2001 World Series

2001 World Series

Team (Wins) Manager Season Arizona Diamondbacks (4) Bob Brenly 92–70, .568, GA: 2 New York Yankees (3) Joe Torre 95–65, .594, GA: 13½
Dates:	October 27–November 4
MVP:	Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling (Arizona)
Television:	Fox
TV announcers:	Joe Buck and Tim McCarver
Radio:	ESPN
Radio announcers:	Jon Miller and Joe Morgan
Umpires:	Steve Rippley, Dana DeMuth, Dale Scott, Mark Hirschbeck, Jim Joyce, Ed Rapuano
ALCS:	New York Yankees over Seattle Mariners (4–1)
NLCS:	Arizona Diamondbacks over Atlanta Braves (4–1)
World Series Program
< 2000 World Series 2002 >

The 2001 World Series, the 97th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, took place between the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League and the New York Yankees of the American League. The Diamondbacks won the best-of-seven series four games to three. The series went down as one of the most memorable in baseball history, featuring two extra-inning games and three late-inning comebacks. It ended on a Game 7 walk-off hit in the form of a bases loaded bloop single off the bat of Luis Gonzalez. This was the third World Series to end in this way after 1997 and 1991.

This was the first World Series ever played in the state of Arizona. With the All-Star Game format change in 2003, the World Series would not open in the city of the National League champion again until 2010. This was the last World Series not to feature a wild card team until 2008.

With the win by the Diamondbacks, they became the first World Series champion from a Far West state other than California.

Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were the co-MVPs of the 2001 World Series, combining for a 4–0 record and a 1.40 ERA and striking out 45 Yankees in 39 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Background

The Arizona Diamondbacks reached the Series in just their fourth season of existence, breaking a record previously held by the Florida Marlins, and took on the three-time defending champion New York Yankees, who had won the World Series in four of the last five years and tried to become the first team to win four straight titles since the Yankees' five consecutive titles from 1949 to 1953. Additionally, the Series would take place in New York City only seven weeks after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, representing a remarkable boost in morale for the fatigued city. Arizona captured the Series, four games to three, thereby dethroning the defending World Champions and earning their first title.

Arizona won the first two games at home handily, but New York won the next three in close contests at Yankee Stadium, including two dramatic ninth-inning comebacks against Arizona closer Byung-Hyun Kim. Arizona won the sixth game behind Randy Johnson, who then came in to pitch in relief of Curt Schilling in Game 7. The Diamondbacks won the game 3–2, with Jay Bell scoring the winning run on a bloop single by Luis Gonzalez, in the bottom of the ninth inning off the Yankees' ace closer, Mariano Rivera. Johnson, credited with the Game 7 win, became the first pitcher to win three games in the same World Series since Detroit Tigers' Mickey Lolich in 1968.

The home team won every game in the Series. This had only happened twice before, in 1987 and 1991; in both cases, the Minnesota Twins won the Series. This Series was the subject of an HBO documentary Nine Innings from Ground Zero in 2004.

Though the series went to the maximum seven games, the Diamondbacks outscored the Yankees 37–14 as a result of large margins of victory achieved by Arizona in Bank One Ballpark relative to the one run margins at Yankee Stadium. Arizona held powerhouse New York to an .183 batting average, the lowest in a seven-game Series. The previous record was .185 by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1985 World Series when they lost to the Kansas City Royals.

September 11 and the month of November

Due to the postponement of MLB games as a result of the September 11 attacks, the World Series began Saturday, October 27, 2001, the latest start date ever for a World Series until the 2009 World Series, which started on October 28. The last three games were the first major-league games (other than exhibitions) played in the month of November. This was just the fourth time that no World Series champion was decided within the traditional month of October. The previous three occurrences were in 1904 (no series), 1918 (series held in September due to World War I), and 1994 (no series due to work stoppage).

