2000 World Series

Team (Wins) Manager Season New York Yankees (4) Joe Torre 87–74, .540, GA: 2½ New York Mets (1) Bobby Valentine 94–68, .580, GB: 1
Dates:	October 21–October 26
MVP:	Derek Jeter (New York Yankees)
Television:	Fox
TV announcers:	Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Bob Brenly
Radio:	ESPN
Radio announcers:	Jon Miller, Dave Campbell
Umpires:	Ed Montague, Jerry Crawford, Tim McClelland, Tim Welke, Charlie Reliford, Jeff Kellogg
ALCS:	New York Yankees over Seattle Mariners (4–2)
NLCS:	New York Mets over St. Louis Cardinals (4–1)
World Series Program
< 1999 World Series 2001 >

The 2000 World Series, the 96th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, featured a crosstown matchup between the two-time defending champion New York Yankees and the New York Mets, with the Yankees winning four games to one for their third straight championship and 26th overall. It marks, to date, the last World Series with a repeat champion. It was the first postseason Subway Series since 1956. For the Mets, it was their fourth World Series appearance—the most of any expansion franchise in the MLB and their first since their championship season of 1986.

Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the new World Umpires Association signed in 2000, the traditional National League and American League umpire was discontinued. All umpires reported to Major League Baseball, with an interim uniform. During the 2000 playoffs, the new umpire uniforms (black and cream shirts), with the Major League Baseball logo on the caps and shirts, were used for the first time.

The Yankees were the first team to three-peat as champions since the 1972–1974 Oakland Athletics (The Athletics defeated the Mets in 1973 to win the World Series) and the first franchise to appear in three straight World Series since the 1988–1990 Oakland Athletics.

[edit] Summary

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL New York Mets (1)

[edit] Matchups

[edit] Game 1

Saturday, October 21, 2000 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York

WP: Mike Stanton (1–0)  LP: Turk Wendell (0–1)  

The opener fell on two anniversaries. Twenty-five years prior, Boston Red Sox's catcher Carlton Fisk ended Game 6 of the 1975 World Series with his famous home run off the left field foul pole in Fenway Park in Boston to beat the Cincinnati Reds and force a Game 7. Twenty years prior the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series title, defeating the Kansas City Royals in six games.

Game 1 was a match-up between postseason veterans Al Leiter and Andy Pettitte. Both starters pitched scoreless until the sixth inning when David Justice's two-run double put the Yankees on top. In the top half of the seventh, Pettitte would quickly lose the lead on a barrage of hits, the last by Edgardo Alfonzo to put the Mets on top. However, the Yankees would rally to tie the game on Chuck Knoblauch's sacrifice fly against Mets closer Armando Benítez. Jose Vizcaino would drive in Tino Martinez in the twelfth inning with his fourth hit of the game to win it for the Yankees.

[edit] Game 2

Sunday, October 22, 2000 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York

WP: Roger Clemens (1–0)  LP: Mike Hampton (0–1)  
HRs:  NYM – Mike Piazza (1), Jay Payton (1)  NYY – Scott Brosius (1)

In Game 2 Roger Clemens started for the Yankees. Earlier in the year during regular season Interleague play, Clemens had hit Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball that resulted in Piazza getting a concussion and going on the disabled list. Game 2 still saw its share of controversy with Clemens and Piazza. Early in the game during Piazza's first at bat, Clemens pitch had shattered Piazza's bat. The ball went foul, but a sharp edge of the bat came towards Clemens. Clemens came off the mound and threw the bat towards the baseline, almost hitting the running Piazza. Piazza was perplexed and baffled by Clemens' actions and Mets supporters lambasted Clemens for his actions. Clemens, after the game, explained himself saying he did not see Piazza running and threw the bat because he was pumped up with nervous energy and initially charged the incoming broken bat, believing it to be the ball at first. Piazza did get some revenge by belting a home run off reliever Jeff Nelson later in the game, but in the end the Yankees came away with a 6–5 win.

The Yankees' Game 2 win tied the longest AL winning streak in the World Series at ten games (the AL had previously won ten straight from 1927–29 and again from 1937–40).

[edit] Game 3

Tuesday, October 24, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York

WP: John Franco (1–0)  LP: Orlando Hernández (0–1)  SV: Armando Benítez (1)  
HRs:  NYM – Robin Ventura (1)

The Mets broke open a 2–2 tie in the eighth inning to go ahead and eventually win the game. This ended the Yankees fourteen game winning streak in World Series play dating back to the 1996 World Series.

