Grand Slam
WORLD SERIES 2000
Compiled and Copyright © 1997-2000 by Marco Stoovelaar

Recaps USA Major League World Series
On this page Grand Slam - Stats & News covers the Major League Play-Offs and World Series 2000.

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USA MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2000
Recaps World Series
YANKEES WIN WORLD SERIES!
NEW YORK (USA) - The New York Yankees are champion. Again. On Thursday, the Yanks won Game Five, 4-2, defeating New York Mets 4-1 in the World Series. The Yanks scored twice in the ninth, after Derek Jeter had homered in the sixth, tying the game. Jeter was voted the Series Most Valuable Player.
First, Bernie Williams ended an 0-for-15 batting slump by hitting a homerun in the second inning, giving the Yanks the lead. But in the home second, the Mets responded immediately. With one out, Bubba Trammell walked and Jay Payton singled. Kurt Abbott then grounded out, advancing the runners. Pitcher Al Leiter, the next batter, then bunted the ball towards first base, where Tino Martinez picked up the ball and threw it to covering pitcher Andy Pettitte, who dropped the ball. Trammell scored and it was ruled an error on Pettitte. Next, Benny Agbayani grounded to third, where Scott Brosius missed the ball. Agbayani got an infield-single and Payton scored the second run for the Mets, giving them a 2-1 lead. In the fifth, both the Yankees and the Mets left a runner on second base. But in the sixth, it was Derek Jeter again who took care of things. He hit a one-out homerun, tying the game. The Mets again responded quickly, but left runners on second and third in their sixth at bat. Mets-starter Al Leiter continued to pitch a great game and struckout the first two batters in the ninth, before getting into trouble. Then, Jorge Posada walked and Scott Brosius singled. Luis Sojo, who had entered the game as second baseman the inning before, then also singled to center, scoring Posada and advancing Brosius to third. Centerfielder Jay Payton threw to catcher Mike Piazza, trying to throw out Posada, but the ball hit the sliding Posada on the back. As a result, Brosius also was able to score an extra run, making it 4-2 for the Yankees. And that lead was enough for closer Mariano Rivera, who only walked Benny Agbayani in the ninth and faced Mike Piazza with two outs. Piazza hit the ball to deep centerfield, where Bernie Williams caught the ball, ending the game, ending the World Series. The Yankees won their 26th title, their third in a row, their fourth in the last five years, all under manager Joe Torre.
(October 26)
Line Score
Final Standings

Jeter leads Yanks to victory
NEW YORK (USA) - It was another close game, but the New York Yankees might have taken a decisive lead, winning Game Three vs. New York Mets, 3-2 and now leading the World Series, 3-1.
Derek Jeter had an important part in the third Yankee-victory. Jeter, who was moved into the lead-off spot for the fourth game went 2-for-5, but scored twice. On the very first pitch of the game by pitcher Bobby J. Jones, Jeter drove the ball to left field for a lead-off homerun, giving the Yankees a quick lead. In the second, Paul O'Neill tripled to right field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Scott Brosius to make it 2-0. Then, in the third it was Derek Jeter again. This time, he hit a lead-off triple to deep right field and scored on a grounder by Luis Sojo, who returned as the starting Yankee-second baseman in this game. Trailing 3-0, the Mets came back to 3-2 in the home third. Timo Perez hit a lead-off single and, with one out, Mike Piazza then hit his second homerun of the Series.
The Yankees threatened again to score in the fourth and fifth inning, but pitcher Bobby J. Jones got fine defensive assistance. In the home fifth, Yankee-starter Denny Neagle got the first two batters to fly out and then manager Joe Torre decided to bring in David Cone to pitch to Mike Piazza, who popped to second. But in the sixth, Torre was forced to make another decision. With runners on first and second and two outs it was Cone's turn at bat. José Canseco came in as pinch-hitter, but struckout looking ending the inning, but this offensive change also led to a new pitching change for the Yankees. In the sixth, Jeff Nelson relieved Cone, and despite giving up a lead-off single to Todd Zeile, the Yankees came out of the inning unharmed, as Nelson himself turned an inning-ending double play. In the seventh, Mike Stanton relieved Nelson and struckout two batters, before closer Mariano Rivera came on in the eighth to save the game again with superb pitching. Yankee-centerfielder Bernie Williams remained hitless in the Series, as he went 0-for-4 in the game and is now 0-for-15 after four games.
(October 25)
Line Score
Final Standings

