The Yankee Way Playing, Coaching, and My Life in Baseball by Willie Randolph

Author:Willie Randolph
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062346704
Published: 2014-05-02T04:00:00+00:00

THE FOLLOWING YEAR THE team looked very similar to the one we’d been winning with before the strike. In the lead-up to the 1995 season, we did make one major off-season move, getting Jack McDowell from the White Sox. In the two seasons prior to strike-shortened ’94, he’d won twenty and then twenty-two games with Chicago, finishing second and then first in the Cy Young Award voting. Later on we’d get David Cone, and the two of them complemented the young Andy Pettitte in the rotation. Jimmy Key had season-ending rotator cuff surgery after going on the disabled list in late May.

We were the wild-card team, and even though we were only 79-65 in the strike-shortened season, with the way we finished the year—we were 22-6 in the last month—I didn’t think anyone could stop us. When we went up 2–0 on Seattle in the Divisional Series, I was even more sure. Then Randy Johnson beat us in game 3, and we blew a 5–0 lead in game 4. We were up 4–2 with five outs to go and David Cone on the mound when things went all wrong. Ken Griffey Jr. hit a massive, upper-deck homer, and then Coney, on his way to throwing 147 pitches, lost the plate. He walked three guys to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. The tying run was scored by a pinch runner named Alex Rodriguez.

Still, we kept fighting. Randy Velarde had a huge RBI single against Johnson in the top of the eleventh, and now we were just three outs away from a 5–4 victory, and the ALCS. Joey Cora was set to lead off against our starter-turned-reliever, Jack McDowell. A little, switch-hitting second baseman, Cora had already bunted in the game, he had two bunt singles in the last two days, and I had a strong feeling he might try it again. I was in charge of the infield defensive alignment and sitting in the Kingdome dugout, next to manager Buck Showalter.

“Donnie!” I hollered. McDowell threw ball one. “Donnie! Donnie!” I tried again. With the roar of the crowd, I couldn’t get Mattingly’s attention at first base. McDowell threw ball two. Donnie was always good about studying the scouting reports and knowing the hitters. He wasn’t playing deep, wasn’t terribly out of position. Given the circumstances, he just wasn’t as tight as I preferred him to be, to guard against the bunt. Cora took a strike to make it 2-1. I looked again at Donnie, hoping to make eye contact. “Donnie!” I tried once more. McDowell wound and fired. Cora shortened up, came up in the box.

It was too late.

Cora dragged a good bunt toward first and got out of the box well. Donnie reacted quickly, came in, and grabbed it. Cora raced down the line. Donnie lunged for him but couldn’t get a tag on him. The Mariners had the leadoff man on. I shook my head in disgust. My second-guessing began immediately. Griffey singled up the middle, Cora racing to third.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.