The Boston Red Sox Saturday, April 18, 2020
Fenway Park is ready to play ball, even though we are not
Stan Grossfeld
The grass is perfect and the old ballpark is squeaky clean — it was scrubbed and disinfected for viral pathogens for three days in March.
Spending a few hours at Fenway Park is good for the soul.
The ballpark is totally silent. The mound and home plate are covered by tarps and the foul lines aren’t drawn yet, but it feels as if there still could be a game played today. The sun’s warmth reflecting off The Wall feels good. The tug of the past is all around but the future is the great unknown.
In Fenway, zoom is still a word to describe a Chris Sale fastball, not a video conferencing app.
Old friend Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians would have been here this weekend and there would’ve been big hugs by the batting cage and the rhythmic crack of bat meeting ball.
But now gaining access is nearly impossible and includes health questions and safety precautions and a Fenway security escort. Visitors must wear a respiratory mask, gloves, and practice social distancing, larger than the lead Dave Roberts got on Mariano Rivera in the 2004 ALCS.
Carissa Unger of Green City Growers in Somerville is planting organic vegetables for Fenway Farms, located on the rooftop of the park.
She is one of the few allowed into the ballpark. The harvest this year all will be donated to a local food pantry. Unger is used to interacting with thousands of fans on tours and is startled to see visitors.
“It’s nice and peaceful and quiet today, but we miss seeing the tourists and we obviously miss having the games,” she said. “It’s good to see somebody up here.”
* The Boston Herald
Red Sox’ 10-best seasons in the last 10 years: No. 1, 2016 David Ortiz
Jason Mastrodonato
For me, choosing the best season I’ve covered in my 10 years as a Red Sox reporter was easy, but I know a lot of you would’ve chosen differently.
I know Mookie Betts was statistically a more valuable player in 2018 than David Ortiz was in 2016. I know that Ortiz didn’t play defense and Betts was a Gold Glover in right field. I know that Jacoby Ellsbury added more daily value with his near-MVP season in 2011. And that a dominant Chris Sale in 2017 was worth more to a franchise’s win total.
On paper, that is.
I also know what I saw, what I felt and what I heard other people say about the way they felt. And in the 10 years I’ve covered baseball, I’ve never seen or felt an individual impact a baseball team the way Ortiz did in 2016 (though Alex Cora’s arrival in 2018 would be in second place).
From the beginning of spring training, the idea of Ortiz playing his final season at age 40, and retiring at the end of it, truly did not seem believable. Ortiz himself acknowledged that he wasn’t 100 percent sure. He gave himself just enough of a window to wiggle free of his commitment and play again at 41 (he was still under contract, if he wanted it).
“I don’t know how it’s going to be right after I’m done,” he said that February. “I haven’t experienced that. But I think I’m ready to pass the torch. I think right now everything is going in the right direction, so I’ll let you guys know. I’ve seen a lot of athletes, once they’re done, at some point, for some reason, a lot of us kind of feel like we still got something in the tank to come back. Hopefully that’s not my case.”
Most of us never thought he was going to retire. As soon as the season started, when he homered in the Sox’ Opening Day win in Cleveland, it seemed like he made a mistake.
Maybe he didn’t realize how good he still was.
Throughout the year, there was a never-ending conversation between Ortiz and those of us watching him. We rarely actually talked about it, but he communicated with us on the field.
All year long, he was telling us he wasn’t done.
On April 15, he stole second base, which maybe doesn’t seem like a noteworthy event now, but it was at the time. Not many 40-year-olds are still stealing bases. Not many 40-year-olds with painful plantar fasciitis in both feet, which required lengthy care after every game, were still pushing themselves that hard.
It seems like an act of defiance performed by some of baseball’s greats.
If you go through the pages on Baseball Reference, you’ll see a few handfuls of stolen bases by 40-year- olds like Greg Maddux (yes, the pitcher), Chipper Jones, Kenny Lofton, Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Jim Edmonds, Craig Biggio, Barry Larkin, Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn, Tim Raines, Wade Boggs and Eddie Murray, among others.
It’s as if they were all saying, “I’m over the hill, but I’ve still got it.”
