Nobody was supposed to take Mariano Rivera deep in October. Not in 1997. Not ever. Mo had just finished his first year as closer with 43 saves and a 2.09 ERA, and the defending World Series champions were one win away from the ALCS. The Yankees led the ALDS 2-1 heading into Game 4 at Jacobs Field. Sandy Alomar Jr. had other plans.
The Setup
The 1997 Yankees weren't supposed to be in trouble. They'd won Game 1 at the Stadium on a ridiculous comeback -- Tim Raines, Jeter, and O'Neill going back-to-back-to-back in the fifth inning to erase a 6-1 deficit, winning 8-6. Cleveland took Game 2, 7-5, but the Yankees responded with a dominant 6-1 win in Game 3. Up 2-1 in the series, on the road, with Rivera available to close. The math was simple. Win one more.
The Indians had won just 86 games in the regular season. The Yankees had won 96. Cleveland was supposed to be a speed bump on the way back to the ALCS. Game 4 was supposed to be a formality.
It wasn't.
Alomar's Blast
Sandy Alomar Jr. came to the plate against Rivera with the game tight -- and connected on a home run that tied it. Just like that. One of the rarest sights in '90s baseball: somebody turning on Mo in a high-leverage October spot and sending it over the fence.
Here's the thing about Alomar's homer that made it sting even more -- the guy had already owned Jacobs Field that summer. He'd been named All-Star Game MVP at that same ballpark in July, hitting a go-ahead two-run homer. Jacobs Field was his stage in 1997, and he kept performing on it when the stakes got higher.
Rivera in '97 wasn't the cutter-throwing machine he'd become by '98 and '99, but he was already the most dominant reliever in the American League. The idea that a catcher -- a good one, not a power guy -- could take him deep in the ALDS felt genuinely shocking. Mo would go on to become the greatest postseason closer in baseball history with a career 0.70 playoff ERA. But on October 5, 1997, Sandy Alomar Jr. didn't care about the resume.
The Ninth-Inning Mess
The homer was bad enough. What happened next was worse.
With the score tied in the ninth, Omar Vizquel hit a line drive off reliever Ramiro Mendoza. The ball ricocheted off Mendoza's glove and skipped into left field, scoring Marquis Grissom with the go-ahead run. Was it a hit? An error? The deflection left genuine ambiguity -- Mendoza got his glove on it but couldn't hold it. One of those plays that lives in the gray zone between "too hard to handle" and "you gotta make that play."
Indians 3, Yankees 2. Series tied 2-2.
The defending champions, who'd been sitting pretty at 2-1 with Mo warmed up and the ALCS in sight, suddenly faced a win-or-go-home Game 5 on the road. The entire momentum of the series flipped on two plays -- Alomar's blast and Vizquel's deflection.
Game 5 and the Aftermath
There's no sugarcoating Game 5. Jaret Wright, a 21-year-old kid who had no business being the hero of a playoff series, outdueled Pettitte for the second time in the ALDS. Cleveland won 4-3. Season over. No repeat. The defending champs flew home in October instead of playing for a pennant.
The loss cut deep. Rivera's Game 4 failure became one of the very few postseason blemishes on an otherwise untouchable October career. (He finished his playoff life with 42 saves and that freakin' 0.70 ERA -- one bad game against Cleveland didn't define him, but it sure stung at the time.)
The organizational response tells you everything. That offseason, the Yankees traded Kenny Rogers for Scott Brosius, picked up David Wells, and came back in '98 with a fury that produced 114 regular-season wins and a World Series sweep. Players have said it for years: the Cleveland series was the fuel.
Alomar's homer didn't just end a game. It ended a season, lit a fire, and helped build a dynasty. Funny how that works.
| Game 4 Final | Cleveland 3, New York 2 |
| Key Play | Sandy Alomar Jr. HR off Rivera (game-tying) |
| Winning Play | Vizquel line drive deflects off Mendoza, scores Grissom (9th) |
| Series After Game 4 | Tied 2-2 |
| Game 5 Result | Cleveland 4, New York 3 (Wright over Pettitte) |
| Rivera's 1997 Postseason | Blown save in Game 4 -- one of his rarest October failures |
ALDS Game 1: The Comeback
Raines, Jeter, and O'Neill hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the fifth to erase a 6-1 deficit. Yankees win 8-6 at Yankee Stadium.
ALDS Game 2: Cleveland Evens It
Indians win 7-5 at Yankee Stadium, tying the series at one game apiece.
ALDS Game 3: Yankees Take the Lead
Yankees cruise 6-1 at Jacobs Field, grabbing a 2-1 series lead. One win from the ALCS.
ALDS Game 4: Alomar Stuns Rivera
Alomar's homer ties the game. Vizquel's deflection off Mendoza scores the go-ahead run in the ninth. Cleveland wins 3-2, forcing a decisive Game 5.
ALDS Game 5: Season Over
Jaret Wright outduels Pettitte for the second time. Cleveland wins 4-3 and eliminates the defending champions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who hit the home run off Mariano Rivera in the 1997 ALDS?
Sandy Alomar Jr. hit a game-tying home run off Rivera in Game 4 of the 1997 ALDS at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. The Indians went on to win 3-2 and eventually took the series in five games, eliminating the defending World Series champion Yankees.
What was the Omar Vizquel deflection play in the 1997 ALDS?
In the ninth inning of Game 4, Omar Vizquel hit a line drive that deflected off reliever Ramiro Mendoza's glove and into left field, scoring Marquis Grissom with the go-ahead run. The play gave Cleveland a 3-2 win and tied the series at 2-2.
Did the Yankees lose the 1997 ALDS after leading 2-1?
Yes. The Yankees held a 2-1 series lead over the Cleveland Indians before dropping Games 4 and 5 at Jacobs Field. Sandy Alomar Jr.'s homer off Rivera in Game 4 and Jaret Wright's Game 5 victory over Andy Pettitte ended the defending champions' season.