Mets win to end Yanks winning streak
NEW YORK (USA) - The New York Mets scored twice in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie and went on to defeat the New York Yankees, 4-2 in Game Three, stopping the Yankees' record World Series fourteen-game winning streak and also handing pitcher Orlando Hernandez his first postseason-loss ever after eight victories. But there was more, as the seven pitchers in the game combined on a record-tying 25 strikeouts. At first, the game was a pitching duel between Orlando Hernandez (Yankees) and Rick Reed (Mets), who both gave up six hits and two runs. Hernandez struckout twelve, Reed eight.
It was Robin Ventura who gave the Mets their first lead when he homered in the second, but the Yankees tied and then took over the lead in the next two innings. In the third, Derek Jeter singled with one out to keep his hitting streak alive and then David Justice doubled to score Jeter and tie the score. In the fourth, the Yankees took the lead when Paul O'Neill hit a one-out triple to score Tino Martinez. The score was tied again in the sixth, when Mike Piazza hit a lead-off double and scored on a double by Todd Zeile. The Mets left three runners when the inning ended. The Mets finally came through with their hitting at the right moment in the home eighth. With one out Todd Zeile singled and scored all the way from first base on a double to deep left-center field by Benny Agbayani, who was then replace by pinch-runner Joe McEwing, who advanced to third on an infield-single by Jay Payton. That was the moment that Yankee-manager Joe Torre decided to bring in a reliever for starter Orlando Hernandez, who had struckout twelve batters. New pitcher Mike Stanton faced pinch-hitter Bubba Trammell, who hit a sacrifice fly to score Joe McEwing with an insurance run. In the top ninth, Armando Benitez took the mound for the Mets. Pinch-hitter Chuck Knoblauck singled, but then Benitez got pinch-hitter Luis Polonia to fly to center and struckout Derek Jeter, which was the 25th and record-tying strikeout by both teams in the game. Next, David Justice popped to second for the last out, ending the fourteen game winning streak in the World Series of the New York Yankees.
(October 24)
Line Score
Final Standings

Yankees take 2-0 lead
NEW YORK (USA) - The New York Yankees also won Game Two, winning 6-5 vs. New York Mets. After Roger Clemens dominated for eight innings and gave up only two hits, the Mets rallied suddenly for five runs in the ninth. With their fourteenth consecutive World Series-victory, the Yankees extended their record.
In the first inning the much anticipated confrontation between Yankee-pitcher Roger Clemens and Mets-catcher Mike Piazza took place. Earlier in the season, Clemens hit Piazza hard on the helmet on an inside pitch during an Interleague game, resulting in some saying the pitch was on purpose. Now, in their first confrontation since that, Piazza broke his bat on an inside pitch, with the upper end flying to Clemens, who then threw the piece in the running path of Piazza, who slowly jogged towards first base, resulting in the benches being emptied by the players and some pushing down the first base foul line. After everyone calmed down, Clemens continued his strong pitching, giving only two singles to Todd Zeile in the second and seventh inning. Zeile also was the only Mets-player to reach second base in the seventh inning. The two-hitter by Clemens was saved in the sixth inning by an outstanding catch by left fielder David Justice, who caught a fly ball hit by Mike Piazza.
The Yankees didn't wait long to score this time. In the first, the Yanks rallied for two runs with two outs, to take an early lead. After David Justice and Bernie Williams walked, Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada connected for RBI-singles. In the second, the Yankees added a run, when Scott Brosius hit a lead-off homerun. In the fifth the Yankees scored another run and again with two outs. Tino Martinez then doubled and after Jorge Posada was walked intentionally, Martinez scored on a single by Paul O'Neill. The Yankees continued their scoring in the home seventh. Jorge Posada singled and Paul O'Neill doubled, forcing a Mets pitching change. New pitcher, Rick White then gave up a sacrifice fly to Scott Brosius, scoring Posada and resulting in a 5-0 Yankee-lead. The Yankee-scoring wasn't over yet, as another run was produced in the eighth. Derek Jeter doubled and, after another pitching change, scored on a single by Tino Martinez. In the top of the ninth, Clemens was relieved by Jeff Nelson and then the Mets showed they could hit and run also. Edgardo Alfonzo hit a lead-off single and Mike Piazza followed with a two-run homerun off the foul pole in left field. After Robin Ventura also singled, Nelson was quickly relieved by closer Mariano Rivera. He got Todd Zeile to fly to deep left field, where Clay Bellinger caught the ball in front of the wall. But Benny Agbayani then singled and after a passed ball, the Mets got runners on second and third. Lenny Harris followed with a comebacker to Rivera, resulting in Ventura being thrown out at home plate. But rookie Jay Payton then hit a three-run homerun to make it 6-5. Rivera then struckout Kurt Abbott to end the game.
(October 22)
Line Score
Final Standings