Ortiz was asked about the steal after the game in April and brushed it off like it was just something most people did at 40.
“Uh, I don’t know,” he said. “Later in the game, I guess. Got two strikes. It was a good time to go.”
He stole second again one last time in June on Father’s Day. His son, D’Angelo, was at so many of his dad’s games right until the end. He was around enough that David Price, once Ortiz’s enemy in the game, made note of it after Ortiz’s last game that October.
“You look at D’Angelo, his little boy — he couldn’t be more respectful or polite,” Price said. “That comes from the parents. In this day and age, to raise a kid in a baseball clubhouse and be as respectful and polite that he is, that shows volumes of the father that Big Papi is. And to me that’s very special.”
As Ortiz took off for second base against Edwin Diaz in a one-run game in the seventh inning that Father’s Day, the entire crowd at Fenway Park stood up and cheered for minutes.
The noise grew louder as Ortiz slid into second, popped up and wiped the dust off his gloves.
When reporters gathered around his locker after the game, in which Ortiz was a nondescript 1-for-3 without an RBI, Ortiz looked at us and said, “What are we talking about today, because I didn’t do (expletive)?”
He knew what he did.
“I got a standing ovation for stealing a bag,” he said.
How’d it feel?
“Not good. I’m hurting now.”
Well, why’d you steal then?
“I just took the first pitch, watched how long it was taking him to release the ball and that’s it,” he said.
Like it was nothing.
As Ortiz continued to hit for average and power in one of the greatest seasons of his career, it was in those moments when he defied his age that gave life to the growing idea that there was no way he was going to retire.
A big day for that was May 14, a home game against the Astros. Clay Buchholz got smoked early and the Sox were down 5-2 in the second inning.
Ortiz homered in the third to make it 5-3.
It was 5-4 with two outs in the ninth inning, when Ortiz stepped up with a man on first. He smacked one to dead center. Jake Marisnick, a terrific outfielder, gave chase and made a full-out dive toward the wall, but missed by a few feet. He was so upset he slammed the wall before looking for the ball.
Ortiz ran to third with the game-tying triple.
The list of 40-year-olds with a triple is almost identical as the one with 40-year-olds with a stolen base. Among the game’s most prolific runners like Lofton and Henderson, you’ll find Ortiz’s name too.
In the bottom of the 11th, Ortiz hit a walk-off double. He did a postgame interview with WEEI and NESN, then took off before the rest of us got a chance to interview him.
It was his daughter’s quinceanera. The game had gone into extras and he was running late.
Ortiz was hitting .321 at the end of April, .335 at the end of May and .336 at the end of June. About every other week, somebody would ask him if he was still planning to retire.
He would usually deflect the question and say something about the team trying to stay hot and keeping their focus on the World Series. He never would say for sure.
He was leading the Red Sox’ MLB-best offense in most categories and had become the most dangerous hitter in the big leagues.
In September, when Ortiz was collecting his final gifts and retirement was looking less like a threat and more like a sentence baseball fans were coming to accept, Red Sox owner John Henry was asked if he believed it.
“He’s earned the right to end his career the way he wants to end his career,” Henry said. “That’s all I have to say about that.”
Henry added, “It’ll be hard to say that there’s ever been a player who’s meant more to an organization.”
Ortiz hit his 541st and final home run on Sept. 30 against Brett Cecil. The Sox and Jays were tied 3-3 in the seventh when Ortiz blasted a two-run shot.
Eleven days later, he played in his final game.
The Sox went down 2-0 to the Indians in the American League Division Series and were facing elimination back at Fenway Park. Ortiz didn’t seem optimistic after Game 2. His career was one loss away from being over.
In his final game, Ortiz was 0-for-1 with a sacrifice fly and two walks.
His final plate appearance was in the eighth inning, when Betts was on first base and the Sox were down 4- 2. Ortiz was fidgety in the box. He looked like he wanted to swing at every pitch, but didn’t swing at any of the four he saw. The fourth, an inside fastball from Cody Allen, was close enough to being a strike that Ortiz looked like he had instant regret.
The umpire called ball four, but Ortiz stood there with the bat in his hand. He stepped back for a second, looked at the umpire again as if to say, “are you sure?” Then he took first base. He made it to second as the tying run and was removed for a pinch-runner. The Sox never scored and the season was over.
