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Been there ... Yankees used to gritty playoff performances by now
Updated: Sunday October 22, 2000 4:02 AM
By John Donovan, CNNSI.com NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees have been through enough Octobers, been in enough high-pressure, closely fought games, that another nail-biter in the World Series isn't going to get them rapturous. A little happy, yeah. Overall pleased? OK. But surprised, or wild, or uncontainable? No. As a famous New Yorker once said ... ummmn, no way. "We've got a big heart," said starter Andy Pettitte, who didn't figure in the final decision a shade under five hours after his first pitch. "Our guys just continued to battle. We had to battle every game this year. So this was just great." The Yankees plowed through the longest game in World Series history by clawing out a run against the New York Mets in the bottom of the ninth then holding the Mets until Jose Vizcaino's single won it in the bottom of the 12th, 4-3. They got out of a number of jams, including second and third with one out in the top of the ninth, and made a couple huge plays, including throwing out Timo Perez at home in the sixth inning.
None of it was new for the Yankees. This was a team that won the American League East, but went into the playoffs with the worst record of any of the eight teams. This was a team that lost the last seven games of the regular season, faced an elimination game in Oakland against the A's in the first round of the playoffs and has been written off by some as old and past its prime. To that, the Yankees say nothing. Except, of course, that they are now up 1-0 in the World Series. Again. "It hasn't been an easy year for us," said pitcher Mike Stanton, who notched the win in Game 1 with two scoreless innings of relief. "This game was kind of like the year. It was a battle for us, but we came out on top." The experience factor for the Yankees, who have won 13 straight World Series games, has been huge. They didn't crack when, after going up 2-0 in the sixth, the Mets answered with three runs in the seventh. They stayed cool, relied on their veteran relievers and didn't press by trying to win the game with one swing. "Just base hits and walks," said first baseman Tino Martinez. "A hit here and a hit there. That's what we were trying to do." That's all they needed. They tied the score in the bottom of the ninth with a walk, two singles (one of them a bloop single) and a sacrifice fly. They won it in the 12th with a single, a well-placed double and intentional walk and a huge two-out hit from Vizcaino. That set off a fairly good-sized on-field celebration. But by the time they had slid back into the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees were back to normal. "It's incredible what we're doing," Pettitte said. "Incredible what we're doing in the World Series." But not so incredible that the Yankees are busy celebrating. They know better. They've been here before.
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