Summary

NL Arizona Diamondbacks (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (3)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 27	New York Yankees – 1, Arizona Diamondbacks – 9	Bank One Ballpark	2:44	49,646[1]
2	October 28	New York Yankees – 0, Arizona Diamondbacks – 4	Bank One Ballpark	2:35	49,646[2]
3	October 30	Arizona Diamondbacks – 1, New York Yankees – 2	Yankee Stadium (I)	3:26	55,820[3]
4	October 31	Arizona Diamondbacks – 3, New York Yankees – 4 (10 innings)	Yankee Stadium (I)	3:31	55,863[4]
5	November 1	Arizona Diamondbacks – 2, New York Yankees – 3 (12 innings)	Yankee Stadium (I)	4:15	56,018[5]
6	November 3	New York Yankees – 2, Arizona Diamondbacks – 15	Bank One Ballpark	3:33	49,707[6]
7	November 4	New York Yankees – 2, Arizona Diamondbacks – 3	Bank One Ballpark	3:20	49,589[7]

Matchups

Game 1

Saturday, October 27, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	2
Arizona	1	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	X	9	10	0
WP: Curt Schilling (1–0)   LP: Mike Mussina (0–1) Home runs: NYY: None ARI: Craig Counsell (1), Luis Gonzalez (1)

Arizona showed no fear and chased Yankees starter Mike Mussina after just three innings. The Yankees gave up five unearned runs and the Diamondbacks rode Curt Schilling's seven strong innings to a 9–1 rout. Craig Counsell homered off Mussina in the first and Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the third and scored twice. Although the Yankees scored one run on one hit in the first, they were only able to get two more hits after that and held hitless after the fourth inning.

Game 2

Sunday, October 28, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Arizona	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	X	4	5	0
WP: Randy Johnson (1–0)   LP: Andy Pettitte (0–1) Home runs: NYY: None ARI: Matt Williams (1)

Arizona continued to take control of the Series behind the arm of Randy Johnson. The Big Unit pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only four baserunners and three hits while striking out eleven Yankees. Matt Williams hit a three-run homer in the seventh off Yankee starter Andy Pettitte as Arizona won 4–0 and took a commanding two games to none lead as the Series headed to New York City.

Game 3

Donning an FDNY fleece, with a bulletproof vest underneath, President Bush tosses out the ceremonial first pitch.

Tuesday, October 30, 2001 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	3
New York	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	X	2	7	1
WP: Roger Clemens (1–0)   LP: Brian Anderson (0–1)   Sv: Mariano Rivera (1) Home runs: ARI: None NYY: Jorge Posada (1)

The game was opened in New York by President George W. Bush, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, a strike to Yankees backup catcher Todd Greene. Bush became the first sitting President to throw out a World Series first pitch since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. He also threw it from the mound where the pitcher would stand (unlike most ceremonial first pitches which are from in front of the mound) and threw it for a strike. Chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A" rang throughout Yankee Stadium. Yankees starter Roger Clemens allowed only three hits and struck out nine in seven innings of work. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera pitched two innings for the save. Scott Brosius broke a sixth inning tie with an RBI single to left.

Game 4

Wednesday, October 31, 2001 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Arizona	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	3	6	0
New York	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	4	7	0
WP: Mariano Rivera (1–0)   LP: Byung-Hyun Kim (0–1) Home runs: ARI: Mark Grace (1) NYY: Shane Spencer (1), Tino Martinez (1), Derek Jeter (1)

Arizona manager Bob Brenly took a gamble and started Curt Schilling on three days' rest. It worked as Schilling pitched seven strong innings, allowing just one run, Shane Spencer's solo homer in the third, and three hits. Yankees' Orlando Hernandez pitched 6 ¹⁄₃ solid innings, but gave up a game-tying home run to Mark Grace in the fourth. The Diamondbacks took a 3–1 lead in the top of the eighth on an Erubiel Durazo double and a fielder's choice, which prompted Brenly to bring in closer Byung-Hyun Kim for a two inning save. Kim, at 22, became the first Korean-born player to play in the World Series. Kim struck out the side in the eighth, but the Yankees began their comeback in the ninth. First, Jeter tried bunting, but was out by one step. Then Paul O'Neill lined an opposite-field single in front of left fielder Luis Gonzalez. After Bernie Williams struck out, Tino Martinez hit a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw from Kim over the right-center field wall, tying the game 3–3. Brenly stuck with his closer as the game headed into extra innings. When the scoreboard clock in Yankee Stadium passed midnight, World Series play in November began, with the message on the scoreboard "Welcome to November Baseball". Derek Jeter hit an opposite field walk-off home run on a 3–2 pitch count from Kim. This walk-off home run gave the Yankees a 4–3 victory and tied the Series at two, making Jeter the first player to hit a November home run and earning him the tongue-in-cheek nickname of "Mr. November".