After the teams had exited the field, the crowd chanted his name one final time and Ortiz stepped out of the dugout for a long ovation. He walked slowly to the pitcher’s mound, surrounded by cameras, and tipped his cap. His eyes filled with tears. He stood out there for a few long minutes.
He soaked in the moment and gave it every bit of his attention.
When it was done, he went into the locker room, gave his teammates a speech and walked away from the game of baseball.
“He spoke from the heart, and everyone listened and appreciated it,” Price said.
THREE QUOTES
A smattering of gems from Ortiz during the year…
April 5
“When the light goes on, Papi goes on…Who gives an (expletive) about Spring Training?”
June 9
“(Expletive) happens.”
June 17
“I’m a badass.”
THREE STATS
Ortiz finished with a .315 average, 48 doubles, 38 homers, 127 RBIs. He led the majors in doubles, extra- base hits (87) and slugging percentage (.620), the oldest player in history to lead any of those categories. He also led in OPS (1.021).
He set major league single-season records for home runs, RBI, doubles, and extra-base hits by a player 40 or older.
With 500 homers and 600 doubles, he joined Hank Aaron, Bonds and Albert Pujols as the only players in history with those milestones.
MORAL OF THE STORY
Red Sox baseball will never be the same.
THE TOP 10 IN THE LAST 10 YEARS
No. 2 2018 Mookie Betts
No. 3 2011 Jacoby Ellsbury
No. 4 2013 Koji Uehara
No. 5 2017 Chris Sale
No. 6 2017 Craig Kimbrel
No. 7 2018 J.D. Martinez
No. 8 2016 Rick Porcello
No. 9 2011 Dustin Pedroia
No. 10 2016 Jackie Bradley Jr.
* MassLive.com
Coronavirus in MLB: Rob Manfred provides ‘no specifics’ to managers on how season might begin (report)
Christopher Smith
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke with major league managers for an hour Friday but provided “no specifics” on how the 2020 season might restart, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported.
Major League Baseball suspended its season indefinitely last month because of the coronavirus pandemic.
One of Major League Baseball’s proposed plans reportedly is to start its season in Arizona with all 30 teams playing games in empty stadiums in the greater Phoenix area. There’s also the possibility of temporary divisional realignment based on spring training locations.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, said this week professional sports leagues can return during the pandemic if the leagues play in empty stadium, keep players isolated in hotels and test frequently.
* RedSox.com
These AL East players could be future managers
Bill Ladson
Over the years, we have seen former big league players make the transition to become Major League managers. Take Rays manager Kevin Cash, for example: He never played regularly during his seven years in the Majors, but baseball people admired his knowledge for the game and how he dealt with analytics. Today, he is considered one of the best managers in baseball. In the last two years, in fact, Cash has finished in the top three in the American League Manager of the Year voting.
This week, we ask our AL East beat writers to pick a future manager for each of the five teams in the division. These future managers must be current players. The reporters don’t know when that day will arrive, but if the cards fall right, any one of these players could be big league managers after their playing careers are over.