Yankee hurler Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez earned the loss, snapping his undefeated postseason record (6–0).

[edit] Game 4

Wednesday, October 25, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York

WP: Jeff Nelson (1–0)  LP: Bobby Jones (0–1)  SV: Mariano Rivera (1)  
HRs:  NYY – Derek Jeter (1)  NYM – Mike Piazza (2)

The Yankees scored first on a first pitch solo home run by Derek Jeter. It is the sixteenth lead off homer in World Series history, also marked the thirteen-game hitting streak in the World Series for Jeter.^[4] Footage of this home run currently serves as the background for the title screen of YES Network's "Yankeeography" series.

[edit] Game 5

Thursday, October 26, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York

WP: Mike Stanton (2–0)  LP: Al Leiter (0–1)  SV: Mariano Rivera (2)  
HRs:  NYY – Bernie Williams (1), Derek Jeter (2)

The Yankees scored first on a Bernie Williams solo home run in the second inning. However, the Mets responded with two unearned runs off Andy Pettitte in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the sixth, Derek Jeter homered to tie the game at 2–2. In the top of the ninth, Luis Sojo hit a two out single off Mets' starter Al Leiter, the throw from center field hit Jorge Posada as he was sliding into home plate and went into the Yankees dugout, allowing Scott Brosius to score and Luis Sojo to take third base, putting the Yankees on top 4–2. In the bottom of the ninth, Mike Piazza faced Mariano Rivera as the tying run with two outs. Piazza hit a deep fly ball, but it was caught in the deepest part of the ballpark by Bernie Williams to end the game and give the Yankees their third straight world title and fourth in five years.

Game 5 was the final World Series game at Shea Stadium (1969, 1973, 1986 and 2000).

[edit] Composite box

2000 World Series (4–1): New York Yankees (A.L.) over New York Mets (N.L.)

[edit] Series quotes

They'll be talkin' about this forty years from now, and we're here now.

—Yankees fan and New Yorker Spike Lee explaining the importance of the Series.

Vizcaino, left field base hit, Yankees win Game 1!!

—FOX Sports' Joe Buck calling Yankees' Jose Vizcaino game winning single in the bottom of the twelfth inning of Game 1.

Broken bat, foul ball off to the right side. And the barrel of the bat, came out to Clemens and he picked it up and threw it back at Piazza! I don't know what Clemens had in mind!!

—Gary Cohen (WFAN) describes the incident in Game 2.

And he goes after the first pitch, way back! Derek Jeter! He's lined it out! Goodbye, home run! First pitch homer for Derek Jeter!

—Gary Thorne calls Derek Jeter's leadoff Game 4 home run.

... because when they are winning the dogs come out ... woof!

—Tim McCarver in the eighth inning of Game 5 talking about the Mets slogan "Who Let The Dogs Out?"

Up the middle, base hit! Here comes Posada. Throw to the plate, hits the runner, into the dugout. Brosius will score and the Yankees lead 4–2!

—FOX Sports' Joe Buck on Luis Sojo's go-ahead single in Game 5

Piazza gets into one to center, back is Bernie Williams. A threepeat! For the third time in a row, fourth time in five years and 26th time in franchise history, they are the world champions.

—Joe Buck on the last out.

Now Rivera is set, and the 0–1. Swung on and hit in the air to deep center. Bernie back, way back! He's there! He makes the catch! Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! The Yankees win! The New York Yankees have once again reached the summit of the sports world! They've won their third straight championship, fourth in the last five years, and 26th all time. The most successful franchise in all of sports! Starting the new millennium, the New York Yankees are once again World Champions!

—John Sterling calling the same moment as Buck above.

[edit] Records

• The 1998–2000 New York Yankees establish a record of ten consecutive games won in consecutive World Series. The previous record was nine by the 1937–1939 Yankees. Overall, the Yankees had won fourteen straight World Series games (starting with Game 3 of the 1996 World Series) breaking the mark of twelve straight by the 1927, 1928 and 1932 Yankees.

[edit] Radio and Television

• Rick Sutcliffe once again joined Jon Miller on ESPN Radio, because Joe Morgan had called the ALCS for NBC Sports.
• First of, to date, 10 consecutive World Series telecast on Fox. After this World Series, Bob Brenly would be named manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, leaving Tim McCarver as Joe Buck's sole color commentator for Fox's World Series coverage.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• 2000 World Series History at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
• 2000 World Series at Baseball Almanac
• 2000 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
• The 2000 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) at Retrosheet
• History of the World Series - 2000 at The SportingNews
• World Series > Subway Series