Game 5

Thursday, November 1, 2001 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
Arizona	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	3	9	1
WP: Sterling Hitchcock (1–0)   LP: Albie Lopez (0–1) Home runs: ARI: Steve Finley (1), Rod Barajas (1) NYY: Scott Brosius (1)

For Game 5, Brenly started Miguel Batista, who pitched a strong 7 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings. Mussina bounced back from his poor Game 1 start, but allowed solo home runs to Steve Finley and Rod Barajas in the fifth. With the Diamondbacks leading 2–0 in the ninth, Brenly again went to his closer, and for the second night in a row Byung-Hyun Kim failed to hold the lead. Jorge Posada doubled to open the inning, but Kim retired the next two batters. Then, with two outs in the ninth Scott Brosius hit a 1–0 pitch over the left field wall to tie the game at two. Yankee Stadium erupted after the Brosius home run. For the second straight night, the game went into extra innings following a ninth inning home run and the Yankees won it in the twelfth when Alfonso Soriano knocked in Chuck Knoblauch with a base hit off Albie Lopez. New York went ahead three games to two in the series as the teams headed back to Arizona. In the top of the ninth inning, with the Yankees down 2–0, Paul O'Neill (retiring after the series) was serenaded by Yankees fans chanting his name in unison.

Game 6

Saturday, November 3, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	7	1
Arizona	1	3	8	3	0	0	0	0	X	15	22	0
WP: Randy Johnson (2–0)   LP: Andy Pettitte (0–2)

With Arizona in a must-win situation, the Diamondbacks provided Randy Johnson all the offense he would ever need. Johnson struck out seven in seven innings of work, giving up just two runs. The Diamondbacks rocked Yankees starter Andy Pettitte for six runs after two innings and nine more runs against reliever Jay Witasick in one and a third innings before Randy Choate and Mike Stanton kept them scoreless for the rest of the game. They hit six doubles and Danny Bautista went 3-for-4 with five RBIs. They set a World Series record with 22 hits and handed New York its most lopsided loss in 293 postseason games. The 15–2 win evened the series at three games apiece and set up a Game 7 for the ages between Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, again pitching on three days' rest.

Game 7

See footnote^[8]

Sunday, November 4, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	6	3
Arizona	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	3	11	0
WP: Randy Johnson (3–0)   LP: Mariano Rivera (1–1) Home runs: NYY: Alfonso Soriano (1) ARI: None

It was a matchup of two twenty-game winners in the Series finale that would crown a new champion. Clemens at 39 years old became the oldest Game 7 starter ever. Schilling had already started two games of the Series and pitched his 300th inning of the season on just three days' rest. The two aces matched each other inning by inning and after seven full, the game was tied at 1–1. The Diamondbacks scored first in the sixth inning with a Steve Finley single and a Danny Bautista double (Bautista would be called out at third base). The Yankees responded with an RBI single from Tino Martinez, which drove in Derek Jeter. Brenly stayed with Schilling into the eighth, and the move backfired as Alfonso Soriano hit a solo home run on an 0–2 pitch. After Schilling got one out, he gave up a single to David Justice, and he left the game trailing 2–1. Brenly brought in Miguel Batista to get out Derek Jeter and then in an unconventional move, brought in the previous night's starter Randy Johnson, who had thrown 104 pitches, in relief to keep it a one-run game. It proved to be a smart move, as Johnson retired all four Yankees he faced.