Blue Jays: 2B Cavan Biggio Even as a rookie in 2019, Biggio quickly established himself as a leader in the Blue Jays' clubhouse, earning the respect of young players and veterans alike. Behind closed doors, Biggio has held teammates accountable and picked the right moments to make his voice heard, which can be a difficult balance. We often lump the Blue Jays’ three young stars together, but it’s interesting to see the group’s complementary roles emerging. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may collect the home run crowns and Bo Bichette could very well be the face of the franchise, but it’s Biggio who will be looked to as the (sometimes) quiet leader who speaks for the team. It’s not hard to picture him with a lineup card in his hand down the road. -- Keegan Matheson
Orioles: Catcher Bryan Holaday There aren’t many obvious candidates on the young and inexperienced Orioles, who remain focused on youth and development during this still-early stage in their rebuild. But perhaps best fitting the bill is Bryan Holaday, a non-roster invitee this spring who was vying to make the team when camp was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Holaday, 32, has developed a reputation as a strong receiver and game-caller over parts of eight MLB seasons as a backup catcher, and had drawn praise in Orioles camp for his communication and leadership abilities. A veteran with his fifth organization, Holaday was brought in to provide an experienced hand for the Orioles’ many young pitchers. It stands to reason he could utilize those skills as an instructor down the road. -- Joe Trezza
Rays: Catcher Mike Zunino It’s not just because he’s a catcher. (Fine, maybe a little bit.) But aside from that, Zunino does have several traits that would make him a good manager. He has strong communication skills, especially with a pitching staff, and served as a veteran voice in the Rays’ clubhouse in 2019 despite having a subpar season at the plate. Zunino has also been a calming influence for the Rays, which is something a manager needs during a 162-game season. He would also be willing to adopt analytics and all the new strategies that have been introduced to the game. Zunino is only 29, so this wouldn’t happen anytime soon, but it shouldn’t surprise people to see the Rays' catcher in a manager’s office in the future. -- Juan Toribio
Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia At this point, it is iffy at best if Pedroia will ever play again, thanks to a left knee that has given him nothing but trouble for three years. However, there is no doubt that Pedroia will wear a uniform again. He lives, eats, breathes and sleeps baseball, and his passion could one day land him in a dugout as a manager. Pedroia has several traits that would make him a top manager, starting with his smarts for the game. Whether it is offense, baserunning or defense, his instincts and intelligence have always been off the charts. Another ingredient he clearly possesses is fire. Pedroia has long known which buttons to push to get the most out of his teammates. And with an outgoing and confident personality, Pedroia would certainly have no problem dealing with the daily media briefings every manager has. -- Ian Browne
Yankees: OF Brett Gardner The longest-tenured player in Yankees pinstripes, Gardner has served as a frequent sounding board in the clubhouse and dugout for managers Joe Girardi and Aaron Boone over the last decade-plus, helping his teams forge a strong connection between the coaching staff and the players.
While Gardner is focused on finishing his playing career and might prefer a quiet retirement of hunting and fishing in the woods of South Carolina, Boone has said that he believes Gardner's work ethic would translate well to the challenges of being a big league manager. Gardner has also taken well to helping younger players, citing Johnny Damon's example when Gardner was trying to establish himself as a regular. -- Bryan Hoch
* WEEI.com
Why South Korea's mandate of no spitting in games would be a tough one for MLB players
Rob Bradford
With their 20-game preseason ready to start Tuesday, the Korean Baseball Organization released its manual to help function during what they are hoping is a full 144-game season.
All 10 teams in the KBO will have to adhere to the following mandates while South Korea continues to battle COVID-19:
- All players and team officials must minimize contact with outside visitors.
- Players must have their temperatures checked twice before games and fill out daily health questionnaires on a KBO app.
- Players will be strongly recommended to wear masks in the clubhouse and in all areas of the stadium during games, except for the field and the dugout.
- High-fives and handshakes with bare hands will be discouraged.
- All umpires must wear masks and plastic gloves, and they will be banned from making any physical contact with players. Front office employees, trainers and interpreters who travel with teams, bat boys and video replay officials will also be required to don masks and gloves.
- If a player shows symptoms of COVID-19 during the preseason or regular season, the player will be immediately quarantined, and the stadium where his team last played will be closed for at least two days. And if he tests positive for the virus, a government-appointed epidemiologist will conduct contact tracing and determine others who will be ordered into two-week quarantine.
And then there is this one ...
- Spitting will be "strictly prohibited."
Up until that last item, the rules seem like a list Major League Baseball can build off of when planning its own return. But believe or not, the spitting thing would be a problem.
Not only is it ingrained in most players to spit numerous times over the course of a baseball game, even without anything in their mouths, but the dependence on chewing tobacco remains an unfortunate reality in MLB. It's a dynamic that doesn't exist nearly as much in the KBO. Then there is the chewing of gum and sunflower seeds.
In a 2017 article entitled, "Good question: Why do baseball players spit so much?" former major leaguer Chris Colabello was quoted as saying, "You saw guys on TV spit, you want to spit like the big league ballplayers. When you’re 5 running around, you go out and spit."
