November 4, 2001: Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off single lifts Diamondbacks to Game 7 win over Yankees

The New York Yankees on November 4, 2001, were one game from winning their fourth consecutive World Series and their fifth in six years.1 With New York City still shaken by the events of September 11, the Yankees had fought their way through the postseason, providing their city and fans some relief from the devastation.

After going down two games to none against the Oakland A’s in the best-of-five American League Division Series, the Yankees won three in a row to take the series. Their next challenge was the Seattle Mariners, who had tied a major-league record with 116 wins during the regular season.2 The Yankees beat the Mariners in five games for their 38th AL crown.

The Arizona Diamondbacks had joined the National League as an expansion franchise in 1998. They made the playoffs in their second season and returned in 2001. After finishing first in the NL West Division, they beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2, in the Division Series. A five-game Championship Series win over the Atlanta Braves made the Diamondbacks the expansion team that reached the World Series the quickest.3

Their roster was filled with veterans.4 T.J. Quinn of the New York Daily News wrote of the Diamondbacks, “Unlike the Yankees, who have turned the World Series into a second home, most Diamondbacks know this could be their only chance.”5 “This is what you wait your whole life for, since you first stepped into Little League,” said first baseman Mark Grace, who had signed with Arizona in December 2000 after 13 seasons with the Chicago Cubs.6

Arizona won the first two games of the World Series at home, then lost three straight one-run games at Yankee Stadium: the first on 39-year-old Roger Clemens’ dominant start after a ceremonial first pitch by President George W. Bush, the second on ninth and 10th-inning home runs as October turned to November, and the third on another ninth-inning rally and extra-inning walk-off. Back at Bank One Ballpark for Game Six, Arizona won 15-2, with 38-year-old Randy Johnson getting his second win of the Series.

For the decisive Game Seven on Sunday night, November 4, Arizona manager Bob Brenly7 started 34-year-old Curt Schilling on three days of rest.8 Schilling was 4-0 with a 0.88 ERA in five postseason starts. The right-hander had won the first game of the Series, giving up one run and striking out eight. Then he pitched seven innings in Game Four, allowing one run while striking out nine.

Schilling faced the minimum 15 batters through the first five innings. Right fielder Paul O’Neill, who had told reporters he was going to retire after the season, his 17th in the majors, doubled in the first but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple.9

Clemens started for the Yankees five days after a seven-inning, three-hit, nine-strikeout performance in Game Three.10 Brenly altered his lineup slightly, using right fielder Danny Bautista instead of Reggie Sanders to “stack the lineup with hitters that have had the most success against Clemens,” saying later that it was one of his toughest decisions as manager.11 Brenly and his staff had noticed that “Sanders was susceptible to the high fastball Clemens loves to tease hitters with.”12

Craig Counsell reached base on an error when Clemens couldn’t handle first baseman Tino Martinez’s throw in the first. Luis Gonzalez’s groundout moved Counsell to second. But Clemens struck out Matt Williams to end the frame. Arizona had two more baserunners in the second after Bautista walked and Grace singled. But Clemens struck out the next two batters to end the threat. Clemens continued to shut down Arizona through the fifth, picking up eight strikeouts along the way.

The Diamondbacks grabbed the lead in the sixth. Steve Finley led off with a single and scored on Bautista’s double to put Arizona up 1-0. The Diamondbacks lost their opportunity to score another run when Bautista was tagged out at third as he tried to stretch his hit into a triple.

Schilling took a one-hit shutout into the seventh, but the Yankees rallied. Derek Jeter and O’Neill led off with singles. Jeter reached third on Bernie Williams’s force out at second and came home when Martinez singled to right, tying the score.

After Tony Womack’s one-out single in the bottom of the seventh, Yankees manager Joe Torre brought in left-hander Mike Stanton, ending Clemens’ night at 114 pitches. After Womack was caught stealing, Stanton got Counsell out on an infield popout. The Yankees grabbed a 2-1 lead in the eighth when rookie Alfonso Soriano hit a leadoff home run.

Schilling struck out Scott Brosius. After he gave up a single to pinch-hitter David Justice on his 103rd  pitch of the game, Brenly walked to the mound, “took the ball from Schilling and said ‘You’re my hero,’” according to the New York Daily News. Brenly later complimented his starter saying, “His velocity was great, his location was great, his heart was as big as it’s ever been.”13

Brenly, “sensing that every out was precious, summoned Miguel Batista to pitch to Jeter.”14 Batista, a veteran right-hander, had thrown 126 pitches three days earlier. Brenly just asked him to get the Yankees shortstop out, and Batista got Jeter to hit into a force play on his first pitch.

Now Brenly called on Johnson, who had thrown 105 pitches the night before. The 49,589 fans at Bank One Ballpark rose to their feet and erupted in cheers at the sight of Johnson’s entrance. Brenly later said the left-hander had told him he was good for an inning.15 Johnson faced right-handed batter Chuck Knoblauch, pinch-hitting for O’Neill, and got him to fly out to right field.

With the Yankees up 2-1, Torre now called on future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera to pitch the last two innings. Rivera had recorded 23 consecutive postseason saves and entered the game with a 2-0 record and 0.61 ERA in the 2001 postseason. Rivera struck out the first two batters he faced in the eighth. Finley singled but Rivera struck out Bautista to end the frame.

