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 A date with destiny? Yanks knock off Tribe 9-5, head to 35th World Series
Posted: Wednesday October 14, 1998 09:33 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- If ever a team seemed destined for a World Series, it was this one. The 1998 New York Yankees aren't just a very good team, they are the winningest American League team ever, trying to justify their place as one of the best teams in baseball history. Cleveland found out just how good they are Tuesday night. New York took a quick six-run lead, nearly gave it back and then disposed of the Indians, winning 9-5 to take the AL championship series 4-2, a record 35th pennant that seemed inevitable as early as May. "We expected it," shortstop Derek Jeter said.
New York, which opens the World Series at home Saturday night against Atlanta or San Diego, won an AL title at Yankee Stadium for the first time since the Reggie Jackson-Thurman Munson-Ron Guidry team in 1978. "It was something we fought hard all year for," series MVP David Wells said. And the year was special practically from the start. On May 17, Wells pitched a perfect game against Minnesota. From June 28 to August 20 New York set a major league record by leading in 48 consecutive games. Also in August, the Yanks became the first team ever to clinch a playoff spot in that month. On September 4, the Yankees won their 100th game -- the earliest date ever -- and later broke the AL record for wins set by Cleveland in 1954.
No such magic for Indians, who beat the Yankees in the first round last year and came within two outs of winning its first World Series since 1948. On Tuesday night they failed to force a seventh game because they allowed five unearned runs. "Absolutely disappointed that we didn't go on," Indians manager Mike Hargrove said, "but we have to recognize the Yankees have a very good ballclub and they played better than we did." Scott Brosius seemed to finish Cleveland off with a three-run homer for a 6-0 lead in the third inning. But David Cone nearly gave it all back, allowing a grand slam to Jim Thome that pulled the Indians within a run. "I let them back in the game," Cone said. "But they picked me up and that's been our trademark all year."
Jeter then restored the safety margin with a two-run triple in the sixth, a drive to right that Manny Ramirez tried to snag with a leap at the top of the wall -- only the ball landed on a hop at his feet. By the eighth inning, fans were taunting the Indians with chants of "1948." Responding to a remark by Cleveland's David Justice that the only way Yankees fans could get tougher would be if they brought Uzis to the ballpark, one fan hung pictures of a machine gun from the upper deck for each strikeout by Cone, who fanned eight. "I try to get the guys fired up any way I can," Wells said. "Sometimes, it's not the right way." Forgotten with the win was Chuck Knoblauch's blunder in Game 2, which allowed Cleveland to blunt New York's momentum.
"What a great team we've got," Knoblauch said. "They gave me a lot of support when I was down. We don't have to worry about that now." After Thome's grand slam pulled Cleveland to 6-5, Ramiro Mendoza blanked Cleveland for three innings, allowing just one hit. Vizquel, who has won five straight Gold Gloves, opened the way to the three-run seventh by making a throwing error on Brosius' grounder. Only once during the regular season had the Indians allowed as many as five unearned runs. "I'll have the whole year to think about that error," Vizquel said. "I would have rather made 25 errors during the year and not made that one."
New York took a 2-0 lead in the first against Charles Nagy on Bernie Williams' RBI single and Chili Davis' sacrifice fly. An error by left fielder Brian Giles -- the first of three by the Indians -- allowed another run to score in the second following Knoblauch's double. Umpires again were in the center of controversy in the third. Ted Hendry, the second-base umpire, appeared to blow a call and ruled Williams safe on a force play. Two outs later, Brosius' homer made it 6-0. Cone took a shutout into the fifth. After a liner by Omar Vizquel struck Hendry in the rear end -- keeping Kenny Lofton on third base -- Cone forced in a run by walking Justice and gave up the grand slam to Thome, who pulled the Indians to 6-5 with his fourth homer, an ALCS record. After Mendoza, Mariano Rivera finished with a 1-2-3 ninth. Last year's loss was history. All that's left is a 24th World Series title. "Hopefully," Wells said, "we can wrap it up in four." Notes: The Yankees are 11-2 in series when they take a 3-2 lead into Game 6, losing only in the 1921 World Series (to the Giants) and in the 1926 World Series (to the Cardinals). ... Thome's homer was his 12th in the postseason, tying Yogi Berra for 12th on the career list. He tied Bob Robertson (1971), Lenny Dykstra (1993), Ken Griffey Jr. (1995) and Williams (1996) for the single-year record with six. ... After being forced to sit out Game 5 with a stiff back, Cleveland catcher Sandy Alomar was back in the starting lineup and went 0-for-3. ... The only time this year Cleveland allowed more unearned runs was April 22, a 14-7 loss to the Chicago White Sox in which they gave up eight unearned runs.
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