Added another former major leaguer Justin Morneau, "You got a lot of nervous energy when you’re playing, so you need something that distracts you a bit."
Not high-fiving is one thing. Not spitting? That will be a tough one.
* The Athletic
Distant Replay: The night Pedro Martinez beat Roger Clemens in duel for the ages
Chad Jennings
My guess is that many of you remember May 28, 2000. Even if the date doesn’t ring a bell, these names certainly will: Pedro Martinez vs. Roger Clemens.
In our ongoing look back at some of the great games in Boston sports history, we’ll turn today to one of its great pitching duels. The Red Sox and Yankees were tied atop the American League East, the Red Sox emerging as contenders with the foundation of the championships to come, and the Yankees were still in their dynasty years with another title on the way.
Martinez was 28 years old, 7-2 with a 1.19 ERA, the reigning Cy Young winner and boasting two complete games already that season. He would win his third Cy Young at season’s end.
Clemens was 37. He’d won Cy Young awards in two of the previous three seasons and would win two more. He’d struggled mightily in two of his previous three starts but would eventually win nine straight decisions in a burst of second-half dominance. He was older, but he was still Roger.
I honestly don’t know whether I’d ever seen this game. I would have been a 20-year-old living in a Missouri fraternity house at the time, and my guess is that I watched it. Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. I would have known it was Pedro and Roger. I probably had it on while I drank some perfectly legal and age- appropriate Coca-Cola. Hi mom!
But this was surely my first time watching it while able to fully appreciate what I was seeing. And there was some comfort when the broadcast opened with the familiar sound of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. At a time when national broadcasts still carried a lot of weight, those two called some good ones. The Wikipedia page for Sunday Night Baseball has a section devoted to “notable games,” and Pedro vs. Roger is the first one mentioned.
First inning, 0-0 Two things jump out: There’s an advertisement for ESPN Classic right behind home plate – seems fitting – and Jeff Frye is the Red Sox leadoff hitter. Jeff Frye? Turns out, Jose Offerman was hurt and Frye actually had a .364 on-base percentage that year. Sorry I doubted you, Jeff Frye.
Anyway, I’m not here to see anyone hit – except Trot Nixon, we’ll get to that later – and Clemens is out of the gate throwing 95 mph with that awesome splitter. It’s a 12-pitch inning.
“And on the mound for Boston, there he is, Pedro Martinez,” Miller says.
Morgan is, of course, talking about Pedro’s three-pitch mix. He starts with a fastball away, and my goodness, the movement. Morgan says hitters have to go after Pedro right away. Can’t get behind. He’s through the top of the Yankees order on 10 pitches despite a little infield single by Derek Jeter.
Second inning, 0-0 Nomar Garciaparra is in his second game back from a hamstring injury, and it shows. Morgan will end up talking about it a lot in the later innings. In his first at-bat, Clemens starts with a slider, then an inside fastball, and then a split for a three-pitch strikeout. It’s the first of three Ks for Garciaparra, who’s about to have the best season of his career.
Carl Everett follows with a single, but Clemens picks him off. Then Mike Stanley strikes out on a high fastball. Nine pitches. It will get harder for Roger.
Meanwhile, it won’t get much easier for Martinez. He’s through the bottom of the second on just seven pitches, most impressive were back-to-back curveballs to strike out Jorge Posada.
“I think once you get behind Pedro – you get to 1-2 or 0-2 – you’re in trouble,” Morgan says. “You just have to become defensive because he has such a variety of pitches to throw to you.”
Third inning, 0-0 Clemens with a 95 mph fastball up to Troy O’Leary.
Miller: “Roger’s got a little …”
Morgan: “… giddy-up on that fastball.”
Miller: “That’s it. I was looking for that phrase.”
Morgan: “Yeah. He’s got a little giddy-up on it.”
Morgan and Miller go on to discuss what makes Clemens’ split so effective, just as Jason Varitek swings over one and the frame ends.
The third inning ends up being the first real test for Martinez. He needs 24 pitches, and it takes nine of them to finish off Chuck Knoblauch for the final out. A longer inning gives ESPN time to show two prerecorded interviews with Pedro. In one of them, he talks about the impact of his brother Ramon – “My mentor, my father, my brother, my friend, everything to me,” Pedro says – and the other is about his reputation as a headhunter.
