The 2001 World Series broke something in me, and I think it broke something in the game of baseball too -- in the best possible way, and then the worst possible way, within the span of about eleven days.
The New York Yankees came in as three-time defending champions chasing a four-peat that nobody in the sport had pulled off in nearly fifty years -- not since these same Yankees won four straight from 1949 to 1952. Arizona brought Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson -- two of the three best starting pitchers in baseball, on the same team, on normal rest, going multiple times each. It was a structural mismatch that should have ended things quickly. Nothing ended quickly.
Arizona Sends a Message, Loud and Clear
Schilling opened Game 1 and went seven innings in a 9-1 win, striking out eight. Johnson followed in Game 2 with a complete-game three-hit shutout -- 11 strikeouts, nothing for the Yanks. 4-0 final. The Bombers were staring at a 2-0 hole before the series got anywhere near New York, and the math looked grim: you don't come back from 0-2 against a rotation that good.
What the math didn't account for: this wasn't a normal World Series, and New York wasn't a normal city that October.
Forty-Nine Days After
Six weeks before Game 3, the World Trade Center towers had come down. Nearly 3,000 people were dead. The city had spent September in grief, in dust, in something that still didn't have a name yet. When the Yankees got to the World Series and the series came back to the Bronx, Games 3, 4, and 5 at Yankee Stadium weren't just baseball. They were a city's exhale.
Before Game 3, President Bush walked to the mound in an FDNY pullover and threw a strike. Derek Jeter had told him backstage to stand on the rubber rather than in front of it -- "otherwise they'll boo you," Jeter said -- and he fired it right down the middle. 55,820 people roared "U-S-A." Roger Clemens pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball, Scott Brosius drove home the go-ahead run in the sixth, and Mariano Rivera closed it out. Series 2-1. The city had a win.
(Bush later said it was the greatest adrenaline rush of his life. I believe him.)
Mr. November
Game 4. October 31, 2001. The Yankees trailed 3-1 heading to the bottom of the ninth, two outs, Arizona's closer Byung-Hyun Kim on the mound. Tino Martinez stepped in.
On the first pitch, Tino went deep. Two-run homer, right-center wall, tie game. First pitch. Two outs. Down by two. One swing. Pandemonium at the Stadium.
Then the game went to extras. Kim came back out for the 10th inning. Jeter worked the count full, fouling off pitches, refusing to give in. The clock ticked past midnight. It was November 1 -- Halloween was officially over. The Captain turned on a pitch and sent it to right field. Walk-off home run. Yankees 4, Diamondbacks 3. The scoreboard flashed "MR. NOVEMBER." That nickname never went away.
Lightning Hits Twice
One night later. Game 5. Arizona leading 2-0. Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Kim on the mound again. Brosius at the plate.
He crushed another two-run homer to tie it at 2-2. Two consecutive nights. Two outs. Two-run HR to tie. No one could remember anything like that happening back-to-back in a World Series. (Kim had the worst possible two nights of his professional career, through no real fault of his own -- he threw decent pitches both times and just got beat by guys who had no business doing what they did.)
Miguel Batista had started for Arizona and held the Yankees to nothing through 7 2/3 innings. Mike Mussina matched him with eight innings of two-run ball. The game went to the 12th. Alfonso Soriano came up with Chuck Knoblauch on second and lined a walk-off single to right. Yankees 3, Diamondbacks 2. Series 3-2 in favor of the Bombers. The most delirious three home games in the history of that ballpark.
Arizona Punches Back
Game 6 wasn't close. Johnson pitched seven innings and Arizona hammered Andy Pettitte and whoever followed him for 15 runs in a 15-2 blowout. Series tied 3-3. Game 7 in Phoenix. Schilling vs. Roger Clemens, who at 39 years old was making the oldest Game 7 start in World Series history and had gone 20-3 in the regular season -- first pitcher in MLB history to reach 20-1 during a season. (39 years old. Game 7. He'd have been the oldest man on most rosters just to show up.)
If you had to pick two guys for Game 7, those weren't bad options.
The Ninth Inning That Changed Everything
Clemens was brilliant. Six innings, one earned run, ten strikeouts. The Yanks built a 2-1 lead and carried it to the bottom of the ninth. Torre handed the ball to Rivera, who'd already blown through the Diamondbacks in the eighth. Rivera had saved 23 consecutive postseason opportunities going into that inning -- the most dominant stretch any closer had ever put together in October baseball.
What happened next was the most stunning sequence in modern World Series history.
Mark Grace hit a leadoff single. Rivera fielded Damian Miller's bunt attempt and threw to second -- but the ball sailed into center field. Rivera's first postseason error of his entire career. Runners on first and second, nobody out.
Jay Bell sacrificed. Rivera threw to third -- out. One out, runners on first and second.
Tony Womack -- a .266 hitter who had absolutely no business doing this -- doubled down the right-field line to tie it 2-2.
Craig Counsell got hit by a pitch. Bases loaded.
Luis Gonzalez at the plate. Rivera cut a fastball inside. Gonzalez's hands were quick enough to flip it over a drawn-in infield. It dropped into shallow left-center. Jay Bell jogged home. Arizona wins 3-2. Diamondbacks are champions.