Yankees win Subway marathon-opener
NEW YORK (USA) - It took a record four hours and 51 minutes and twelve innings, but defending champion New York Yankees won the opening game of this years World Series, defeating New York Mets, 4-3. The winning hit came after one o'clock AM, as José Vizcaino hit hit fourth single of the game in the twelfth, scoring Tino Martinez.
For five innings starting pitchers Andy Pettitte (Yankees) and Al Leiter kept each other and the opposing teams in balance. After being retired consecutively, the Mets got their lead-off batter on the base in thye next five innings, but moved the runner to a next base only once. The Yankees got runners on first and third in the second inning, but didn't got an opportunity in the next three innings. The real action started in the sixth inning. With two outs and Timo Perez at first, Todd Zeile drove the ball to deep left field, but the ball came back from the top of the wall to remain playable. As both Perez and Zeile were thinking homerun, Perez reduced his running speed rounding second base, but then improved it again, when it was clear the ball was in play. As a result, Perez was thrown out at the plate, when left fielder David Justice threw the ball to short stop Derek Jeter, who relayed it to catcher Jorge Posada. Then, in the home sixth, the Yankees responded to the apparent homerun. Jorge Vizcaino hit a lead-off single, but was forced out at second on a try for a sacrifice bunt by Chuck Knoblauch and then Derek Jeter walked. Next batter, David Justice drove the ball to deep left-center field for a two-run double. But what the Yankees, the Mets could do also. In the seventh, Benny Agbayani singled with one out, then Jay Payton singled and Todd Pratt walked. With the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Bubba Trammell then hit a two-run single, tying the score. After Timo Perez grounded out, the runners moved, and Jeff Nelson was brought in as reliever. He gave up an infield-single to Edgardo Alfonzo, scoring Pratt from third and making it 3-2 for the Mets. Next batter Mike Piazza then flied out to center to end the inning. The Yankees' answer came in the home ninth. With the bases loaded and one out, Chuck Knoblauch hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Paul O'Neill with the tying run and forcing extra innings. The Yankees threatened to score the winning in the tenth, when they got the bases loaded with only one out, but then Paul O'Neill grounded into a double play. In the home eleventh, José Vizcaino singled with one out and moved to third base when Derek Jeter walked, but the fourth ball was also a wild pitch, enabling Jeter to advance to second. But this time, pinch-hitter Glenallen Hill flied out after a pitching change. Finally, when the game had entered the next day and arrived in the home twelfth, Tino Martinez singled with one out and moved to third on a double by Jorge Posada. After Paul O'Neill was walked intentionally, José Vizcaino hit his fourth single of the game to short left field, scoring Tino Martinez with the winning run.
(October 21-22)
Line Score
Final Standings

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Last Update: October 27, 2000
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