With the Yankees ahead 2–1 in the bottom of the eighth, manager Joe Torre turned the game over to his ace closer Mariano Rivera for a two-inning save. Rivera was one of the strongest closers in the game, and had pitched brilliantly throughout the postseason up to that point. Rivera struck out the side in the eighth, including Arizona's sluggers Luis Gonzalez, Matt Williams, and Danny Bautista, which lowered his ERA in the postseason to a major league-best of 0.70. Although he was sharp in the eighth, this game would end in the third ninth-inning comeback of the Series.

Mark Grace led off the inning with a single to center on a 1–0 pitch. The real turning point was Rivera's errant throw to second base on a bunt attempt by Damian Miller on an 0–1 pitch, putting runners on first and second. Derek Jeter tried to reach for the ball, but got tangled in the legs of pinch-runner David Dellucci, who was sliding in an attempt to break up the double play. Rivera appeared to regain control when he fielded Jay Bell's bunt and threw out Dellucci at third base, but third baseman Scott Brosius decided to hold the ball instead of throwing to first to attempt to complete the double play. Midre Cummings was sent in to pinch-run for Damien Miller. With Cummings at second and Bell at first, the next batter, Tony Womack, drove a double down the right-field line on a 2–2 pitch that evened the score and blew the save. Bell went to third and the Yankees pulled the infield and the outfield in as the potential winning run stood at third with less than two outs. After Rivera hit Craig Counsell with an 0–1 pitch, the bases were loaded. On an 0–1 pitch, Luis Gonzalez lofted a soft single over the drawn-in Derek Jeter that barely reached the outfield grass, plating Jay Bell with the winning run. This ended New York's bid for a fourth consecutive title and brought Arizona its first championship in just its fourth year of existence, making the Diamondbacks the fastest expansion team to win a World Series, as well as first major professional sports championship for the state of Arizona. This was the first time since 1991 that the home team won in all seven games of a World Series.

In 2009, Game 7 was chosen by Sports Illustrated as the Best Postseason Game of the Decade (2000–2009).

Composite box

2001 World Series (4–3): Arizona Diamondbacks (N.L.) over New York Yankees (A.L.)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	2	4	12	9	2	1	3	2	2	0	0	0	37	65	3
New York Yankees	1	1	1	0	0	3	1	1	4	1	0	1	14	42	8
Total attendance: 366,289   Average attendance: 52,327
Winning player’s share: $279,260   Losing player’s share: $201,014[9]

Media coverage

For the second consecutive year, Fox carried the World Series over its network with its top broadcast team, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (himself a Yankees broadcaster). This was the first year of Fox's exclusive rights to the World Series (in the previous contract, Fox only broadcast the World Series in even numbered years while NBC broadcast it in odd numbered years), which it has held ever since (this particular contract also had given Fox exclusive rights to the entire baseball postseason, which aired over its family of networks; the contract was modified following Disney's purchase of Fox Family Channel shortly after the World Series ended, as ESPN regained their postseason rights following a year of postseason games on ABC Family, Fox Family's successor). ESPN Radio provided national radio coverage for the fourth consecutive year, with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan calling the action.

Locally, the Series was carried over KTAR in the Phoenix area and WABC in New York. Greg Schulte called play-by-play for the Diamondbacks while John Sterling and Michael Kay alternated duties on the Yankees coverage. This would be Sterling and Kay's last World Series working together, and Game 7 would be the last Yankee broadcast on WABC. Kay moved to television and the new YES Network the following season and WCBS picked up radio rights to the Yankees. It was Kay who announced Derek Jeter's game-winning home run in Game 4 of the series and subsequently anointed him as "Mr. November".

Aftermath

After the Yankees lost the World Series, several players moved onto other teams or retired, the most notable changes being the signing of Jason Giambi to replace Martinez, and the retirements of Brosius and O'Neil. Martinez would later finish his career with the Yankees in 2005 after spending the previous three years in St. Louis and Tampa Bay. The Yankees would lose the 2003 World Series to the Florida Marlins and wouldn't win another World Series until 2009, when they defeated the defending champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, in six games.