“I don’t need to mention the things that I’ve done to prove that pitching inside works,” Pedro says. “And, you know, it’s not just the level – being a head-hunter – that’s going to work to my advantage. It’s the fact that I’m going to pitch inside, and if they want to put that in their mind, that’s a plus for me.”
Fourth inning, 0-0 Clemens starts Frye with a breaking ball, and Morgan notes that he’s changing his pattern second time through the order.
“When Roger gets ahead of you, he gets you to chase pitches.,” Morgan says. “When Pedro gets ahead of you, he just basically overpowers you.”
Clemens strikes out two of three in the top of the fourth, but it’s Martinez’ half of the inning that might be the most impressive of the night.
Jeter opens with a double down the right-field line. Not particularly well hit, but effective (one of three hits for Jeter). Paul O’Neill, though, seems to have no shot at driving Jeter in. Morgan notes that O’Neill respecting Pedro’s changeup keeps him from fully attacking the fastball. When O’Neill foul-tips a 96-mph fastball, Miller asks: “All right, is he going to throw him a changeup here?”
Morgan answers: “Well, me and Paul O’Neill do not know that.”
Sure enough, it’s an offspeed pitch and O’Neill strikes out.
Pedro then jams Bernie Williams for a popup. When he falls behind Posada 3-1, Pedro seems to surprise the Yankees catcher with a curveball for a strike – second pitch of the at-bat that Posada clearly wasn’t expecting – before finishing him off with another breaking ball as Posada nearly falls down swinging and missing.
“He gets into the hitters’ heads,” Morgan says
Just an unbelievable inning for Pedro. His stuff is just too good. Leadoff double and he’s through the inning on 16 pitches.
Fifth inning, 0-0 Clemens sets the side down in order, and he’s faced the minimum through five. When he struck out Everett for the second out of the inning, it was his fifth strikeout in six batters, and eighth overall. On the broadcast, they noted that he had twice struck out 20 in a game. Not even halfway finished, this game was already looking like an all-time pitching performance.
In the bottom of the inning, Pedro falls behind Tino Martinez and throws something that looks like a slider or a cutter. Miller isn’t sure what the pitch was.
“He doesn’t really throw a slider,” Morgan says. “So that’s just the movement on his fastball. He can grip it a little bit off to the side, and you’ll get that movement like a cut fastball.”
Next is a fastball down that almost had two-seam action, and then 90-mph away for a fly ball. After another fly ball, a single and a stolen base, Scott Brosius steps in. At 5-for-17 in his career against Pedro, he’s tops among the Yankees. But Pedro gets him to pop up on a changeup down and away and the inning is over.
Sixth inning, 0-0 Two different home plate umpires called this game. That’s because Ed Rapuano was drilled in the knee by a Ricky Ledee foul ball in the bottom of the fifth, and he finally took himself out of the game before the top of the sixth. The broadcast cuts away to Sammy Sosa hitting a home run in San Francisco while first-base umpire Brian Runge gets ready to take over behind the plate. The broadcasters note that different umpires call games differently and the strategy might have to change for Clemens and Martinez, but Clemens gets through the inning with his 10th strikeout.
When Pedro takes the field, he does some early stretching after sitting for roughly 23 minutes. Pedro’s velocity is not great on his first two fastballs, but he has this sequence against Jeter: 84-mph called strike outside, 88 outside again for a ball, 80-mph foul ball, 88 away for another ball, then 92 mph for a swinging strikeout.
“Blown away” says Miller.
It’s the only time Jeter makes an out in this game. He’ll finish with three of the four Yankee hits.
“He was just overmatched there,” Morgan says. “This fastball, it looked like it just took off. I mean, this one looks like it explodes right at home plate, and it does. I mean, it says 92 mph, but it just exploded. Like, there’s no chance for you to hit that pitch.”
Seventh inning, 0-0 This is one of the high points for Clemens, because it’s one of the few times he gets into trouble. Nixon was very nearly thrown out at third on a one-out triple to left-center field (on one replay, he looked out, on another he looked safe, but this is a different era and there aren’t many angles).
