330-foot laser beam to nail you by a whisker at third.
In short, Ichiro was a phenomenon. And with him at the top of the lineup, the Mariners became a juggernaut. Despite losing mega stars Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, and Alex Rodriguez the previous three seasons for budgetary reasons, Seattle ran roughshod through the American League, going 20-5 in April and 20-7 in May, finishing with a record-tying 116 wins before getting upset in the playoffs by the Yankees. And Ichiro was the catalyst, leading the league in batting average, stolen bases, and hits, cruising to both the Rookie of the Year and the MVP awards.
Nine years after becoming the first native Japanese player to play every day in the majors, Ichiro is still going strong, displaying a remarkable consistency. His 9 straight years with at least 200 hits is a major-league record, and since his debut he leads all major leaguers in runs, hits, and stolen bases, and trails Albert Pujols by one batting average point. And he is still followed by hoards of photographers everywhere he goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)