Johnson retired the Yankees in order in the ninth. “That relief appearance is everything you ever need to know about Randy Johnson,” said Schilling afterward.16

Grace led off the Arizona ninth with a single to center field, his third hit of the game. Brenly sent in David Dellucci to run for Grace. Damian Miller laid down a bunt. Rivera picked up the ball and threw to second for the force. His throw was wide and Jeter couldn’t handle it, getting tangled up in Dellucci’s legs as he slid into second. Both runners were safe.

“If I make the play at second base, we win the game. It was the right play. The guy wasn’t even halfway to the base. He would’ve been out by far,” said Rivera after the game.17

Jay Bell then bunted into a force out as Rivera threw out Dellucci at third. Miller had gone to second on the play and Midre Cummings ran for him.

On a 2-and-2 count, Womack pulled a double to right. Cummings scored and the game was tied, 2-2. Rivera then hit Counsell to load the bases.18 The Yankees still believed in their closer. Martinez later said, “Even when the bases were loaded I felt like Rivera was going to get out of it because he always does.”19 Echoed Jeter: “When he comes in the game, it’s over. That’s always the way I feel.”20

This brought up Gonzalez, who had led the Diamondbacks in the regular season with a .325 batting average and 57 home runs.21 He had been hit by a pitch by Andy Pettitte in Game Two and struggled to regain his swing, notching just four more hits through the rest of the series. Arizona’s season MVP was hitless in the game so far, striking out twice.

Rivera’s first pitch was inside on the left-handed Gonzalez, who fouled it off. Gonzalez called time out. Rivera’s second pitch was down the middle and Gonzalez connected for a single over second base to score Bell with the winning run. “I was trying to choke up. I knew he was going to come in. It’s a dream come true,” said Gonzalez.22 “I threw the pitches I wanted. I just didn’t do it,” said Rivera afterward. “This was a great World Series.23

The win was the first major professional sports championship in Arizona history.24 Schilling and Johnson shared MVP honors. Johnson became the first pitcher in 33 years to win three World Series games.25 The Arizona Republic noted of the team, “Its top pitchers – Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, the cake and the filling as some called them – rose to the occasion.”26

Schilling perhaps best summed up their win against the Yankees, saying: “This might be like being in the essay contest against Hemingway or a paint-off against Picasso.”27

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bill Marston and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Courtesy of MLB.com.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used the Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org websites for box-score, player, team, and season pages, pitching and batting logs, and other material.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ARI/ARI200111040.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B11040ARI2001.htm

Notes

1 The Yankees won five consecutive championships from 1949 to 1953 and won four consecutive championships from 1936 to 1939.

2 The Mariners tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the most wins during the regular season. Seattle’s record was 116-46; Chicago’s was 116-36.

3 The Diamondbacks’ feat eclipsed the record of the Florida Marlins, who made the World Series in 1997, their fifth year in the National League.

4 The average age of their roster was 31.9 years. According to Baseball Almanac, , was the oldest in team history.

5 T.J. Quinn, “Diamondbacks Find Victory Is Just Dreamy,” New York Daily News, November 5, 2001: 19.

6 Chris Lang, “Dynasty No More,” Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona), November 5, 2001: B1. Grace played for the Cubs for 13 years, reaching the postseason twice before joining the Diamondbacks in 2001.

7 Brenly was in his first year as manager. He had worked as a broadcaster for the Diamondbacks since 1998 and was hired after Buck Showalter was fired following the 2000 season.

8 Schilling led all starters on the team in wins and innings pitched in 2001. He was second to Johnson in ERA and strikeouts.

9 David Lennon, “Back in the Saddle,” Newsday (Long Island, New York), October 4, 2001: A94.

10 Clemens led the Yankees starters with 20 wins in 2001. He was second to Mike Mussina in ERA, innings pitched, and strikeouts.

11 Bruce Pascoe, “7th Heaven,” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Arizona), November 5, 2001: C1.

12 Mark Gonzales, “Gonzo’s Hit Caps Comeback,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix), November 5, 2001: C3.

13 Lisa Olson, “Snakes Rattle and Roll,” New York Daily News, November 5, 2001: 15.

14 Gonzales, “Gonzo’s Hit Caps Comeback.”

15 Bruce Pascoe, “7th Heaven.”

16 Olson, “Snakes Rattle and Roll.”

17 Mark Hermann, “Diamondbacks Win a Classic,” Newsday, November 5, 2001: A62.

18 Rivera hit just one batter during the regular season.

19 Mike Lupica, “In the End, Takes a Miracle,” New York Daily News, November 5, 2001: 4.

20 Jack Curry, “Rivera Suddenly Human,” Arizona Daily Star, November 5, 2001: C4.

21 Gonzalez finished third in the majors in 2001 behind Barry Bonds (73) and Sammy Sosa (64).

22 Bob Baum, “D’Backs’ Magic Wins Out,” Arizona Daily Star, November 5, 2001: C5.

23 Hermann, “Diamondbacks Win a Classic.”

24 The closest any Arizona professional team came to winning a championship was the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, who made it to the championship series in 1976 and 1993. The 1976 team lost to the Celtics in six games and the 1993 team lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.

25 Mickey Lolich won Games Two, Five, and Seven for the Detroit Tigers in 1968.

26 Boivin, “Previous Heartbreaks Hurt a Little Less After World Title,” Arizona Republic, November 5, 2001: C2.

27 Jon Heyman, “Fall of Dynasty Leaves Memories of Lasting Glory,” Newsday, November 4, 2001: A62.