Now Clemens has to face the Red Sox’ No. 3 and 4 hitters with one out and a runner at third. He strikes out both of them. He worked Brian Daubach away – Morgan wondered if Clemens might be pitching around him since Garciaparra was fresh off the injured list – and then he hammered Garciaparra with pitches down and in the dirt.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Morgan says. “If he would have swung at any of those pitches, put them in play, more than likely he would have hit it on the ground.” When Garciaparra swings at the final splitter, Clemens literally leaps off the mound.
No such drama for Martinez. First-pitch fly to center. Ground ball to second. Deep fly ball to right field. That’s a six-pitch inning against the middle of the Yankees order. Pedro, man. Impressive.
Eighth inning, 0-0 The Red Sox make Clemens work this inning, and that might be the difference in what happens next. It’s a 1-2-3 inning with his 13th strikeout of the night, but Clemens goes to three balls against all three batters and throws a total of 17 pitches. It’s the second inning in a row he’s had to throw that many, and he threw 17 pitches in the fifth inning, too.
“I know a lot of people like to see the 10-9 games,” Morgan says. “They like to see the home runs, like to see all those long balls. But I’ll tell you what, this is a baseball game. You’re seeing two pitchers at the top of their craft, and you’re seeing the hitters trying to deal with it.”
In the bottom of the eighth, Pedro has his own 17-pitch inning. He’s setting up fastballs with curveballs, and curveballs with fastballs. The broadcast is now comparing this game to the famous 1912 “duel of the year” between Walter Johnson and Smoky Joe Wood at Fenway Park. Wood pitched a day earlier than scheduled just to set up the head-to-head.
With two outs, a great 2-1 pitch from Pedro hits the outside corner. Brosius fights off another outside fastball at 94 mph, then swings through 94 mph up high. Pedro is rolling.
“He’s been getting better as the game has gotten longer,” Miller says. “He’s retired 10 in a row.”
Top of the ninth, 0-0 It’s a 1-1 count against third baseman John Valentin, and as Clemens blows into his hand, Miller says: “Clemens is at 114 pitches. The most he’s thrown in a game for the Yankees this season is 125.”
Clemens gets Valentin to ground out on pitch 116, and Varitek tries to bunt on pitch 117 for a quick out.
“I would say Roger is appreciative of that,” Morgan says.
So, it’s two outs on five pitches, and Clemens is very nearly through the ninth, but all the work it took to get through the eighth seems significant. His first pitch nearly hits Frye, and the next one is lined off Clemens himself for an infield single. First pitch to Nixon is a fastball up and away. It’s 94 mph, but way off target, and Posada goes out to talk to Clemens on the mound.
“I think he went out, Jon, because that last pitch bothered him,” Morgan says. “That’s one of the worst pitches that Roger has thrown tonight. The ball got up and away from him, which tells you that maybe he’s tiring a little bit and he didn’t bend enough, and Posada wants to make sure because, at this point in the ball game, you do not want to make a mistake.”
Good split away. Now a 1-1 count. Another split down in the dirt, and it’s 2-1. The next pitch is 93 mph, supposed to be outside but caught too much of the plate, and Nixon is on it.
“Deep and on its way!” Miller shouts. “It is no longer a scoreless game. Two-run homer for Trot Nixon, and the Red Sox fans at Yankee Stadium suddenly make the big noise.”
It was Nixon’s second home run in nine at-bats against Clemens. The pitch was belt high.
“What happens is, you lose just a little bit off your fastball,” Morgan says. “I know the gun is saying 93 mph or 94, but that means that you’ve lost a little of the hop off your fastball. But, I mean, that happens anyway. You can’t throw 125 pitches without losing a little something.”
Bottom of the ninth, 2-0 Closer Derek Lowe is getting loose in the bullpen, and Pedro has to face the top of the Yankees lineup. He stands on the mound as Miller calls him “the successor to Roger Clemens.”
Martinez opens with 90 mph for a called strike. It’s his 111th pitch. His season high at that point was 130. A 92-mph fastball is fouled off, and on an 0-2 put-away pitch, Pedro lets slip a fastball that hits Knoblauch on the arm. Up comes Jeter who’s 2-for-3 – the rest of the Yankees lineup is 1-for-23 – and Jeter stays on a pitch down and away for a single to right field. Two on with no outs and O’Neill coming up, so naturally Red Sox manager Jimy Williams is coming out of the dugout.