Rivera had blown his first save in 23 postseason tries. The greatest closer in the history of the sport, beaten by a leadoff single, a wild throw on a bunt, a .266 hitter's double, and a bloop that barely cleared the infield dirt. Baseball can make you genuinely crazy.
Schilling and Johnson shared co-MVP honors -- the first shared World Series MVP since three Dodgers split the award in 1981. Johnson went 3-0 with a 1.04 ERA in 17 1/3 innings across two starts and a relief appearance. Schilling was 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings. The two best individual pitching performances in a single World Series, full stop -- and they came from the other dugout.
Jeter hit .148 (4-for-27) in the series. His worst World Series average across seven appearances. He hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball history and still batted .148.
Arizona had existed for four years.
The series ended November 4 -- the first Fall Classic ever to finish in November, a calendar quirk brought on by the week MLB lost to September 11. We lost. And somehow it still felt like something.
Arizona's First Game
The Diamondbacks play their first game as an expansion franchise, beginning the improbable four-year march to a World Series title.
Attacks Stop Baseball
Terrorist attacks in New York kill nearly 3,000 people. MLB suspends all games for a week. The sport -- and the country -- goes silent.
Baseball Resumes
MLB returns after a week off. The Yankees begin carrying a city's grief into the final weeks of the regular season.
Series Begins in Phoenix
The World Series opens at Bank One Ballpark -- the latest start in history at the time. Schilling goes 7 innings in a 9-1 Arizona win. Johnson adds a Game 2 CG shutout. Arizona leads 2-0.
Bush Throws the Pitch
Before Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, 49 days after 9/11, President Bush fires a strike from the rubber in an FDNY pullover. The crowd erupts. Clemens pitches 6 1/3 innings. Yankees win 2-1.
Tino and Mr. November
Martinez ties Game 4 with a first-pitch two-run HR off Kim in the 9th. Jeter wins it in the 10th -- just after midnight on November 1 -- with a walk-off homer. The scoreboard: "MR. NOVEMBER."
Brosius Repeats the Magic
Brosius hits another two-run HR off Kim in the 9th to tie Game 5 at 2-2 -- back-to-back nights, same situation, same result. Soriano wins it with a 12th-inning walk-off single. Yankees lead 3-2.
Gonzalez's Bloop Ends It
Arizona rallies in the 9th off Rivera -- Grace single, Rivera error, Womack RBI double, Counsell HBP -- and Gonzalez bloops a walk-off single to win it 3-2. Diamondbacks are champions. Rivera's 23-save streak is over.
| Series Result | Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Yankees 3 |
| Co-MVPs | Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson (first shared since 1981) |
| Johnson (series) | 3-0, 1.04 ERA in 17⅓ IP (2 starts + 1 relief) |
| Schilling (series) | 1-0, 1.69 ERA, 26 K in 21⅓ IP |
| Clemens (Game 7) | 6 IP, 1 ER, 10 K -- oldest Game 7 starter in WS history |
| Rivera (postseason save streak) | Ended at 23 consecutive saves |
| Jeter (series BA) | .148 (4-for-27) -- his lowest across 7 World Series |
| Extra-inning games | 2 (Game 4: 10 innings; Game 5: 12 innings) |
| Arizona years of existence | 4 -- fastest expansion franchise to win a World Series |
| Series end date | November 4, 2001 -- first Fall Classic ever to finish in November |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Derek Jeter called 'Mr. November'?
His walk-off home run in Game 4 came just after midnight on November 1 -- the clock had literally ticked from October 31 to November 1 while he was at bat. It was the first World Series home run ever hit in November. The Yankee Stadium scoreboard flashed "MR. NOVEMBER" in tribute, and the nickname stuck for good.
How did Arizona beat Mariano Rivera in Game 7?
Rivera came in with a 2-1 lead in the 9th and blew his first save in 23 postseason tries. Mark Grace singled. Rivera's throw on Damian Miller's bunt bounced into center field -- his first postseason error ever -- putting runners on first and second. After a bunt, Tony Womack doubled to tie it. Craig Counsell was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Luis Gonzalez blooped a single over a drawn-in infield to win it. The most stunning blown save in postseason history.
Why was the 2001 World Series played so late in the year?
The September 11 attacks forced MLB to suspend play for a week and push the schedule back. The series didn't start until October 27 -- the latest in history at that time -- and ended November 4, the first Fall Classic ever to finish in November.
What happened in Game 3 before the game started?
Before Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, just 49 days after 9/11, President Bush walked to the mound in an FDNY pullover and threw a strike from the rubber. Derek Jeter had told him backstage to stand on the rubber rather than in front of it, warning the fans would boo him otherwise. The crowd erupted in "U-S-A" chants. Bush called it the greatest adrenaline rush of his life.
How were the Diamondbacks able to win a World Series in just their fourth season?
Owner Jerry Colangelo bought veterans and stockpiled elite pitching. Johnson went 21-6 with 372 strikeouts in the regular season; Schilling went 22-6 with 293 Ks. Together in the World Series they went 4-0 with a combined 1.40 ERA -- Johnson winning all three of his appearances, Schilling winning once and starting twice more. That kind of pitching doesn't care how old your franchise is.