After winning the NL West again in 2002 the Diamondbacks were swept 3–0 by St. Louis in the NLDS. From here they declined, losing 111 games in 2004 as Bob Brenly was fired during that season. With the exception of another NL West title in 2007, Arizona would become one of the worst teams in baseball over the rest of the decade. Schilling was traded to the Boston Red Sox after the 2003 season and in 2004 helped lead them to their first world championship since 1918. He helped them win another championship in 2007 and retired after four years with Boston, missing the entire 2008 season with a shoulder injury. Johnson was traded to the Yankees after the 2004 season, a season that saw him throw a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves, though he would be traded back to the Diamondbacks two years later and finish his career with the San Francisco Giants in 2009. Four Diamondbacks from 2001 are still active, Rod Barajas (now with the Los Angeles Dodgers), Craig Counsell (now with the Milwaukee Brewers), Miguel Batista (now with the New York Mets), and Lyle Overbay (returned to the Diamondbacks in August 2011), and only Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Jorge Posada remain from the 2001 AL Champion Yankees, as of 2011.

From 2004 through 2007, the Yankee's misfortune in the postseason continued, with the team losing the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox in 2004, the ALDS to Anaheim in 2005, the ALDS to Detroit in 2006, and the ALDS to Cleveland in 2007. Joe Torre's contract was allowed to expire and he was replaced by Joe Girardi in 2008, a season in which the Yankees would miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

Buster Olney, who covered the Yankees for the New York Times before joining ESPN, would write a book titled The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty. The book is a play by play account of Game 7 in addition to stories about key players, executives, and moments from the 1996–2001 dynasty. In a 2005 reprinting, Olney included a new epologue covering the aftermath of the 2001 World Series up to the Boston Red Sox epic comeback from down 3–0 in the 2004 ALCS.

As of 2011, this is the state of Arizona's only world championship among the four major professional sports.

DVD

On October 11, 2005 A&E Home Video released the New York Yankees Fall Classic Collectors Edition (1996–2001) DVD set. Game 4 of the 2001 World Series is included in the set. On April 29, 2008 The Arizona Diamondbacks 2001 World Series DVD set was released. All seven games are included.

Notes

1. ^ "2001 World Series Game 1 - New York Yankees vs. Arizona Diamondbacks". Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B10270ARI2001.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
2. ^ "2001 World Series Game 2 - New York Yankees vs. Arizona Diamondbacks". Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B10280ARI2001.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
3. ^ "2001 World Series Game 3 - Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B10300NYA2001.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
4. ^ "2001 World Series Game 4 - Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B10310NYA2001.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
5. ^ "2001 World Series Game 5 - Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B11010NYA2001.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
6. ^ "2001 World Series Game 6 - New York Yankees vs. Arizona Diamondbacks". Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B11030ARI2001.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
7. ^ "2001 World Series Game 7 - New York Yankees vs. Arizona Diamondbacks". Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B11040ARI2001.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
8. ^ "2001 World Series / Game 7 / Schilling, Johnson on short rest; Gonzalez' GWRBI in 9th vs. Rivera". MLB.com (Programming: Baseball's Best Classics). MLB Advanced Media, L.P.. November 4, 2001. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/baseballs_best/mlb_bb_gamepage.jsp?story_page=bb_01ws_gm7_nyyari. Retrieved 2011-01-25. 
9. ^ "World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares". Baseball Almanac. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/wsshares.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 

References

• Forman, Sean L.. "2001 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information.. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2001_WS.shtml. Retrieved 2007-12-09. 

External links

• 2001 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
• 2001 World Series at Baseball Almanac
• 2001 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
• The 2001 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) at Retrosheet
• History of the World Series - 2001 at The SportingNews. Archived from the original on 2008.
• Book on 2001 WS is "the last word on the inside game of baseball"
• SI.com: MLB Postseason 2001
• USA Today: Quest for a Title
• CBS Sportsline: 2001 MLB Playoffs

2001 Major League Baseball Postseason
2001 World Series
National League Championship Series National League Division Series Arizona Diamondbacks | St. Louis Cardinals Atlanta Braves | Houston Astros
American League Championship Series American League Division Series New York Yankees | Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners | Cleveland Indians
2001 Major League Baseball season American League | National League