“Well, I think what we’re doing here,” Morgan says, “you see Jimy Williams, he’s going to go out and look Pedro in the eye, and he wants to know, what do you think? Because, this is a situation where, I think, a lot of times a manager will say, ‘I’m going to take you out.’”
Just as Morgan finishes that sentence, Williams walks off the mound and leaves Martinez in.
“Although, he’s not going to take him out,” Morgan says. “There are times during a year where a manager will say, ‘You pitched great, I’m not going to let you lose this ballgame. I’m only going to take you out and give you a chance to win it.’ And you’ve got your stopper ready to go in the bullpen, but he has so much confidence in Pedro that he’s going to leave him in. And I’m sure Pedro looked him in the eye and said, ‘I’m OK.’”
And as we all know, no Red Sox manager has ever gone wrong in Yankee Stadium looking Pedro Martinez in the eye and trusting when he says, “I’m OK.” Right?
Anyway, here’s Paul O’Neill. “Like Roger Clemens, 37 years old,” Miller reminds us. First pitch is 90 inside and O’Neill swings through it.
“That’s a great pitch right there,” Morgan says. “But I tell you what, it’s tough to have to get Paul O’Neill out this many times in this many clutch situations.”
The 0-2 pitch is 77 mph and fouled off, then O’Neill swings through 95 mph outside. This was O’Neill’s third at-bat with a runner on base, and his second at-bat with a runner in scoring position. He goes back to the bench 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a double play.
“Man,” Morgan says. “You know what, maybe when Jimy Williams went out there, Pedro just got mad. He got mad at Jimy for coming out. And I mean, he has shown us tonight that when runners are in scoring position, he gets tougher. He’s not striking out a lot of hitters like he normally does, but in clutch situations, tonight, he has been able to reach back and strike out the hitters that he has needed to strikeout.”
Now it’s Bernie Williams. Just a helluva group of hitters for Martinez to face in this situation this late in the game. Again, Martinez is working inside, and the second inside fastball is hit to deep right field. Miller seemed to think it might leave the park.
“Actually, Jon,” Morgan says. “That was just a ballpark scare because he jammed him really nice. He got the fastball in. As I said, he’s trying to keep him from extending. Watch, this fastball gets in. He actually breaks his bat in there. He knows it’s down the line, but he didn’t get much of it. He got jammed. That was just a great pitch.”
Now it’s Posada, and he swings out of his shoes at a 96 mph fastball for strike one. By the way, Pedro is sitting at 96 mph after 120-plus pitches. He goes upstairs again, this time at 94 mph for strike two.
“That’s it,” Morgan says. “He’s just going to reach back and say, OK, I’m going to give you what I got left. See if you can catch up to this high fastball.”
When Jeter steals second, Morgan notes that Pedro wasn’t remotely thinking about the runner. He’s locked in on the hitter. Posada fouls off another 96-mph pitch that could have been strike three, but Pedro has to keep going and hits Posada on the back elbow. Posada’s not happy. Martinez doesn’t seem too fussed. He’s just hammering fastballs and daring the Yankees to beat him. The bases are loaded, there are two outs in the ninth, and Yankee Stadium is going absolutely bonkers. Pedro worked from the stretch against Posada after Jeter stole second, but he’s back in the windup against Tino Martinez, who takes a big swing and a misses on the first pitch. The next pitch is the last, 94 mph and high, and Martinez hits it on the ground. Frye double clutches on the play – must have lost his grip – and the play is much closer than it should have been, but the game is over.
“Wow!” Miller says. “What happened?”
“Wow is right,” Morgan says, not giving a damn what happened. “I broadcast a game two weeks ago with Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson, and I thought that was a great ball game, and it was. Both of them pitched great. But tonight’s game, these guys, they were magnificent, both of them.”
As the final scenes unfold, both men in the booth recognize this game for what it was.
“So, they give us a night to remember,” Miller says. “Baseball’s version of a night to remember.”