2001 World Series Game Played on Halloween

Yankees and Diamondbacks Play a Memorable Baseball Game

Oct 24, 2009

On Halloween night October 31, 2001, the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks played Game 4 of the World Series in New York.

When it was all over, the capacity crowd of 55,863 at the old Yankee Stadium saw a dramatic game that turned out to be a treat not a trick. The Yankees came from two runs down in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game and scored another run in the 10th to win the game, 4 – 3.

After seven complete innings, Yankees starter Orlando Hernandez had given up only one run as had the Diamondbacks starter Curt Schilling. The Yankee's only run to that point had come in the third inning when third baseman Shane Spencer homered. The Diamondbacks only score through seven innings had come when first baseman Mark Grace hit a homerun in the fourth.

Hernandez and Schilling, Starting Pitchers

Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly took Schilling out of the game after seven innings, bringing in Byung – Hyun – Kim. Also in the seventh, Yankees manager Joe Torre took Hernandez out of the game and brought in reliever Mike Stanton.

The score was 1 – 1 when the eighth inning began. The Diamondbacks scored twice off Stanton. Luis Gonzalez, the first batter up, singled. Then the first baseman Erubiel Durazo hit a double and Gonzalez scored the go – ahead run. The Diamondbacks led 2 – 1.

Game Tied; Relievers Mendoza and Rivera

Torre took Stanton out of the game and brought in reliever Ramiro Mendoza. The Diamondbacks sent Durazo to the dugout and brought in Midre Cummings as a pinch runner. Cummings scored when thrid baseman Matt Williams hit a ground ball to shortstop Jeter whose throw to the plate was late. The Diamondbacks led 3 – 1. The Yankees went scoreless in the bottom of the eighth.

Mendoza shut out the Diamondbacks in the top of the ninth. The Yankees started off the bottom of the ninth with Jeter safely bunting his way to first. Rightfielder Paul O'Neill advanced the runner with a sacrifice fly. Bernie Williams struck out. Then with two out in the bottom of the ninth, first baseman Tino Martinez hit a homer off Kim, tying the game, 3 – 3.

Ace reliever Mariano Rivera came in for the Yankees in the tenth and blanked the Diamondbacks. In the bottom of the 10th, Kim got the first two Yankees out. He faced Jeter, the thrid batter of the inning.At 12: 03 a.m. on November 1, 2001, Jeter hit a home run. The game was won with a score of 4 – 3.

Major League Baseball (MLB) says that this game marked "only the third time in World Series history that a team won after trailing by two or more runs in the bottom of the ninth inning."

But the Diamondbacks came back from this crushing defeat to capture the World Series title in seven games.

"2001 World Series/Game 4: Martinez HR in the 9th Sets the Stage for Jeter's 'Mr. November' Game – Winner." MLB.com. Baseball's Best. 24 October 2009.

The copyright of the article 2001 World Series Game Played on Halloween in Major League Baseball is owned by Linda N. Riggins. Permission to republish 2001 World Series Game Played on Halloween in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.